Obama clears construction of nuclear plant in US

After 30 years of moratorium on nuclear power plants in USA, President Obama cleared construction of two 1,100 MW nuclear reactors in America. The President said that the plants would reduce carbon pollution by 16 million tones per year. This is a good move by the Nobel Prize winner and would give a big boost to the nuclear industry world-over. His intension seems to reduce GHG emissions in the years to come. India and China also should ensure that use of fossil fuels for energy should be reduced to bare minimum.

There is some apprehension that the developed countries are not supporting whole-heartedly the development of renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and geo-thermal which will drastically reduce the emissions of Greenhouse gases. These hi-tech resources should be made available to the developing countries, at a discount so that future emission cut requirements do not come in the way of development in these countries.

Isotopes of Hydrogen – Tritium is radioactive substance

Hydrogen (H) is the simplest atom (atomic number 1), is abundant, and has 1 protons and no neutrons. Two normal hydrogen atoms when combined with an oxygen atom create an ordinary (light) water molecule, or H2O. Every one knows about the uses of water.

Deuterium is another isotope of hydrogen with atomic mass of 2 (1 proton + 1 neutron). Unlike tritium, Deuterium is not radioactive. Two deuterium atoms combine with an oxygen atom to create Deuterium Oxide (D2O) or heavy water. Deuterium occurs naturally, for every 7,000 molecules of ordinary “light” water, there is one molecule of “heavy” water; approximately 100000 liters of ordinary water are needed to produce a single liter of pure heavy water. It is a very expensive procedure. India has mastered the heavy water production technology. Indian PHWR reactors use the heavy water (D2O) as the moderator and coolant.

Tritium is a radioactive form or isotope of hydrogen with atomic mass of 3 units (1 proton + 2 neutrons), with a radioactive half-life of 12.3 years and a biological half-life (the amount of time the body requires to excrete one half of the tritium absorbed) of about 10 days. Tritium decays to emit beta radiation of very low energy of 18.6 keV (kilo electron volt, maximum). The energy of tritium is not enough to penetrate human skin. Tritium is one of the least harmful radioactive substances. Comparatively, highly soluble Tritiated water is more harmful than tritium gas. The Annual Limit of Intake for tritiated water is 1 Giga Bq (Bq is the unit of activity; 1 Bq is the amount of radioactive material which decays at the rate of 1 disintegration per second). The decay product of tritium is 3He, an isotope of Helium, a non-radioactive noble gas.

Less than 1% of tritium occurs naturally (e.g. through the interaction of cosmic rays with molecules of certain elements in the upper atmosphere. Most of tritium is man made; fallout from thermonuclear weapons testing, begun in the 1940s, is a source of tritium in the global environment; nuclear power reactors, particularly of Indian type (PHWRs), are also a large source of tritium. Deuterium atom absorbs one more neutron in the nuclear reactor to form Tritium.

Tritium is used commercially as a light source in flares, emergency lights, exit signs and luminous dials (watches and clocks); tritium is also an essential fuel for experimental nuclear “fusion” and has been used for nuclear weapons production.

Indian Nuclear Liability Bill

The Indian Cabinet has cleared the above Bill and it is on the way through Rajya Sabha. The Bill is of considerable interest for American business in Indian nuclear power sector. The clearance of the Bill is also essential for any nuclear commerce with the countries of Nuclear Supplier’s Group. As of now, it looks as if US business in Indian nuclear sector is far behind Russia and France.

The importance content of the Bill is that it provides a cap of 2,500 Crore by way of damages in the event of any nuclear related accident occurring in India, and the government will facilitate the compensation through Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The responsibility for paying the damages will be on the operator of the reactor rather than on the supplier and builder of the reactor. This clause will enable the Nuclear Suppliers Group nations to get away without any responsibility for the accident and without paying anything! The probability of such incidents/accidents occurring is now considerably increased in view of the enhanced terrorist activities around the globe.

In should known that Rs.2500 Cr liability is just nothing to compensate for the property loss, for the management of the exposed personnel (both occupational and public) and implementation of very expensive decontamination procedures of large contaminated areas around the site. The liability needs to be enhanced by 10 times.

“Nuclear” dirty-linen washing is over

It is silence now in the controversy about the test yield of thermonuclear device in 1998 by India. K Santhanam, a long-retired DRDO scientist has finally achieved what he wanted by ensuring Anil Kakodkar is retired from the post of Chairman, AEC, with a distinguished record of achieving so many “firsts” in Indian nuclear scenario.

However, it is time that highest authority of the land must ensure that the issues (if any) between DRDO and DAE be sorted so that the national security should never be compromised due to the competition and public outbursts by the two very important national defence laboratories.

Depleted Uranium

Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element. It is a very heavy metal and a small 10-centimetre metal cube weighs 20 kilograms! It’s specific activity (radioactivity per unit gram) is low. In its natural state, uranium consists of three isotopes (U-234 (0.0057%), U-235 (0.72%) and U-238 (99.28%). Out of the three isotopes, U-238 has the longest half life of 4.51 billion years. Isotopes of natural uranium decay by emitting mainly alpha particles. The emission of beta particles and gamma radiations are low. Uranium is found in trace amounts in all rocks and soil, in water and air, and in materials made from natural substances.

Natural uranium is used as nuclear fuel in Indian PHWR-type power reactors. On use in the reactors, the percentage of U-235 isotope gets reduced due to nuclear fission (burning) and the uranium recovered chemically from the “burnt” fuel after the reactor operation is called Depleted Uranium (DU). The depleted uranium produced in this method contains some fission-product contamination.

The depleted uranium is also the by-product of enrichment process used to produce fuel for certain other types of nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. During the enrichment process the fraction of U-235 is increased from its natural level (0.72% by mass) to between 2% and 94% by mass. The by-product uranium mixture (after the enriched uranium is removed) has reduced concentrations of U-235. In depleted uranium, the percentage fraction of U-235 is less than 0.72% and can go down up to 0.2%. The DU is considerably less radioactive than natural uranium because it has lesser percentage of U-234 and U-235 per unit mass than natural uranium. The specific activity of uranium alone in DU is 14.8 Bq per mg compared with 25.4 Bq per mg for natural uranium. Becquerel (Bq) is the unit quantifying radioactivity.

DU is less harmful than natural uranium. However, according to the Indian Atomic Energy Act 1962, it is a Prescribed Substance and hence possession of the material in unauthorized persons is illegal.

The DU has more of industrial application (as heavy shield material against penetrating radiation like gamma rays) than military applications such as in the manufacturing of ammunitions used to pierce armour plating on tanks and in missile nose cones.

Social Networking for Nuclear Decommissioning

IAEA´s International Decommissioning Network (IDN) has begun using popular social networking tools to connect with more than 400 nuclear professionals in 60 countries all year round. The social networking sites will be used to face the challenge of delivering the right training to the right people world-wide. The decommissioning experts can share ideas and learn from each other.

It has proven difficult for some young nuclear professionals who are actually involved in day-to-day decommissioning to attend workshops, seminars and global site visits. So, the IDN´s coordinators at the IAEA are using non-traditional approaches to engage them.

The IDN provides hands-on experience in nuclear installations that are currently being decommissioned. The IDN now posts instructional videos online; videos which are available to more than 400 people working in this field. There are also plans to begin uploading more of these videos using an approach similar to that used by YouTube, thereby sharing critical, cutting-edge knowledge with professionals working in their own countries. An excellent idea to share nuclear knowledge!

What is Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT)?

In December 1993, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for negotiation of a treaty banning the unsafeguarded production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) might extend verification measures to fissile materials production facilities, such as uranium enrichment plants and spent fuel reprocessing facilities for the production of plutonium. These facilities are not currently subject to international monitoring. The fissile materials are also used for non-weapon purposes such as a component of the fuel used in nuclear power plants

The resolution called for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to provide assistance in examining verification arrangements to ensure that conditions of the treaties are implemented. It is assumed that such a treaty will be conducive to the prevention of nuclear proliferation and promotion of nuclear disarmament.

Though US Congress is yet to ratify the treaty, Obama administration in USA is keen to mount a diplomatic offensive to push India and other countries to sign the CTBT and FMCT. India has refused to accept obligations of the treaties that hinder India’s “strategic programme”. India seems to be of the view that “Nuclear weapons are an integral part of the national security and will remain so pending the global elimination of all nuclear weapons on a universal, non-discriminatory basis”.

In view of the hostile neighbors, the country should ensure the country’s security before yielding to any pressures from US and other countries. India should realize that the Indo-US deal will only help US with billions of dollars worth Indian nuclear business. There is nothing much for India to gain from the deal.