The THTR Circulars from 2015

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THTR Circular No. 145, May 2015:

Content:

The THTR in the sights of the secret services

THTR in China and South Africa: A Raid

AVR Jülich: Should Castors go to Ahaus?

THTR costs: Equity used up

WA publisher expands: Typing for Ippen

Erwitte: Longest strike in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany

30 years ago: THTR disaster control plan

Lignite: Resistance in the Rhineland

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The THTR in the sights of the secret services

Ironically, the bankruptcy reactor THTR aroused the appetite of various secret services. - Are they completely meschugge, one might ask. But no, the noticeable interest in this special nuclear technology is rationally understandable. The uranium-plutonium nuclear fuel of the pebble bed reactor developed in the 60s can be further enriched and thus used to build atomic bombs.

This was one of the reasons why the USA reacted so indignantly in the 60s, because the Federal Republic initially refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while at the same time former Nazi scientists were still working in the control centers of German nuclear research (1).

No wonder that the former President of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) Hans-Georg Wiek is still advertising this "groundbreaking" form of energy on his own homepage (2). Of course, he puts the thorium aspect of the reactor line in the foreground in his considerations, he is not stupid.

On February 8, 2015, the WAZ revealed that the THTR Hamm was an important spying target for the GDR Stasi. 25 years after the end of the GDR can be viewed in the archive of the Federal Commissioner for the records of the State Security Service (BSTU). A WAZ editor brought amazing things to light. The GDR spies were directly in the companies that developed and built the THTR:

"Wolfgang Rudolf from Hoch Temperatur Reaktorbau GmbH, from now on IM" Herzog ", will provide more than 1975 pieces of information from 1988 to 2000. In 17 cases, the State Security rated his booty as "very valuable". Another 200 pieces are “valuable”. In East Berlin you can hardly believe your luck: IM “Herzog” becomes the top source. (...)

Rudolf's company is building the THTR 300 in Hamm-Schmehausen on behalf of the VEW energy company. How curious the project arouses the Stasi leadership, she admits on 21 pages: “With the market launch and operation of THTR, the FRG has the opportunity to own larger amounts of highly enriched uranium-235 that can be used for military purposes come". For Stasi boss Erich Mielke, this is an alarming analysis. (...)

The Stasi knew, through "IM Herzog", the transpiration cooling in the THTR 300 and the fuel cycle as well as the accident scenarios and complicated approval documents. (...)

The traitors sat in companies that planned and developed the high-tech projects. Basic classifications of the breeder and THTR technologies came directly from the Bonn government headquarters. There, Flick lobbyist and CDU politician Hans-Adolf Kanter alias IM “Fichtel” branched off the material en masse. In 1995 he received a mild suspended sentence.

"They get what they can," said Heribert Hellenbroich, then head of West German counterintelligence, in 1979. In fact, the Enlightenment Headquarters, for which Wolfgang Rudolf or the breeder informants Katzmann and Schmidt worked, passed all information that was considered explosive to the GDR Central Institute for Nuclear Research near Dresden. The main goal there: to catch up with East German research by making copies of West developments. "(3)

Today, the former Jülich professor Antonio Hurtado (4) is continuing his research at the THTR in Rossendorf near Dresden, writing expert reports and carrying out experiments for his Chinese clients who are now building the THTR on the Shandong peninsula. - If that's not historical continuity! - And already we are on the next secret service mission:

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In South Africa, numerous secret service scandals shake the country and also cast a very bad light on “friendly” China, which is making a name for itself with all sorts of major investments on the African continent.

This year, fed by sources from the South African secret service, the English daily newspaper "Guardian" and the Arab television station "Al Jazeera" published a great deal of information about the work of foreign agents in South Africa.

We are interested in an aspect that goes back to a mysterious event including an exchange of fire in the Pelindaba nuclear center in 2007. The "Frankfurter Rundschau" writes:

“The revelations of the African“ brother power ”China are likely to be embarrassing. According to the SSA (State Security Agency), armed Chinese agents broke into the Pelindaba nuclear facility near Pretoria in 2007 to steal classified documents about South African pebble bed reactor technology. At the time, South Africa was one of the leaders in the method developed in Germany for generating nuclear power. In the meantime, research at the Cape has been stopped for financial reasons, while China has taken the lead ”(5).

Exchange of fire in the nuclear center

In Pelindaba, South Africa, not only the now defused atomic bombs from the apartheid era were stored, but also the first radioactive fuel elements for the planned Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), which was to be built with the help of Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ). I commented on the attack in the 2007 THTR newsletter as follows:

“A week after the worst attack on a nuclear facility in recent history, some new details are revealed. The South African security authorities are obviously still in the dark. (...) The first group of four armed men seized a computer, which was then left on a balcony near the control center. It is not yet known whether the hard drive has been removed. On the South African websites of various newspapers it was stated that the perpetrators must have been extremely familiar with the nuclear facility. Only a highly specialized group with insider knowledge could therefore have been able to switch off alarm systems and overcome all barriers. The perpetrators apparently knew exactly where they wanted to take action ”(6).

In retrospect, the "highly specialized group with insider knowledge" presumed behind the action turns out to be not so absurd and clearly shows the criminal methods used by the nuclear industry. In the meantime, with the help of the information apparently captured by this secret service operation, China is continuing to build the high-temperature reactor on the Shandong peninsula (Weihai) (7). The fuel assembly plant in Inner Mongolia (Baotou) is reportedly as good as finished and is undergoing several tests. The annual production of 300.000 radioactive fuel elements is to begin in August 2015 (8).

FRG researchers and institutions work for the HTR in China

If you read the article on the English-language homepage “World Nuclear News” (WNN) about the HTR-PM (also called High-temperature gas-cooled reactor - HTGR) under construction in China, it is noticeable that the Netherlands and Germany are involved in its development. In the Dutch "NRG Hot Cells" in Petten, five Chinese fuel element balls have undergone various test procedures since 2012. In a second step, despite all the full-bodied commitments to phase out nuclear power, the Karlsruhe Institute for Transuranium Elements (JRC-ITU) carried out warming tests under accident conditions with the Chinese HTR fuel (9).

From October 27 to 31, 2014, an international HTR congress took place in Weihai, China, at which German scientists were able to “shine” with their presentation of their own research results on the THTR. The Technical University of Dresden was represented by Professor Hurtado, the Jülich Research Center by Professor Allelein and S. Kasselmann, the Institute for Nuclear Energy and Energy Systems (IKE) University of Stuttgart by J. Lapins, Westinghouse Germany by D. Knoche, etc ... (10) . Although the FRG is "withdrawing" from nuclear power, research continues on the HTR line, despite all assurances and pronouncements!

Unpredictable globular cluster

But the Chinese HTR fans will continue to have one problem in the future, despite diverse support from Europe: on the proverbial unpredictable pebble of pebbles!

Six Chinese scientists are grappling with this problem, which has been known for decades, in a current study: "Analysis of the porous structure of an unevenly packed pebble of pebbles in a gas-cooled high-temperature reactor". The oh-so-bad gravity causes problems again: "In the axial direction there are fluctuations in the lower area of ​​the globular cluster and the porosity varies due to the influence of gravity with the height of the globular cluster" (11).

Couldn't you have thought this through before building the reactor? - Well, how to tame this chaotic cluster of pebbles, unfortunately we can't help either, although in Germany we can look back on decades of experience and experiments. In any case, we wish you toi, toi, toi - and hopefully nothing bad will happen ...

Notes:

1. See THTR circular no.95:

http://www.reaktorpleite.de/nr.-95-dezember-04.html

2. http://www.sbe-international.com/

3. http://www.derwesten.de/politik/stasi-wusste-alles-ueber-den-schnellen-brueter-in-kalkar-id10322529.html

4. http://www.reaktorpleite.de/nr.-117-november-07.html

5. “Frankfurter Rundschau” from February 26, 2015

6. THTR Circular No. 118, December 2007

7. “World Nuclear News” of January 5, 2015

8. “World Nuclear News” of September 19, 2014

9. See note 3

10. http://www.inet.tsinghua.edu.cn/htr2014/

- http://archer-project.eu/images/roelofs.pdf

- http://archer-project.eu/images/lustfeld.pdf

- http://archer-project.eu/images/seeger.pdf

- http://archer-project.eu/images/stckel.pdf

11. "atw", February 2015

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Nuclear power opponents from Jülich, the Münsterland and the entire federal territory are unanimous: They demand that the 152 castors remain in a safe camp in Jülich. Neither the US nor Ahaus are sensible options for the 300.000 fuel element balls!

Doubts about the US option

With regard to the export plans to the USA, the anti-nuclear power initiatives have now been confirmed: Their doubts about the legal implementation of the Castor exports, which they had backed up with two legal reports in September 2014, are now apparently from some employees, according to media reports shared by the relevant ministries.

"Through our contacts in the USA, we know that the publication of the environmental impact assessment there for the acceptance of the castors has now been postponed a third time," explains Marita Boslar from Jülich. However, this deferral tactic does not solve the nuclear waste problem; Years of sitting out in Jülich have already shown this.

Ahaus as plan B does not bring any security gain

The opponents of nuclear power are concerned, however, that the Castor transports from Jülich to Ahaus are now being favored. Ahaus is not like Jülich without a permit, but it is also not protected against plane crashes and terrorist attacks.

"In Ahaus there are no options for repairing or reloading damaged castors, but in Jülich there are, since the castors were loaded there in the hot cells," explains Felix Ruwe from BI-Ahaus.

From the Ahaus interim storage facility, the fuel element balls cannot simply be sent to a nuclear waste storage facility that has yet to be found. Before that, they would have to be conditioned again, i.e. processed and repackaged - presumably again in Jülich. “This means that the Castor transports from Jülich to Ahaus violate the red-green coalition agreement; it says that the fuel elements should only be transported once to a 'repository' ”, says Felix Ruwe.

152 Castoren would have to be brought from Jülich to Ahaus via the highways in North Rhine-Westphalia. "The Castor transports from Jülich to Ahaus bring additional transport risks for countless people along the way, but no progress in the nuclear waste dilemma," says Michael Harengerd from BUND NRW. "In the past, with the Autobahn Action Day, we have shown how well the resistance between Jülich and Ahaus is networked - and we will not wait with the protests until the Castors in Ahaus are at the door," continues Michael Harengerd.

The anti-nuclear initiatives will continue to work closely together and follow every step of the research center and the relevant ministries and authorities. "Together we will stand across if the Castors should leave Jülich - no matter where".

From the press release of the Alliance against Castorexporte and the Münsterland Action Alliance against Nuclear Plants in April 2015

AVR Jülich: The reactor is tipped over

During the dismantling of the first pebble-bed high-temperature reactor, the last small work to relocate the reactor vessel is taking place in Jülich. The radioactive container from the decommissioned research reactor is to be brought to the newly built interim storage facility 200 meters away in May or June.

This was announced by the operator Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor (AVR). "The major work has all been completed," said AVR spokesman Wilfried Hubrich.

16 years after the research reactor was shut down, the AVR began relocating the reactor cask in November. The highly radiating fuel elements had already been removed from the cask in 1994 and are in an interim storage facility on the premises of the research center.

The container is transported with a special heavy-duty system: a system made up of 15 modules with 360 wheels. The transport should be completed after four hours. Special precautionary measures are not required. Since the radiation is shielded from the outside, there is no radiological hazard according to AVR information. The reactor shell should only be dismantled when an atomic repository and the conditions for receiving it have been determined.

After the reactor was shut down in 1988, safe enclosure was planned. However, after radioactive contamination in the soil and groundwater was ascertained in 1999, the federal and state governments agreed to completely dismantle them.

From: "Aachener Nachrichten" from April 6, 4

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It is always remarkable how the costs for the decommissioning of the THTR Hamm have been dealt with since 1997. Normally one would think that HKG, as the operating company, would be solely responsible for its plant. In reality, however, the federal and state governments have been asked to pay up heavily for decades.

Since the old regulation of the assumption of costs expired in 2009 and the 22rd supplementary agreement was not signed until October 10, 2014 after lengthy secret negotiations between the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the HKG, the entire financing for the decommissioning of the nuclear facility was available for a full five years in a nebulous state of suspension! - This can be found in the answer from the NRW Ministry of Finance to a request from the NRW state parliament group of "Pirates" on January 3, 16.

The 3rd supplementary agreement applies for the period from 2010 to 2022. The costs for the so-called safe enclosure were and will therefore be borne by the operating company during this period.

As has been the practice in the past, the costs for the "advance repository services" are divided into thirds and borne by the HKG, the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. During the “limbo” from 2010 to 2014, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia paid 2,605 million euros for the advance repository payments; for 2015 it will be 0,929 million euros.

From 2016 to 2022, these costs will increase very significantly with a total of EUR 31,9 million for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is unclear how things will continue after 2022. HKG has no more cash at its disposal during this period. "The equity is being consumed by the loss carried forward" is the answer from the NRW Ministry of Finance to the "Pirates".

The HKG provisions for the dismantling of the THTR are estimated at EUR 31 million for December 2013, 703,005. Decommissioning, dismantling, “Salzgitter Fund” and final storage costs must not become more expensive.

A legal report commissioned by the NRW Ministry of Finance to assess future payment obligations remains secret. It is "to be added to the core area of ​​executive personal responsibility" is the justification of the ministry.

It remains unclear how expensive it would be to dismantle the THTR. An update of the Siemelkamp study from 2007 is not planned. The then targeted 347 million euros were already considered by numerous critics as clearly too low. Even the twenty times smaller AVR devours around a billion euros when it is dismantled.

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Dirk Ippen, publisher of the Hammer daily newspaper "Westfälischer Anzeiger", owns numerous local newspapers all over Germany. For some time now, his media group has also been expanding its supremacy in Hesse.

Already in 2003 he took over the rather social democratic "Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine" (ENT). With the withdrawal of the Madsack Group in the Rhine-Main area, the conservative Ippen is reaching out to other local newspapers via the associated "Medien Beteiligungsgesellschaft" (MBG) and thus initiating a comprehensive process of concentration in Hesse's media landscape:

“The Ippen Group now has a quasi-monopoly in the entire north of the state. Because the managing director of MBG is Daniel Schöningh, nephew of the newspaper publisher Dirk Ippen, who publishes the Hessische / Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA) and the Offenbach Post. MBG itself has stakes in a number of media companies in North and East Hesse, including the Werra-Rundschau in Eschwege, the Hersfelder Zeitung and several advertising papers. Now the Waldeckische Landeszeitung and the Frankenberger Zeitung are being added with a total circulation of around 22.000 copies.

"The whole of Northern Hesse is now Ippen-Land in terms of newspaper technology," commented ver.di State Department Manager Manfred Moos on the expansion. This is neither good for media diversity nor for employees. Because like its competitors, Ippen relies on »synergy effects«, the first victim of which is apparently the Waldeckische Allgemeine. "

From: “Junge Welt” April 9, 4

Further information: "Ippen on expansion course" in THTR-RB No. 77:

http://www.reaktorpleite.de/nr-77-november-02.html

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Regional history

The longest company strike in Germany took place 40 years ago in Erwitte, Westphalia. There the workers struck for 449 days and occupied the Seibel & Sons cement factory for two months. Solidarity actions and court cases also took place in Hamm. In February 2015 I wrote an article about it in the monthly newspaper "Grassroots Revolution": "Provincial workers against parvenue capitalists!"

http://www.machtvonunten.de/gewerkschaften.html

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In 1985, shortly before the THTR went into operation, the disaster control plan could be viewed (but not copied!) By the Hammer population. At a special council meeting, 500 interested citizens were given the opportunity to ask a few questions, which, however, were completely inadequately answered. - And of course there were protests too! I wrote several articles about the memorable spectacle at the time:

"The SPD pushes through the controversial disaster control plan". In "The Green Hammer" No. 3, 1985:

http://www.machtvonunten.de/lokales-hamm/261-der-pleite-reaktor-thtr.html

“THTR and council meeting - a disaster! SPD-OB Zech tried to trick citizens ”. In "Grünes Info", monthly newspaper of the NRW regional association of the Greens, July / August 1985 ":

http://www.machtvonunten.de/lokales-hamm/233-thtr-und-ratssitzung-eine-katastrophe.html

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The call for the "anti-coal human chain" on April 25, 2015 called for a complete phase-out of coal only in 25 years! And the final stop of the lignite mining in Garzweiler two only in 15 years! - What to think of this and what critical solidarity with the lignite resistance can look like under these conditions is discussed in this article in issue 398 of the "Grassroots Revolution":

http://www.graswurzel.net/398/kohle.php

... and here you can find out more about the resistance discussions:

http://sovie-koelner-gruppe-gegen-braunkohle.de/#

https://ende-gelände.org/

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