David Kraft on "Nuclear Energy" Earth Day 2013 at NIU

Earth Day 2013

Nuclear Power on

EarthDay 43

Dave Kraft, Director, NEISwww.neis.org (773)342-7650

Earth Day 1 -- 1970

Richard “IANAC” Nixon, President:

• Establishes EPA, Clean Air & Water Acts• First Earth Day held – organized by Sen.

Gaylord Nelson (WI) and Denis Hayes• Pres. Nixon calls for 1000 reactors by the year

2000…oops

Denis Hayes on EDay-40…

“We’ve been offered a lot of false promises and greenwashing during those years [since the first Earth Day], and we have acquired what Hemingway called the indispensable “crap detector.” Only the most gullible are buying what the nuclear industry is selling.

“The climate clock is ticking…. Let’s not hop from the climate frying pan to the nuclear fire. Let’s not waste more time and money on an outdated nuclear technology that has already flunked the market test.”

-- Denis Hayes is the International Chairman of Earth Day 2010

Some basic info…

437 reactors operating in 31 countries (many different designs) 68 reactors under construction (65 GW

of power) Installed capacity of 372 GW

13% of the world’s electrical output (5.7% of energy, 2012)

15,080 reactor-years of operation to date

Some basic info…U.S. Nuclear reactors: 104 operating reactors (69 PWRs and 35 BWRs)

1 reactor under construction, 1,165 MW; 3 more planned

Installed capacity of 101.5 GW; ~19% of U.S. electricity “demand” 28 reactors closed and/or

decommissioned (20 were commercial power reactors)

U.S. Nuclear reactors:

Nuclear Illinois:

14 reactors11 operating12th in world>8K tons HLRW1 proposed reactorall <27 min. from O’Hare Field

Lawsand

Jurisdictions

Laws and Jurisdictions:

• Title 10CFR -- numerous sections• Safety: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission• Radiation standards: U.S. EPA• The States:– Surface water use – NPDES permitting process– Rate setting – Public Utilities Act– Siting, certificates of necessity – Pub Utils Act– “Agreement states” – with U.S. NRC and states

RecentNuclear

Issues

Radioactive Waste

Radioactive waste classes

• High-level (HLRW)• (intermediate- not in US)• Low-level (LLRW)• Transuranics• NARM/NORM• Mill tailings

35 MCi Cs-137 = 17 times the Cs-137 released from Chernobyl

SPENT FUEL POOL

Dry cask storage

15

Dry Cask Storage Advantages

* passive air circulation

*divides the inventory among robust containers.

Thick-Walled Single Unit Cask

16

Sitting Ducks

Passively Safe? Yes Hardened? No Dispersed? No

17

Spent Fuel Storage made resistant to attack in three ways: passively safe; “hardened”, dispersed…

What is Robust Storage?

Yucca Mt. – what went wrong?

• Failed 2 of 4 IAEA standards for disposal of HLRW

• $9 billion failure• No “plan B” exists

yet• Some Republican Congresspeople want it to open anyway

Centralized Interim Storage

• Recommendation of the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future

• 1 or more “temporary” facilities• Use “dry cask” storage• Draft legislation expected end of April in U.S.

Senate

Reprocessing…?

Nope!

Why not repro?...

UREX, PUREX, PYRO =PROLIFERATION

POLLUTION

Monju breeder, Japan

Rokkasho demonstrations

La Hague, France

…not quite so “green”

Trendsand

Upcoming Issues

Trends and Upcoming Issues…• CIS debate (national, state)• “SMRs” – e.g., HB3324 (national, state)• Renewable Portfolio Standard issue (state)• Decommissioning inadequacies; more reactor

closures• Safety concerns:– GE BWRs with Mk-I and M-II containments– Water use issues, especially during drought– NRC: “Not Really Concerned”– Fukushima – “It ain’t over until it’s over!”

What we recommend…

What we recommend…

• Nuclear power phase-out; immediate closure of Fukushima-type boiling water reactors

• Transition to “carbon-free/nuclear-free” energy mix, based on efficiency, conservation and sustainable renewable energy sources; abandon steam cycle energy systems in response to climate disruption

• Begin removal of sufficiently cooled spent-fuel from wet pools and into hardened onsite storage (HOSS) using full tested drycasks of the type intended for use

• Begin credible, science-based search for a permanent, deep-geologic high-level radioactive waste repository

What we recommend…(continued)

• Begin significant power grid modernization, with emphasis on DC power lines to transfer bulk power over long distances, and safety enhancements to protect against CME events

• Transfer funding and DOE research efforts out of nuclear programs and into efficiency/renewables-related programs; remove nuclear weapons from DOE’s responsibility

In conclusion….

In short…

Nuclear reactors are nothing more than highly specialized, potentially catastrophically dangerous, very expensive tea kettles, using a modernized version of 18th Century technology (the steam cycle) to boil water to make steam.

“What a way to boil water!”

Thank You!What you can do….• Join NEIS today, and support Illinois’ only full-

time nuclear power watchdog group• Take the literature, action cards, etc.; pass

them on to others when you’re done with them;

• Get on our “Action Alert” e-list• Sponsor a house party presentation at your

home, school, library or congregationwww.neis.org neis@neis.org 773-342-7650