Decommissioning of Obsolete Nuclear Facilities in the Nuclear Research Institute Rez

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Podlaha ◽  
Karel Svoboda ◽  
Eduard Hansli´k
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Joint Stock Company ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Nuclear Research Institute ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Research Institute

After more than 55 years of activities of the Nuclear Research Institute Rez (NRI) in the nuclear field, there are some obsolete nuclear facilities that shall be decommissioned. NRI is a leading institution in all areas of nuclear R&D in the Czech Republic. NRI has had a dominant position in the nuclear programme since it was established in 1955 as a state-owned research organization and it has developed to its current status. In December 1992, NRI has been transformed into a joint-stock company. The Institute’s activity encompasses nuclear physics, chemistry, nuclear power, experiments at the research reactor and many other topics. Main issues addressed in NRI in the past decades were concentrated on research, development and services provided to the nuclear power plants operating VVER reactors, development of chemical technologies for fuel cycle and irradiation services to research and development in the industrial sector, agriculture, food processing and medicine. The NRI operates two research nuclear reactors, many facilities as a hot cell facility, research laboratories, technology for radioactive waste (RAW) management, radionuclide irradiators, an electron accelerator, etc. The obsolete facilities to be decommissioned comprise various research facilities and facilities for RAW management. Decommissioning of nuclear facilities NRI is the only ongoing decommissioning project in the Czech Republic. Decommissioning started in 2003 and will be finished in 2014. Some facilities have already been successfully decommissioned.

Decommissioning of Obsolete Nuclear Facilities in the UJV Rez, a. s.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Tous ◽  
Josef Podlaha
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Nuclear Research Institute ◽  
Nuclear Program ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Ultrasonic Bath ◽  
The Past ◽  
Dry Ice Blasting

More than 55 years of activities in the company UJV Rez, a. s. (Nuclear Research Institute Rez a.s. in the past) which is a leading institution in all areas of nuclear R&D in the Czech Republic and had a dominant position in the nuclear program since it was established (1955), there are several obsolete nuclear facilities that shall be decommissioned. The total amount of radioactive waste (RAW) resulting from decommissioning for the next processing will be ∼ 1500 m3 and the expected amount RAW for releasing into the environment is 240 tons after the decontamination. For the RAW processing several decontamination methods such as high press water jetting, chemical treating in ultrasonic bath, dry ice blasting and abrasive blasting were performed. Decommissioning started in 2003 and will be finished in 2016. This decommissioning of nuclear facilities in UJV is the only ongoing decommissioning project in the Czech Republic.

Development of Concretes with Resistance to High Temperatures in the Czech Republic and Surrounding European Countries

2013 ◽  
Vol 651 ◽  
pp. 120-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenka Bodnárová ◽  
Jiri Zach ◽  
Jitka Hroudová ◽  
Jaroslav Válek
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Load Bearing Capacity ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Stability

The resistance of concrete constructions to high temperatures at present is a much monitored issue for many scientific teams and experts in the stated area. This fact is mainly caused by fatal consequences originating in the case when concrete constructions are loaded by the effect of fire and consequent loss of their load-bearing capacity, for the population and the environment of our planet, in which we live in. The development of society goes hand in hand with the development of new building materials and as a consequence the requirements for building constructions increase which bring about extraordinary strict regulations in the area of fire safety. So, many high, non-traditional or specific constructions originate, e.g. nuclear power plants due to permanently higher demand for transport linkage and many tunnels have originated between European countries as a result. Unfortunately, in this relation the threat of terrorist attacks increases and unexpected natural disasters which also threaten the stability of the mentioned constructions. The objective of the article is to familiarize readers with the results of research concerning the improvement of the resistance of the concrete to high temperatures originated during fire instances.

Experiences in the Field of Radioactive Materials Seizures in the Czech Republic

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karel Svoboda ◽  
Josef Podlaha ◽  
David Sˇi´r ◽  
Josef Mudra
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Radioactive Materials ◽  
Nuclear Research Institute ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Radioactive Sources

In recent years, the amount of radioactive materials seizures (captured radioactive materials) has been rising. It was above all due to newly installed detection facilities that were able to check metallic scrap during its collection in scrap yards or on the entrance to iron-mills, checking municipal waste upon entrance to municipal disposal sites, even incineration plants, or through checking vehicles going through the borders of the Czech Republic. Most cases bore a relationship to secondary raw materials or they were connected to the application of machines and installations made from contaminated metallic materials. However, in accordance to our experience, the number of cases of seizures of materials and devices containing radioactive sources used in the public domain was lower, but not negligible, in the municipal storage yards or incineration plants. Atomic Act No. 18/1997 Coll. will apply to everybody who provides activities leading to exposure, mandatory assurance as high radiation safety as risk of the endangering of life, personal health and environment is as low as reasonably achievable in according to social and economic aspects. Hence, attention on the examination of all cases of the radioactive material seizure based on detection facilities alarm or reasonably grounds suspicion arising from the other information is important. Therefore, a service carried out by group of workers who ensure assessment of captured radioactive materials and eventual retrieval of radioactive sources from the municipal waste has come into existence in the Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc. This service has covered also transport, storage, processing and disposal of found radioactive sources. This service has arisen especially for municipal disposal sites, but later on even other companies took advantage of this service like incineration plants, the State Office for Nuclear Safety, etc. Our experience in the field of ensuring assessment of captured radioactive materials and eventual retrieval of radioactive sources will be presented in the paper.

The Regulatory Framework for Safe Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants in Korea

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangmyeon Ahn ◽  
Jungjoon Lee ◽  
Chanwoo Jeong ◽  
Kyungwoo Choi
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Safety Requirement ◽  
Regulatory Review ◽  
Safety Standards

We are having 23 units of nuclear power plants in operation and 5 units of nuclear power plants under construction in Korea as of September 2012. However, we don’t have any experience on shutdown permanently and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. There are only two research reactors being decommissioned since 1997. It is realized that improvement of the regulatory framework for decommissioning of nuclear facilities has been emphasized constantly from the point of view of IAEA’s safety standards. It is also known that IAEA will prepare the safety requirement on decommissioning of facilities; its title is the Safe Decommissioning of Facilities, General Safety Requirement Part 6. According to the result of IAEA’s Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission to Korea in 2011, it was recommended that the regulatory framework should require decommissioning plans for nuclear installations to be constructed and operated and these plans should be updated periodically. In addition, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March of 2011, preparedness for early decommissioning caused by an unexpected severe accident became important issues and concerns. In this respect, it is acknowledged that the regulatory framework for decommissioning of nuclear facilities in Korea need to be improved. First of all, we focus on identifying the current status and relevant issues of regulatory framework for decommissioning of nuclear power plants compared to the IAEA’s safety standards in order to achieve our goal. And then the plan is established for improvement of regulatory framework for decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Korea. It is expected that if the things will go forward as planned, the revised regulatory framework for decommissioning could enhance the safety regime on the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Korea in light of international standards.

Over Limit Oxygen Effect on Crack Propagation of WWER 440 RPV Steel in Primary Circuit Water

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslava Ernestova ◽  
Anna Hojna
Keyword(s):  
Crack Propagation ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Compact Tension ◽  
Oxygen Effect ◽  
Primary Circuit ◽  
Nuclear Research Institute ◽  
Primary Water

Experience with operating nuclear power plants worldwide reveals that many failures may be attributed to fatigue associated with mechanical loading due to vibration and with corrosion effect due to exposure to high-temperature environment. In order to clarify the simultaneous influence on reactor pressure vessel (RPV) material testing of ferritic steel 15Ch2MFA used for RPV of WWER 440 was performed at Nuclear Research Institute (NRI) autoclaves. Cyclic and constant loadings were applied to Compact Tension (CT) specimens in WWER primary water environment at 290°C and simultaneous effect of different oxygen levels (< 20 ppb, 200 ppb, 2000 ppb) on crack propagation has been evaluated. Obtained crack growth rates are compared with ASME XI Code and VERLIFE curves and crack behaviour is discussed.

scholarly journals Feasibility of replacement of nuclear power with other energy sources in the Czech republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (6 Part A) ◽  
pp. 3543-3553
Author(s):  
Pavel Charvat ◽  
Lubomir Klimes ◽  
Jiri Pospisil ◽  
Jiri Klemes ◽  
Petar Varbanov
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Moment

The feasibility and consequences of replacing nuclear power plants (NPP) in the Czech Republic with other energy sources are discussed. The NPP produced about one-third of electricity in the Czech Republic in 2017. Renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind and solar power plants and biomass/biogas burning power plants produced about 11% of electricity in 2017. Due to the geographical and other constraints (intermittency, land footprint, and public acceptance), the renewables do not have the potential to entirely replace the capacity of the NPP. The only feasible technologies that could replace NPP in the Czech Republic in the near future are the power plants using fossil fuels. The combined cycle power plants running on natural gas (NGCC) are technically and environmentally fea-sible alternative for NPP at the moment. However, the natural gas imports would increase by two-thirds and the total greenhouse gas emissions would go up by about 10% if the power production of the NPP was entirely replaced by NGCC in the Czech Republic.

Neutronic Analysis for VVER-440 Type Reactor Using PARCS Code

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Ratti ◽  
Guido Mazzini ◽  
Marek Ruščák ◽  
Valerio Giusti
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
State Office ◽  
Scale Models

The Czech Republic National Radiation Protection Institute (SURO) provides technical support to the Czech Republic State Office for Nuclear Safety, providing safety analysis and reviewing of the technical documentations for Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). For this reason, several computational models created in SURO were prepared using different codes as tools to simulate and investigate the design base and beyond design base accidents scenarios. This paper focuses on the creation of SCALE and PARCS neutronic models for a proper analysis of the VVER-440 reactor analysis. In particular, SCALE models of the VVER-440 fuel assemblies have been created in order to produce collapsed and homogenized cross sections necessary for the study with PARCS of the whole VVER-440 reactor core. The sensitivity study of the suitable energy threshold to be adopted for the preparation with SCALE of collapsed two energy-group homogenized cross sections is also discussed. Finally, the results obtained with PARCS core model are compared with those reported in the VVER-440 Final Safety Report.

Global Radioxenon Emission Inventory from Nuclear Research Reactors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin B. Kalinowski ◽  
Pouneh Tayyebi ◽  
Michael Lechermann ◽  
Halit Tatlisu
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Noble Gas ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Radioactive Isotopes ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Research Reactors ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosions ◽  
Nuclear Explosions

AbstractTo monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the International Monitoring System (IMS) is being established which will include 40 sensor systems for atmospheric xenon radioactivity. Radioactive isotopes of the noble gas xenon provide the most likely observable radioactive signatures of underground nuclear explosions. These isotopes are frequently detected by IMS noble gas systems as a result of normal operational releases from different types of nuclear facilities including nuclear power plants (NPPs), medical isotope production facilities (MIPFs), and nuclear research reactors (NRRs). Improved knowledge of the contribution of different emission sources on IMS observations strengthens the screening of radioxenon measurements to exclude observations not relevant to emissions from a nuclear explosion. The contribution of NPPs and MIPFs to the global radioxenon emission inventory is fairly well understood. NRRs have yet to be systematically assessed. This paper is the first attempt to assess the total emission inventory of NRRs expressed as annual total discharges. The results can enhance understanding of those sources most likely to impact IMS background observations and to guide future studies on contributions to IMS station background.

Data-based kernel density equations for probability distributions of releases of CTBT-relevant radioxenon isotopes from nuclear facilities and when arriving at IMS stations after atmospheric transport

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Kalinowski ◽  
Boxue Liu
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Atmospheric Transport ◽  
Isotopic Ratio ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Kernel Density ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Nuclear Facilities ◽  
Data Set

<p>For the International Monitoring System (IMS) to be effective, it is vital that nuclear explosion signals can be distinguished from natural and man-made radioactivity in the atmosphere. The International Data Centre (IDC) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) applies standard event screening criteria, with the objective of characterizing, highlighting, and thereby screening out, events considered to be consistent with natural phenomena or non-nuclear explosive, man-made phenomena. The objective of this study is to apply the kernel density (KD) approach to generate and investigate probability distributions of isotopic ratios for radioxenon releases from certain types of sources. The goal is to create probability density functions that could be applied e.g. with a Bayesian method to determine the probability whether an IMS observation can be explained by known sources or could possibly be caused by a nuclear explosion. KD equations for nuclear facility releases are derived from the data set of the radioxenon emission inventory of all nuclear power plants and all nuclear research reactors, as well as selected medical isotope production facilities in the calendar year 2014. For all types of sources, KD equations will be linked with isotopic ratio calculations that connect the sources and IMS stations as receiver.</p>

scholarly journals Sustainable education: altering the opinions on renewable energy sources

2020 ◽  
Vol 208 ◽  
pp. 09001
Author(s):  
Inna Čábelková ◽  
Viktor Blaginin ◽  
Wadim Strielkowski ◽  
Alexandr Platitsyn
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Combustion ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Level Of Education

Our paper studies the link between the education and the people’s opinions and views of the renewable energy sources (RES). We employ the representative data (1026 respondents) from the Czech Republic. Our empirical model did not reveal any associations between the subjective opinion on the respondents about the possibility to replace electricity generation from conventional sources (such as coal-fired or gas-fired power plants, nuclear power plants or large hydroelectric power plants) with the electricity from wind, solar radiation and biomass combustion. In addition, there seemed to be no correlation between the usage of renewable energy in the Czech Republic and the education of the respondents. However, there are strong significant association between the level of education of the respondents and the existence of opinions on the RES. Higher education means higher probability of the existence of such an opinion. Almost one third of the respondents with primary education did not have an opinion on the topic. This might be caused by an increasing interest in RES of people with higher level of education as they are likely to be more open to all discussions on the socially relevant issues in general. The lack of association between which opinion people have and their level of education is likely to indicate the marginal role of explaining the importance of RES in education.

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