The THTR Circulars from 2013

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THTR Circular No. 141, July 2013

Content:

Start of construction for "largest nuclear power plant in the world" in China?

THTR research in NRW continues!

Questions about the beads at THTR

THTR remaining settlement by 2080: Is 667 million euros enough?

Start of construction for "largest nuclear power plant in the world" in China?

The high-temperature reactor (HTR) developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich with German know-how and tax money is now being built in China. In old issues of the THTR-Rundbrief we reported that this pebble bed reactor was not planned by chance on the Shandong peninsula, the former German colonial base until 1914. At that time it was said that the HTR would go into operation in 2010.

Due to various difficulties and the temporary construction stop due to the reactor disaster in Fukushima, the start was delayed several times. Since the nuclear industry is increasingly struggling with legitimation problems, it is now trying to score points with the construction of supposedly disaster-proof HTRs.

In South Africa, the development of this new fourth generation reactor line had to be discontinued in 1,5 after an investment of 2010 billion euros. Now China is trying this original German invention. Two corporations and Tsinghua University are involved in the construction. The new HTR called "Shidaowan" in Rongcheng is supposed to become the largest nuclear power plant in the world with 6 megawatts, according to the nuclear-friendly FAZ from January 1, 2013.

The message about the unimaginably large "inherently safe" reactor, blown out of transparent motifs, is misleading, however. According to the original report (Chinadaily Europe, January 6.600, 6), the loftily named 1 MW conceals various well-known pressurized water blocks with 2013 MW with several expansion stages and only a single HTR with 6.400 MW. In the original announcements from China, not only is there no reference to Jülich's “pioneering work”, but the independent Chinese development work is emphasized.
The annoyance with this reactor line is "inherent" due to the design and preprogrammed. The German pebble bed reactors in Jülich and Hamm had to be shut down as early as the late 80s due to countless incidents and breakdowns. So soon the current HTR problem reports will come from China, if the censorship allows it.

THTR fuel elements: Rare earths fire a rarely functioning reactor

In the meantime it has become known where the spherical fuel elements required for the THTR are produced. This is to take place in the industrial city of Baotou in Inner Mongolia, about 700 kilometers northwest of Beijing. Baotou is known for the fact that so-called rare earths are mined there. On March 28, 2013, the internet portal of the Swiss atomic group "Nuklearforum" reported on the groundbreaking ceremony on March 16, 3 in Baotou:

"The project partners - China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), Tsinghua University, China Huaneng Group, China Power Nuclear Power Engineering Co. and Nuclear Huaxing Construction Co. - previously signed a cooperation agreement on the provision of technical services, construction , installation and monitoring of the pilot plant project. The pilot plant is aiming for an annual production capacity of 300.000 fuel elements and is expected to start operations in August 2015.
The 210 MW HTR-PM is located on Shidao Bay in the easternmost tip of Shandong Province on the east coast of China and has been officially under construction since the end of 2012. Commissioning is scheduled for 2015. "(1)

Ecological disaster and evictions

The mining and processing of the coveted and expensive rare earths has led to an ecological catastrophe in the Baotou region with many deaths, blatant human rights violations and displacements of residents:

“Waste from the refinement process, such as toxic chemicals and radioactive substances, end up in a huge collection basin, the“ rare earth lake ”. Over the past few years, probably 150 million tons of overburden has accumulated there. According to blogger Fanling, the catch basin is a prime example of waste of resources and pollution:
'Through many years of iron mining, an overburden dam totaling 150 million tons has accumulated. This includes 9,3 million tons of rare earths and 90.000 tons of thorium. With this we leave behind a new mine for future generations that we should preserve. Above all, we should prevent the deposits from being dispersed in the area through erosion. The bottom of the lake is not the same in all places. A part of the powdery overburden protrudes from the water and is dispersed by the wind, whereby it is lost for the extraction and pollutes the environment. ' Without a seepage seal, the groundwater is also radioactively and chemically polluted. The lake is 12 km from Baotou city center and 10 km from the Yellow River.
In the production of rare earths, the radioactive thorium is often a by-product. Because thorium can be found in the same minerals as rare earths, but has not yet been used, it is sent to the collecting basin as a waste product from ore processing. The effects are clearly noticeable: between 1993 and 2005, 66 people died of cancer in the Dalahai village. Since 2006, 1700 people have died in the 14-inhabitant village, 11 of them from cancer.

(...) According to its own statements, the operating company Baogang pays the state mine in Bayan Obo (also located in the Baotou administrative district; there the thorium is mined, i.e.) annually for environmental protection measures at the collecting basin more than 40 million yuan. In 2008, Baotou City and Baogang spent 500 million yuan to relocate five villages in the area. But the residents of the village of Xinguang refuse to move into the new apartments provided by the government: “Although they have to endure the pollution here, they would lose their few fields if they were to be relocated and they would have no livelihood at all. In a joint letter to the city fathers, they say that the relocation compensation is too low and the compensation for the pollution for 2009 has not yet been paid ”. (2)

Thorium heaps as justification for reactor construction

In Baotou, tons of radioactive thorium are lying around as a waste product for the extraction of rare earths and threaten the life of the population. If this thorium is used for the production of THTR fuel elements in the future, two birds will be killed with one stone. The radioactive thorium is "disposed of" and the nuclear industry has a good reason to be able to continue experimenting with the immature HTR technology. The dangerous stuff has to be removed somehow ...

SGL Carbon from Wiesbaden

The Chinese nuclear industry is assisted by the company SGL Carbon, based in Wiesbaden, which has made a name for itself for decades with the highly specialized production of graphite components and fuel elements for the THTR (3). In March 2011, a few days after the disaster in Fukushima, a contract was signed between Chinese companies and the SGL Carbon Group in Germany for the production of 500.000 graphite balls (4) for the THTR in "Shidaowan" in Rongcheng on the Shandong peninsula ( 5) signed.

SGL Carbon obviously has no moral scruples about making a profit out of the misery in Baotou. When this company in South Africa wanted to profit from the now unsuccessful construction of the THTR, a total of around 1,5 billion euros was wasted uselessly. Money that the poor people in South Africa lack. SGL Carbon bagged part of it.

Which country is next to be seduced by this seldom functioning reactor? SGL Carbon is already waiting for the next fool. Forschungszentrum Jülich is assisting in these lousy deals as best it can with state-funded propaganda and research for the bankruptcy reactor, instead of taking responsibility for a reasonably orderly and harmless decommissioning of their own radiating HTR scrap heaps in Jülich and Hamm.

Notes:

1. See: http://www.nuklearforum.ch/de/aktuell/e-bulletin/china-brennelement-anlage-fuer-htr-im-bau
2. See: http://www.stimmen-aus-china.de/2011/04/26/selten-unnachhaltig-seltene-erden-und-umweltverschmutzung-in-china/
3. See: http://www.reaktorpleite.de/nr.-102-november-05.html
4. See: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/ENF-Chinese_HTGR_fuel_plant_under_construction-2103134.html
5. See: http://www.linksnet.de/de/artikel/19897
Further information on China can be found in THTR circulars No. 88, No. 98, No. 105 and No. 113

We have already reported several dozen times on this homepage that in North Rhine-Westphalia, even under red-green governments, work was being done on the further development of the thorium high-temperature reactor (THTR), thus sabotaging a real phase-out of nuclear power.

Another mess was not long in coming this year. Under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. rer. nat. H.-J. As of March 1, 2013, Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) will be hiring a doctorate scientist for an initial period of three years, who will conduct research on the further development of the THTR. Under the job number 11599, the area of ​​responsibility on the FZJ homepage was described as follows:

"In gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactors, carbon dust is inevitably produced during operation. This is particularly important in high-temperature reactors (HTR) with spherical fuel elements, in which, in addition to possible chemical reactions, abrasion during fuel element handling and ball flow are special mechanisms for generating graphitic dust. ..) The aim of the experiments is to provide reliable data for the validation of the models for the calculation of dust production, dust transport, as well as the simulation of the deposition and resuspension processes of dust within the primary circuit of a high-temperature reactor -Directly and be integrated into the HCP (HTR Code Package). "

How long does this NRW state government want to let the nuclear lobby dance around on its nose? Or is it the SPD, which for decades supported this type of reactor completely uncritically with taxpayers' money wherever it could, even quite right, that this nuclear option is deliberately kept open in North Rhine-Westphalia? As is well known, in 2001 Fritz Fahrenholt, as a "member of the Council for Sustainable Development at Federal Chancellor" Schröder, advocated increased THTR research in the "Vorwärts" in order to be able to build these reactors again.

FZ Jülich: Markets and promotes pebble bed reactors!

Together with TÜV Rheinland, the Technical University of Dresden and a number of nuclear companies, Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) has been working on the further development of the HTR line as part of the ARCHER (Advanced Reactor for Cogeneration of Heat & Electricity-RD) project and is organizing one extensive scientific exchange at European level.
Since 2007, the FZJ has also been involved in the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNETP), which aims to generate heat and electricity with high-temperature reactors. So prepared to build new nuclear power plants. As a member of the SNETP and in particular of the Nuclear Cogeneration subgroup, FZ Jülich is clearly working against the declared goals of the German energy transition.
Instead of the bankruptcies, bad luck and breakdowns - AVR in Jülich as safely as possible to dismantle and to take care of the safe containment of the THTR Hamm, NRW's largest research institution operates as a global marketer and promoter of pebble bed reactors!

Dismantling of the THTR

From 1997 to 2027 the THTR Hamm is in so-called decommissioning operation. In 2017 it will be decided how to deal with the glowing reactor ruins. Against this background, it is interesting that Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN) are planning to become active in matters of THTR Hamm. The EWN, which have already dismantled nuclear power plants in Greifswald and Rheinsberg, reported on February 13, 2013:
"Cordes announced the establishment of a new subsidiary in North Rhine-Westphalia for the dismantling of the high-temperature reactor THTR 1989 in Hamm, which was decommissioned in 300. In addition to the Jülich test reactor with currently 140 employees, it will also include the decommissioning area of ​​the Jülich research center with 220 employees." (1)

Note:
1. http://www.business-wissen.de/nachrichten/ewn-will-sich-als-kompetenzzentrum-fuer-atomausstieg-profilieren/

In spring 2012, as part of "Jugend forscht", an eleven-year-old student discovered numerous tiny spheres in the vicinity of the THTR. These tiny spheres were passed on to the LIA (State Institute for Work Design) NRW for analysis.

The tests carried out there came to the conclusion that there is no radioactivity in the beads and that the samples submitted may be iron oxide particles. On July 9, 20012, the results of these investigations were published by the LIA on its homepage.
 
A number of questions and inconsistencies arose for BI Environmental Protection Hamm based on an expert report that was also submitted by HW Gabriel. In particular, because in this report the accusation was made that the LIA did not measure or document certain important measurement areas and only the surface and not the inside of the beads was analyzed. This caused considerable unrest and many discussions among the population in the vicinity of the THTR.

For this reason, the citizens' initiative wrote a letter on December 6, 2012 with many questions to the green environment minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Johannes Remmel. We received his extensive and detailed answer on March 16, 2013. We document this answer in excerpts:  
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The examinations of the samples for radioactivity were carried out by the radiation measuring center of the State Institute for Work Design NRW (LIA) and published on the Internet. Artificial radioactivity could not be detected.

The State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection North Rhine-Westphalia (LANUV) carried out investigations into the elemental composition of the sample submitted by the radiation measuring point (X-ray fluorescence, light microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) with subsequent energy-dispersive analysis). You are familiar with the presentation including the LANUV report on the Internet. The X-ray spectra for the elemental analysis of the sample were recorded in the LANUV with an acceleration voltage of 20 keV.

In the Internet, only part of the spectrum, the range up to 11 keV, was initially shown because in the spectra in the range from 11-20 keV only 2 lines of the element gold are displayed, which can be clearly assigned to the sample preparation and not to the sample itself therefore does not contain any relevant information. Elements with a higher atomic number such as thorium, uranium and plutonium, the lines of which lie in the range from 12,97 to 18,29 keV, were not detected. If these elements were present in the sample, further characteristic lines in the range from 3,0 to 3,5 keV should have been present. Since these lines are also missing in the spectra, thorium, uranium and plutonium were not detectable in the sample.

The LANUV report only contained a section of the entire spectrum determined because the spectrum section up to 11 keV can be used to display all of the lines relevant to the sample. Nevertheless, up to 20 keV was examined.

In response to inquiries, the complete spectrum that was already available was mapped to fully clarify the scope of the investigations. So there was no completely new, extended report, only the complete spectrum that was already available was mapped, even if it was not necessary for the assessment. The rating remained the same.

The opinion of Mr. Gabriel was examined intensively, but did not change anything in the unambiguity of the analysis results of the LlA and the LANUV. (...)

Mr. Gabriel regards it as questionable that the spectrum did not show the full energy range. In the lower energy range a line of the Th-232 should be visible, which in his opinion was kept secret. However, the fact that the spectrum was not used to detect Th-232 and that all the necessary lines of Cs-137 and Co-60 are in the energy range under consideration is not taken into account in Mr. Gabriel's remarks. The LlA has also shown the lower energy range, in which of course there is no detectable thorium line; had this been the case, the LlA would have indicated it.

I would also like to point out that the detection of Th-232 in the gamma spectrum is also possible via the secondary product Ac-228 (Actinium-228), the main line of which is 911 keV and for which there is no detectable activity.
The entire discussion about single lines in the gamma spectrum is not expedient from our point of view, since the Th-232 determination was not carried out via gamma spectroscopy, but via an analysis of the alpha activity. For this purpose, the LlA had completely destroyed and dissolved the beads, which refutes the fact that the LlA only measured the outer shell of the beads. The detection limit for the alpha emitters Pu-238, Pu-239, Th-232, U-238 and U-235 is 0,86 Becquerel per kilogram of bead material, ie the activity concentration of these isotopes is below this with a probability bordering on certainty Worth. (...)

In conclusion, I would like to state that the examination for thorium 232 was not carried out with the method of gamma spectroscopy, but with the far more precise method of alpha analysis. Thorium 232 could not be detected in the sample. The detection limit of the measurement was below one Becquerel per kilogram of bead material.

In addition, ask for information on the nature of the THTR fuel elements and the balancing of the supply and removal of the THTR fuel elements:

The thorium high-temperature reactor (THTR) used fuel elements containing approximately 10,2 g of Th-232 and 0,96 g of U-235. Transuranic elements such as plutonium, americium and curium were not used in the manufacture of the fuel elements. The balance of the fuel elements used at the THTR is as follows:

Total fuel elements added to the reactor: 619.804 pieces
Withdrawal from the reactor; Now stored in the Ahaus transport container warehouse: 617.606 pieces
remaining in the reactor (safe enclosure): 2.198 pieces. The only manufacturer and supplier of the fuel elements was NUKEM GmbH.

Against the background of these statements, there is no reason for further investigations for artificial radioactivity. You can also find extensive information on this matter in the current report to the Environment Committee of the State Parliament, which I have attached to you. There you will also find the results on the elemental composition of the beads - mainly iron oxide.

At the end of 2012, a request was made to the cancer registry about the incidence of cancer in the vicinity of the THTR. A result of the evaluation is not yet available to me.
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We would like to take this opportunity to thank the NRW Environment Minister Johannes Remmel for this detailed answer. In view of the large number of cancer cases that have been reported to us, we continue to consider a renewed examination of the beads by independent scientists to be sensible. We hope that this investigation will take place in the next few months.

Here is the answer from HW Gabriel

On March 15, 2013, the NRW state parliament group of the "pirates" asked the budget and finance committee of the NRW state parliament how high the costs for the "remaining settlement" of the THTR would be. The reactor is in so-called decommissioning from 1997 to 2027.

In 2009 the agreement with the operating company Hoch Temperatur-Kernkraftwerk GmbH (HKG) expired and negotiations for assuming the annual decommissioning costs dragged on. Until then, according to official information, a total of 425 million euros had been spent on decommissioning and confinement. The federal government took over 127 million euros, NRW 146 million euros and HKG 142 million euros. As in previous decades, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia pays around 4 million euros annually for the decommissioning operation.

In the response of the state government to the pirate inquiry, it is stated that the HKG holds 667 million euros in provisions for the THTR: For safe enclosure until 2035, the costs for interim storage until 2055, the expenses for the Salzgitter fund until 2058, the Final storage costs until 2080 and the estimated dismantling costs of the reactor until 2044.

It is questionable whether this money will be enough. Because the dismantling could be more complicated and expensive than previously assumed by those responsible. The country is a commitment of 32 million euros for a “3. Supplementary agreement "in the matter of decommissioning. - It would be even better if the nuclear industry had to pay for the disposal of its own radioactive waste itself.

In the meantime, the popular fairy tale uncle and previous Technical Director of HKG, Günther Dietrich, has retired. Dr. Ralf Versemann. The 47-year-old hopes to see the start of the THTR dismantling (WA of May 3, 5). If dismantling began in 2013, it would be 2030 years old. As a precaution, the NRW finance minister announced on March 76, 3: “A dismantling of the plant is not planned for the time being”. For obvious reasons, he would prefer to see the additional avalanche of costs that later became apparent as a pensioner.

New homepage

From nuclear power to culture, party criticism, trade unions, grassroots movements, rights, local things, South Asia to magazine criticism, numerous articles by Horst Blume from the last 40 years can be viewed on the Internet and are continuously updated: http://www.machtvonunten.de/

Anti-nuclear movement in India

In issue 140 we reported on the nonviolent resistance against the construction of the nuclear power plants in Kudankulam (India). In the meantime, seven very interesting circulars on Atom and India have been published by a support group from the FRG.

They can be viewed here:
http://indien.antiatom.net/newsletters-2/newsletterantiatomindiennr7/

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