Canadian Nuclear Technology and Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel

Transcription

1 Canadian Nuclear Technology and Managing Spent Nuclear Fuel ARPS 2016, Adelaide Douglas R. Boreham, Professor Northern Ontario School of Medicine Division Head Medical Sciences Division Bruce Power Chair in Radiation and Health Principal Scientist Bruce Power

2 If it were ever possible to control at will the rate of disintegration of the radioelements, an enormous amount of energy could be obtained from a small amount of matter Ernest Rutherford, 1904

3 1940 Heavy Water - Deuterium Norsk Hydro Vemork plant, Norway 1935 Lew Kowarski Hans von Halban Frédéric Joliot-Curie Paris, France

4 1944 Chalk River Laboratories

5 1945 ZEEP: first self-sustaining fission reactor outside the USA. Chalk River: September 5, 1945

6 Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Energy NRX (1947) NRU (1957) A Mecca for Nuclear Research

7 Chalk River Laboratories

8 Cobalt Bomb (ON, SK) Harold Johns 1951

9 A Canadian Gift to the World: Cancer Therapy and Nuclear Medicine

10 1959 McMaster Nuclear Reactor Harry Thode ( )

11 Douglas Point Canada s First Power Reactor (Construction) 18 years of Power

12 Pickering, Ontario ( , ) Darlington, Ontario ( ) Bruce, Ontario ( , ) CANDU in Canada Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD), Ontario (1962) Gentilly 1 and 2, Quebec (1971, 1983) Douglas Point, Ontario (1966) Pt. Lepreau, New Brunswick (1983)

13 The Price for Nuclear Power in Ontario cents per kilowatt hour (KW/h). Average price of residential electricity in the province today is cents KW/h.

14 Bruce Power Signs Deal with Ontario December 3, 2015 Sustaining 8 Units Until 2065 (6300 MW Output) Six Refurbishments (2020) $8 billion. Long-term ( ) Life Extension Activities $5 billion. Short-term 2016 and 2020 $2.3 billion. Total Investment $15.3 Billion

15 18,000 jobs. 3,000-5,000 jobs annually Billions into Ontario s economy

16 Breaking News The Advertiser, August 30, 2007

17 Perceptions are changing?

18 CANDU the Canadian reactor

19 Uranium Doses On contact: 40 usv/h One metre: 4 usv/h Fuel Handling Refining Conversion

20

21 Same Dose Rate per Hour (4 usv/h) Flying Nuclear Fuel = 1 metre 30,000 ft

22 220 MW for 18 years

23 18 Years of Spent Fuel

24 Used Fuel Storage All used fuel to date would fit in 5 hockey rinks. Can be reprocessed to reuse and reduce

25

26 Short Term Storage

27 Fuel is Transferred to Dry Storage 50 years+ Dry Storage Containers

28

29

30

31

32 AECL Underground Research Laboratory (URL)

33 AECL Underground Research Laboratory (URL)

34 NWMO Responsible for Final Disposal Federal government responsibility (Nuclear Waste Management Act) Implemented through Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) Fully funded liability by the utilities Adapted Phase Management

35 A Collaborative Approach Collaboration with both specialists and the public for the long-term management of used nuclear fuel. NWMO is guided by the values and objectives identified during this process. Collaboration is now at the heart of the plan's implementation. First Nation and Métis communities. Strong importance on youth engagement.

36 Adaptive Phased Management (APM) 2007 Canada long-term management of used nuclear fuel. Centralized containment and isolation of Canada's used fuel in a deep geological repository with an informed and willing host Fair site selection process Initial proposal for a siting process that was based on public concerns 2010 Site selection process was finalized.

37 Step 3 9 Willing Host Communities

38 Deep Geological Repository Network of underground tunnels and placement rooms for used nuclear fuel containers. 500 metres below the ground's surface, depending on rock characteristics at the site. Rock boring technology. Underground footprint- two kilometres by three kilometres (about 600 hectares or 1,480 acres).

39 Barrier 1: The Nuclear Fuel Pellet Fuel pellets are one of the most durable engineered materials. Uranium Dioxide Ceramic.

40 Barrier 2: The Fuel Element and the Fuel Bundle Zircaloy contains and isolates the fuel pellets.

41 Barrier 3: The Used Nuclear Fuel Container The container prevents radionuclides in the fuel from escaping. Engineered to remain intact until radioactivity has decreased to levels of natural uranium. Holds 48 used fuel bundles in a steel basket within a carbon steel pipe. Withstand pressures of the overlying rock and loading from three-kilometre-thick glaciers during a future ice age. Protected by a corrosion-resistant copper coating.

42 Barrier 4: Bentonite Clay Bentonite clay, backfill and sealants isolate any radionuclides. Buffer boxes separated with bentonite clay spacer blocks. Stacked in two layers. Open spaces in each underground chamber also filled with clay. A six- to 10-metre-thick highly compacted clay barrier.

43 Barrier 5: The Geosphere The geosphere forms a natural barrier of rock, which will protect the repository from disruptive natural events, water flow and human intrusion.

44 Centre of Expertise A Centre of Expertise will be established at, or near, the site. Its initial purpose is to support the multi-year testing and assessment of the site with a focus on safety and community wellbeing.

45 Transportation of Spent Fuel

46 Testing Transport Containers

47 Community Liaison Committees (CLCs) Independent of the NWMO

48 Used Fuel Decay of Time a Fuel Bundle 54,000 msv/h 1,150 msv/h 360 msv/h 37 msv/h 0.8 msv/h ,000,000 Years

49 Gold at the end of the Rainbow?

50 Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not there own facts. Daniel Patrick Moynihan

51 sent to on September 09, 2013 I think it is abhorrent that you are in a position of power in your position at the university while peddling lies regarding the health benefits of low level radiation. If anyone is hurt during the Wiluna mining process, their blood will be on your hands. You are a disgrace to the scientific community and personally, you should hang your head in shame and remove yourself from your teaching position. Seriously, you're a dickhead. Elissa Gerrand `

52 Thank You Beverly ISL Mine