The world has not seen nuclear energy quite the same ever since the earthquake and tsunami disaster struck Japan. Since then Japan has been fighting to reduce nuclear radiation exposure and the rest of the world has been fighting to determine whether their own nuclear programs will continue. Switzerland recently announced that their program would end by 2034. Germany also announced the end of their nuclear program by the year 2022.
The events which transpired in Japan caused the United States to look closer at their nuclear program as well. Many plants are situated in areas capable of earthquakes and are older models. The U.S. has not built a new nuclear reactor since 1979. However, that may change after a recent approval for a new reactor design.
The AP1000 from the Westinghouse Electric Co. was recently approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for use in the U.S.. Four such models are currently being built in China and now the U.S. may begin employing the model, likely making this type of reactor the first built in over thirty years. Utilities in the states of Georgia and South Carolina have already approached the government for approval for building four total AP1000s.
The new design was highly touted by the NRC as the chairman, Gregory Jaczko, stated: “The design provides enhanced safety margins through use of simplified, inherent, passive, or other innovative safety and security functions, and also has been assessed to ensure it could withstand damage from an aircraft impact without significant release of radioactive materials” An aircraft impact being a concern since the Word Trade Center attacks in 2001.
Design aspects which won the approval of the NRC include less pumps and other such reactor features. Instead of a traditional reactor method for dealing with cooling, which relies on pumps to keep the fuel cool, the AP1000 uses gravity and al large water tank placed upon the top of the reactor in order to cool the fuel. Overall, there is eighty-five percent less cables, fifty percent less valves, thirty-five percent less pumps and eighty percent less piping in the reactor design versus traditional.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, however, voiced some concerns regarding the new nuclear reactor design. For one, the group is concerned about the lack of real-world testing of the reactor. In addition, the group stated that the AP1000 has “less robust containment systems, less redundancy in safety systems, and fewer safety-grade structures, systems, and components.
