System levelized fuel cost of electricity generation in a two-component nuclear energy system with a closed uranium-plutonium NFC

The authors propose an approach to the calculation of the levelized unit fuel cost (LUFC) of electricity generation for a fast reactor in a two-component nuclear energy system (NES) with regard for plutonium production. The approach is based on taking into account the additional economic effect, which can be achieved through the sale at the market price of the natural uranium released due to the substitution of thermal reactors by fast reactors with MOX fuel based on the plutonium bred in a fast reactor. This requires considering simultaneously the reactor parts of the fuel cycle for fast and thermal reactors. Relationships have been obtained which connect the key neutronic and fuel characteristics with the NPP and fuel cycle economic performance. The described methodology was used for the computational study of the LUFC for a fast sodium-cooled reactor. Calculations have shown that, in the considered case, taking into account the plutonium production leads to the LUFC reduction by nearly half and, therefore, to a major decrease in the total unit cost of electricity generation (levelized cost of electricity or LCOE).

On the formation of the first Soviet industrial service of dosimetric control at the Ural nuclear plants (1945–1960)

The subject of this research is the process of organizing dosimetric service on the example of the Ural nuclear complex, primarily, the most powerful plutonium plant, the pioneer of the domestic nuclear industry – “Mayak” chemical plant in the 1945 – 1960. In the course of development of complex and hazardous for people and nature nuclear technologies, the problems of radiation protection of personnel at the first nuclear facilities became urgent, as most employees have been exposed to radiation. This required a set of emergency measures to create of safe working conditions and organize dosimetric control of nuclear energy workers. Based on the declassified archival documents, a substantial part of which is being introduced into the scientific discourse for the first time, as well as the reminiscences of the Soviet nuclear project participants, the article describes the peculiarities of formation of the first domestic service of industrial dosimetry, and provides periodization of this process. This defines the scientific novelty of the research. The use of historical and genetic method allowed outlining the prerequisites for the creation of the service of dosimetric control of the nuclear energy workers, its conditionality by the specificity of implementation of the Soviet uranium project, and a range of attendant problems. The method of historical periodization determined the key stages in organizing the dosimetric service in the context of establishment of the nuclear industrial complex. The historical-retrospective method allowed assessing the results of the activity of the scholars, leadership of the chemical plant “Mayak”, experts of dosimetric service aimed at solution of the issues related to radiation protection from the standpoint of time distance. The conclusion is made that the first domestic dosimetric service formed during the difficult period of the development of plutonium production in the Ural Region and committed work of its employees considerably contributed to ensuring safety of working conditions and preserving health and lives of thousands of the participants of the crucial for the country nuclear project

Normalization by Other Means—Technological Infrastructure and Political Commitment in the North Korean Nuclear Crisis

The 1994 Agreed Framework called for North Korea to dismantle its plutonium-production complex in exchange for civilian light water reactors (LWRs) and the promise of political normalization with the United States. The accord succeeded at rolling back North Korea's nuclear program, but the regime secretly began enriching uranium when the LWR project fell behind schedule. Today, scholars look back at the Agreed Framework as a U.S. offer of “carrots” to bribe the regime, but this framing overlooks the credibility challenges of normalization and the distinctive technical challenges of building LWRs in North Korea. A combiniation of political and technical analysis reveals how the LWR project helped build credibility for the political changes promised in the Agreed Framework. Under this interpretation, the LWR project created a platform for important breakthroughs in U.S.-North Korean engagement by signaling a U.S. commitment to normalization, but its signaling function was undercut when the United States displaced the costs of LWR construction to its allies. The real challenge of proliferation crisis diplomacy is not to bribe or coerce target states into giving up nuclear weapons, but to credibly signal a U.S. commitment to the long-term political changes needed to make denuclearization possible.

Dissolution-Desorption Dynamics of Strontium During Elution Following Evaporation: pH and Ionic Strength Effects

Radioactive strontium-90 (90Sr2+) is a fission byproduct of uranium and plutonium production, and therefore understanding its environmental fate is of particular importance for predicting the evolution of long-term risk from historical releases. The nonradioactive strontium cation, Sr2+, is a chemical analog for 90Sr2+ that is often used in studies designed to understand the environmental behaviors of 90Sr2+. The focus of this work was on understanding the dynamics of remobilization of strontium following evaporation to dryness in porous media. Evaporation is ubiquitous in the unsaturated zone, and has the potential to significantly impact the dynamics of transport by driving adsorption or precipitation on solid surfaces. For this work, a series of transport experiments were conducted examining the behavior of strontium over a range of pH values, ionic strengths, and concentrations. Saturated transport experiments were conducted, followed by experiments designed to examine the release and transport following evaporation to dryness. Results show increasing saturated retardation with increasing pH, decreasing ionic strength, and decreasing concentration, with the concentration exhibiting the strongest effect. Breakthrough curves at low concentrations were also found to be consistent with significant rate-limited desorption. Remobilization elution curves measured following evaporation to dryness exhibited the high initial effluent concentrations, exceeding the influent strontium concentration, most likely caused by the initial dissolution and accumulation of strontium by the advancing solution. Concentrations at later times were found to be largely consistent with the dynamics of saturated transport for the systems studied.