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Author Topic: Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium  (Read 2794 times)

Offline zorgon

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Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium
« on: August 31, 2012, 12:37:33 am »
Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium earlier this month spark international inspections


Nuclear power plant of Doel

Quote
As inspectors investigate possible manufacturing shortcomings in the reactor pressure vessel of the No 3 reactor at the Doel Nuclear Power Plant in Belgium – which earlier this month was discovered to have cracks – nuclear safety authorities in other countries are conduction their own test to root out similar flaws. Charles Digges, 30/08-2012

The reactor vessel at the Doel No 3 plant was manufactured by the now-bankrupt Dutch firm Rotterdam Drydock Company, which sold a number of such vessels to a variety of international customers. The discovery of the cracks at Doel’s Unit 3 by the use of a new ultrasound measuring technique, sent a nervous ripple through the international nuclear industry.

Rotterdam Drydock Company had sold 21 reactor vessels to nuclear power plants in the US, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK, according to the Associated Press, though that information was not released until later in the month.

Flaw rates on INES

Quote
The flaws revealed at Doel 3 have provisionally been rated as Level 1 out of seven levels on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES)  – constituting it as an “anomaly.” FANC may change that rating depending on what further inspections reveal.

Some 9 million people live within a 75 kilometer radius of the plant.

The ultrasound technique that discovered the cracks at Doel’s Unit 3 scanned the whole surface of the reactor rather than just around the weld zones. The initial tests were conducted in June.

They showed indications that "could be assimilated to potential cracks," according to World Nuclear News. Additional tests confirmed the presence of these flaws, which are believed to be manufacturing defects in the steel vessel.

The reactor was shut down for further inspections to determine whether the reactor vessel could be salvaged.

Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) said in a statement that: "Numerous flaw indications in the basic steel material of the reactor vessel were detected in late June, in particular in the bottom-most ring," adding that, "these are 'laminar' flaws parallel with the surface of the walls and, as such, theoretically not dangerous, as they are normally not subject to stress."

Is it really a manufacturing flaw?

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Nils Bøhmer, Bellona’s general director and nuclear physicist, was not as quick as the FANC to blame manufacturing defects in the reactor vessel, and predicted that similar problems will begin to appear worldwide due to ageing nuclear reactors, whose average lifespan is about 30 years.

The wear and tear observed in Belgium, said Bøhmer, “is something that comes of neutron radiation from power generation” within the reactor core that is housed by the vessel.

“This will, as reactors get older, cause cracks,” in reactor vessels said Bøhmer.

Another Belgian reactor, Tihange 2 – whose vessel was also produced by Rotterdam Drydock –  was stopped on August for a maintenance outage and will undergo the same examinations as Doel Unit 3.

The FANC on August 16 called a meeting of nuclear safety authorities of the countries that had purchased reactor vessels from Rotterdam Drydock.

FANC director general Willy De Roovere said the purpose of the meeting was "to give information on the situation at Doel 3 and not to make a decision about its future," WNN quoted him as saying. "Furthermore, this international contact made it possible to share expertise on reactor vessel integrity and inspections."

A second meeting of the nuclear safety authorities is planned for October.

International inspections of the Dutch reactor vessels


The station as seen from the opposite bank of the Scheldt.

The meeting has spurred a series of international inspections.

The Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) is analyzing the documentation and the fabrication process of reactor pressure vessels of the Cofrentes and Garoña plants, which were both manufactured by Rotterdam Drydiock.

CSN said that preliminary investigations show that the vessel of the Cofrentes plant is not affected by the same defects found in Belgium as a different manufacturing process was used. Cofrentes’ vessel was reported to show none of the same defects as the Belgian reactor which CSN attributes to a different welding procedure used on that Vessel.

Garoña's vessel was constructed using the same process as that for Doel 3, but CSN has not reported defects similar to those discovered at Doel 3.

The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) has asked that a host of planned inspections of the vessel at the No 2 reactor at its Ringhals plant be increased to monitor for similar manufacturing defects. Sweden purchased that reactor vessel from Rotterdam Drydock in the1970s, WNN said.

Ringhals 2 will commence its annual refueling and maintenance outage on September 15, said SSM in a release. Plant owner Ringhals AB is to present an action plan to SSM by 1 June 2013 should the same defects be discovered.

The French nuclear safety authority, the Autorité De Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), said that checks carried out in France showed that no French vessel presents defects corresponding to those found at Doel 3. Swiss nuclear authorities made a similar announcement, but added they will carry out additional ultrasound tests, said WNN.


Are the Rotterdam Drydocks vessels safe for operation?

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The 1,006 MW Doel No 3 reactor, operated by GDF Suez unit Electrabel, is scheduled to close in 10 years according to the nuclear exit plan the Belgian government adopted in July. A pressurized water reactor, it went into service in 1982.

The suspected fractures at the reactor, 25 kilometers north of Antwerp near the Dutch border, which provides a sixth of Belgium’s nuclear-generated power, do not pose any health and safety threat, said FANC.

GDF Suez unit Electrabel has pushed for putting Doel 3 back online once the issue of the cracks is addressed. This begs the question of whether continues operation of cracked reactor vessels, which may be discovered in the course of the international inspections, is safe.

Bellona’s Bøhmer said that would be ill-advised without a full rehabilitation of the vessels in question.

“Any cracks in a reactor vessel must be taken seriously and lead to a proper rehabilitation of the vessel before the reactor is put back online,” he said.

Rehabilitation would mean, said Bøhmer, repairing the vessels cracks if possible. Another possible route of restoring power generation, he said, would be to place restrictions on how much energy the affected reactors are allowed to generate, thus reducing the possibility of further cracking.

Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium

Offline zorgon

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Re: Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2012, 12:40:22 am »
Thousands of cracks found in Belgian nuclear power plant


Thousands of cracks were found in unit 3 of the Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium (Photo: Inge)


Quote
By Nikolaj Nielsen
 
BRUSSELS - Belgium’s nuclear safety chief, Willy De Roovere, on Thursday (16 August) said there could be thousands of cracks in the reactor vessel of the ageing Doel 3 nuclear reactor situated 25 km outside Antwerp and 3 km from the Dutch border.

The inspector said the cracks are parallel to the surface of the walls and pose no immediate threat but the large number has left him concerned, reports AFP. Repairs, he noted, would be almost impossible.

It is in the reactor vessel that the water of the main primary system flows through the core, where it is heated by the nuclear fuel.

The cracks, which possibly date back to the reactor's construction some 40 years ago, were discovered using ultra-sound during inspections in June and July.

Belgium’s nuclear regulator, the federal agency for nuclear control (FANC), said the reactor is in shutdown mode for inspections and its fuel has been discharged.

The reactor poses no threat to the population, workers or the surrounding environment, stated FANC. The agency says the cracks had only now been discovered because the ultra-sound inspection had never before been carried out.

The announcement follows a meeting in Brussels on Thursday organised by FANC along with nuclear experts from the United States, France, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

"We are considering these flaw indications very seriously and they were the focus of the international meeting of the nuclear safety authorities held today," said the FANC in statement.

Dutch company Droogdok Maatschapij (DRM), which is no longer in business, built the Doel 3 reactor vessel. The company also built another 21 casings for other reactors around the world.

These include another one for Belgium's Tihange 2 reactor, two in The Netherlands, two in Germany, two in Spain, one in Sweden, two in Switzerland, 10 in the United States and one in Argentina, reports Belgium's Le Soir newspaper.

Belgium has since shut down the Doel 3 but aim to reportedly restart the reactor in October. Authorities also aim to shut down its Tihange 2 reactor for one week.

The vessel at Tihange 2 will undergo the same type of inspection in mid-August as the one carried out on Doel 3. Both were constructed by DRM in the 1970s, said the FANC.

"I wish to point out that Doel 3 and Tihange 2 are currently in shutdown mode and as such, there is no danger for the population, the workers and the environment," said Roovere.

Thousands of cracks found in Belgian nuclear power plant

Offline zorgon

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Re: Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2012, 12:44:14 am »
Authorities knew about cracks in nuclear plants
23 August 2012


Quote
"Already in 1979, Doel had cracks," reveals Belgian daily De Morgen. The Flemish-language newspaper is astonished that the reasons leading to the closure of the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 nuclear power plants – cracks in the reactor vessel – were known to the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) at the time they went on line 33 years ago. "Minor errors often happen, in general they are harmless," FANC director Willy De Roovere told the paper, adding that he "doesn't remember very well" the circumstances under which he was induced to give the green light to the plants.

Faced with so much risk to both safety and to energy supply, De Morgen editor-in-chief Wouter Verschelden calls for "the need for thorough and proper monitoring regarding the safety of nuclear plants." He also called for the creation of a new regulatory agency with a "serious director" and for the end of utility company Electrabel's monopoly on Belgian nuclear energy. According to Verschelden, the company "exploits a quasi gold mine at Doel and Tihange" and has no interest in changing a situation which, from its point of view, "nears perfection".

Authorities knew about cracks in nuclear plants

Belgium Shuts Down Nuclear Reactor Over Suspected Vessel Cracking
Wed, 08/29/2012 - 23:31 From Bellona:


Quote
    The reactor vessel is one of the most important safety elements, both holding hot water under pressure and preventing the escape of radionuclides into the environment. Theoretically, should Dael No 3’s vessel be damaged, a cement barrier surrounding it would prevent further spread of radionuclides. (Lampert emphasis)

    Possible problems with the vessel were first suspected by FANC in June, it said on its website statement. The agency has also promised to publicize a dossier of its data confirming that the cracks “do not threaten the structural integrity of the reactor vessel,” suggesting that the regulator is attempting to justify the reactor’s further use.

Belgium Shuts Down Nuclear Reactor Over Suspected Vessel Cracking

Offline robomont

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Re: Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2012, 04:52:04 am »
not a big fan of nuke power,
more a natural gas kinda guy.
doesnt surprise me about the steel coming apart,radiation can do some weird stuff.
i wish there was a way to watch china syndrome first hand ,up close.
the idea of something melting a hole in the ground ,all the way to the core,awesome.

if i sound a little negative this morn ,its because of a show i saw on pbs about a gov snitch named brandon darby.
ive never been much for rules.
being me has its priviledges.

Dumbledore

Offline SarK0Y

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Re: Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium
« Reply #4 on: September 04, 2012, 07:32:01 pm »
not a big fan of nuke power,
more a natural gas kinda guy.
doesnt surprise me about the steel coming apart,radiation can do some weird stuff.
i wish there was a way to watch china syndrome first hand ,up close.
the idea of something melting a hole in the ground ,all the way to the core,awesome.

if i sound a little negative this morn ,its because of a show i saw on pbs about a gov snitch named brandon darby.
Nuclear Industry isn't a mess, the real mess always been idiots out the.
I do What Me'n'Universum  want :-)

 


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