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12 March 2021
Weekly Digest
Construction start for third new reactor in Turkey
Three years after construction started on the initial unit, first concrete has been poured for the third of four Russian VVER-1200 reactors at Akkuyu. The complete power station will provide 4800 MWe capacity and supply up to 37 TWh per year – about one tenth of Turkey’s anticipated needs. The onsite workforce of 8000 is mainly Turkish, and the first 186 graduates in nuclear engineering and related disciplines have returned after 6.5 years study in Russian universities. This is a Russian build-own-operate project with offtake agreements.

Russia is now building nine large reactors in five export countries. Twelve more are under contract.
WNN 10/3/19.   Turkey
 
Tenth anniversary of Fukushima accident
The strongest earthquake ever recorded in Japan ten years ago caused a tsunami which resulted in the meltdown of three operating reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and the release of much airborne radioactive material. While the reactors shut down automatically from the earthquake, the tsunami about an hour later disabled their cooling which was required to remove decay heat from the fuel. Following hydrogen explosions, failure of containment resulted in radioactive material – mainly iodine and caesium – being released and carried downwind. The iodine rapidly decayed to innocuous levels, while some contamination from caesium remains.
 
Some 20,000 people were killed by the tsunami, but there were no deaths or serious ill effects from the radioactivity. However, the precautionary evacuation of many people up to 20 km downwind was prolonged indefinitely by the government (instead of for a couple of weeks) and resulted in over two thousand deaths, according to official figures. The UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) has published an updated report of the accident, confirming its 2013 view that “future health effects directly related to radiation exposure are unlikely to be discernible.”
 
The March edition of the IAEA Bulletin covers safety issues focused on Fukushima lessons.
WNN 9/31/20.  Fukushima accident, Effects of nuclear accidents
 
German government agrees compensation for nuclear phaseout
The German government has reached an agreement with EOn, EnBW, RWE and Vattenfall on compensation for the forced premature closure of their nuclear power reactors. The utilities are set to receive a total of almost EUR 2.5 billion ($3.0 billion) in compensation after agreeing to drop all legal actions against the government related to the nuclear phaseout. The final regulation related to the compensation will be made into law by the end of this year.
 
In August 2011 legislation came into effect to close down eight reactors immediately and the rest by the end of 2022, despite these being among the best and safest reactors in the world. At that stage Germany was obtaining around a quarter of its electricity from 17 nuclear reactors operated by the four utilities. Since then, legal engagement has pursued proper compensation both for loss of electricity sales (paying off the plants) and for fresh investments made to extend the lives of plants just before the phaseout decision.
WNN 5/3/21.  Germany, Energiewende
 


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