Accountability
Humans aren't perfect. I understand this. This is exactly why I think nuclear energy is a really bad idea and exactly how a serious nuclear leak can go unnoticed for nearly a year.
At the Sellafield Nuclear Complex in the UK, there is enough plutonium spilled in one chamber of the THORP reprocessing plant to make 20 nuclear bombs. Twenty tons of uranium and plutonium dissolved in nitric acid had been sitting on the floor of a clarification cell from about August 2004 until it was discovered in April 2005. The plant has been closed indefinitely until officials can decide how to clean up the spill and repair the plant.
This particular accident was caused specifically by a fault in the design of the plant. A pipe connected to a tank holding spent fuel ruptured when it was moved one too many times. In order to fill or empty the tank, it must be moved. Apparently the engineers did not consider this process during the design of the plant. Oops.
The leak was discovered when workers at the plant noticed a drop in the level of plutonium and uranium in one of the plant's "accountability" tanks. Seriously. Accountability. For nine months half an Olympic swimming pool of nuclear "liquor" (that is what they call it at this clarification stage) was sitting on the floor, but they actually have a device called an accountability tank. Anyway, so the workers noticed the drop and they checked the cell on a camera. You see, humans can't go into the clarification cells because they're too dangerous. If that's the case, I'm not quite sure how the tank was being moved often enough to rupture the pipe. If anyone knows how this could happen, please let me know. I can't find any information about it.
The clarification cell is essentially a huge stainless steel chamber impervious to the radioactive materials it contains. For this reason, no plant workers were harmed and no waste has escaped the chamber. In this case, the population will be hit in a different way. The recovering and repair process will take months and cost taxpayers upwards of 300 million pounds.
The THORP plant was built in the 1990s for the low, low cost of about $4 billion. The plant doesn't get as many orders as expected because the new nuclear plants that would send it spent fuel to process were never built. Also, the reprocessing orders that the plant does receive are behind schedule because the plant has never run at full capacity. It has been plagued by constant accidents and failures. This newest accident could mean the end of the plant as it is already being sued by customers for being so behind schedule.
So much for nuclear power being safe and cheap, huh? This accident rates a 3 (out of 7) on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Level 3 means it's classified as a "serious incident," but not quite considered a full blown accident. To put it in perspective, Three-Mile Island was a 5 and Chernobyl was a 7.
At the Sellafield Nuclear Complex in the UK, there is enough plutonium spilled in one chamber of the THORP reprocessing plant to make 20 nuclear bombs. Twenty tons of uranium and plutonium dissolved in nitric acid had been sitting on the floor of a clarification cell from about August 2004 until it was discovered in April 2005. The plant has been closed indefinitely until officials can decide how to clean up the spill and repair the plant.
This particular accident was caused specifically by a fault in the design of the plant. A pipe connected to a tank holding spent fuel ruptured when it was moved one too many times. In order to fill or empty the tank, it must be moved. Apparently the engineers did not consider this process during the design of the plant. Oops.
The leak was discovered when workers at the plant noticed a drop in the level of plutonium and uranium in one of the plant's "accountability" tanks. Seriously. Accountability. For nine months half an Olympic swimming pool of nuclear "liquor" (that is what they call it at this clarification stage) was sitting on the floor, but they actually have a device called an accountability tank. Anyway, so the workers noticed the drop and they checked the cell on a camera. You see, humans can't go into the clarification cells because they're too dangerous. If that's the case, I'm not quite sure how the tank was being moved often enough to rupture the pipe. If anyone knows how this could happen, please let me know. I can't find any information about it.
The clarification cell is essentially a huge stainless steel chamber impervious to the radioactive materials it contains. For this reason, no plant workers were harmed and no waste has escaped the chamber. In this case, the population will be hit in a different way. The recovering and repair process will take months and cost taxpayers upwards of 300 million pounds.
The THORP plant was built in the 1990s for the low, low cost of about $4 billion. The plant doesn't get as many orders as expected because the new nuclear plants that would send it spent fuel to process were never built. Also, the reprocessing orders that the plant does receive are behind schedule because the plant has never run at full capacity. It has been plagued by constant accidents and failures. This newest accident could mean the end of the plant as it is already being sued by customers for being so behind schedule.
So much for nuclear power being safe and cheap, huh? This accident rates a 3 (out of 7) on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Level 3 means it's classified as a "serious incident," but not quite considered a full blown accident. To put it in perspective, Three-Mile Island was a 5 and Chernobyl was a 7.
posted by Sara Ch. at 1:41 PM
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