Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 1 Environmental aspects of nuclear energy PhDr. Tomáš Vlček, Ph.D. (Ing. Jiří Martinec, Ph.D.) Environmental aspects of energy Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 Over the next five minutes each of you write pros and cons of nuclear energy in terms of national energy security. 2 Environmental aspects assesment Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 Over the next five minutes each of you write pros and cons of nuclear energy in terms of purely subjective, personnal point of view. 3 Environmental aspects assesment Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 To bridge the conflict between state and industry interests and personal subjective perception of the problem serves the EIA. 4 Environmental aspects assesment Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 What is an environmental aspect ? According to ČSN EN ISO 14001 definition: „The environmental aspect is an element of the activities, products or services that can interact with the environment.“ 5 Environmental aspects assesment Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 ISO 14001 (voluntary norm of the International Organization for Standardization on environmental management, prestige of the company, the norm requires to have an environmental policy and environmental risk assessment) EMAS (Environmental management and audit system developed by EC in 1993, it requires ISO 14001 and other requirements such as the involvement of employees, etc., EMAS is thus perceived as a premium tool for environmental management. As part of this process so called Environmental review takes place - own risk identification, preparation of environmental policy, determining environmental aspects, objectives, programs) 6 Environmental aspects assesment Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 7 Environmental aspects assesment Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 8 Environmental aspects assesment Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 9 Environmental aspects assesment Methodology for assessing the environmental aspects Assessment of the EA is performed using following 4 criteria. Criteria: -compliance with the limits and mandatory requirements -frequency impact -impact associated with the effects on the environment (size, persistence, scale) -impact on society (its economy and image) Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 10 Environmental aspects assesment klasifikace (K) 1 bod 2 body 3 body kritérium č. váha kritéria (V) problém není nebo je malý existuje problém existuje zásadní problém 1. 3 limity a zákony jsou plněny nebo limity a zákony nejsou stanoveny limity a zákony nejsou občas plněny nebo jejich plnění je na hranici limitu limity a zákony nejsou plněny nebo jsou často překračovány 2. 2 výskyt dopadu je minimální a/nebo dopadu lze zabránit výskyt dopadu je častý a/nebo dopadu lze částečně zabránit výskyt dopadu je vysoký a/nebo dopadu nelze zabránit 3. 2 dopad se dá odstranit a/nebo ovlivnění ŽP je minimální a není trvalé a/nebo ovlivnění ŽP je v lokálním měřítku dopad se dá částečně odstranit a/nebo ovlivnění ŽP je velké ale není trvalé a/nebo ovlivnění ŽP je v regionálním měřítku dopad se nedá odstranit a/nebo ovlivnění ŽP je trvalé a/nebo ovlivnění ŽP je v globálním měřítku 4. 1 EA nemá vliv na společnost (neohrožuje ani nezatěžuje její ekonomiku) a/nebo není příčinou stížností a/nebo dopad EA není viditelný EA má vliv na společnost (zatěžuje její ekonomiku) a/nebo ojediněle je příčinou stížností a/nebo dopad je viditelný EA má významný vliv na společnost (významně zatěžuje její ekonomiku) a/nebo v minulosti byly stížnosti a/nebo v lokalitě má společnost špatné jméno Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 11 Environmental aspects assesment EIA (Environmetal Impact Assessment, all projects that could have a negative impact on public health, flora, fauna, ecosystems, soil, air, but also on cultural heritage, natural resources or assets, are within the scope of the assessment according to the law - a list of projects is given in Annex Law) Important EA Over value less equals or higher then 15 (and all rated 3 in criterium 1) Not important EA Over value less than 15 Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 12 Environmental aspects assesment The process is: - announcement to the authorities (Region, ME) - official publication/announcement by the competent authorities - 20-day deadline for comments - screening procedure - documentation - preparing the report (90 days) - Comments (30 days) - the final opinion as a professional basis for related procedures (eg. land, construction) valid for 5 years and with the possibility of extension Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 13 Nuclear energy in general - production of fissile materials - production of electricity in nuclear power plants - release of nuclear energy from the atomic nucleus - chain fission in nuclear fuel - accompanying phenomenon - ionizing radiation Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 14 Mining in the open pit mines: - extraction in open pit mines very similar to coal production - generally the least impact on the environment with respect to other methods of mining - extraction of nuclear fuel is just as harmful as other methods of mining - intervention in the landscape depends on the amount of ore and yield (percentage of) nuclear fuel Production of fissile materials Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 15 Rössing, Namibia Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 16 Brown coal production – chateau Jezeří Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 17 Uranium production – Rožná Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 18 Production of fissile materials Chemical processing of mined ore (Mydlovary MAPE, 20 km from ETE): - leaching with sodium bicarbonate (higher content of carbonates) or sulfuric acid (reduced content of carbonates) - ratio of sulfuric acid up to 560 g of 94% acid per one liter of the leached material - processed 16.7 mil. tonnes of ore, formation of tailing ponds with a total area of 300 ha - 36 mil. tonnes of sludge - heavy metals and radioactive substances Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 19 Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 20 Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 21 Production of fissile materials Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 22 Získávání jaderného palivaUran, alfa zářiče, radon apod. Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 23 Production of fissile materials Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 24 Underground mine in Straz pod Ralskem - 1966-1970 first attempts introducing methods of chemical leaching - until the early 90s leaching fields with a total area of 7 km2 - during the entire period of the chemical extraction of underground injected more than 4 mil. tons of sulfuric acid Production of fissile materials Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 25 Production of fissile materials Underground mine in Straz pod Ralskem - contamination has spread to an area covering about 27 km2 - affected 370 mil. m3 of groundwater - currently the contamination in an amount of 4.9 mil. t of solutes - beginning of restoration Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 26 - restate geological environment to the state that will ensure exploitation of drinking water in the region - dispose of wells and surface facilities - incorporate the surface of extracted fields in ecosystems with regard to regional systems of ecological stability - several stages of redevelopment, estimated cost of 40 billion CZK Restoration – Stráž pod Ralskem (DIAMO) Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 27 Radioactivity - radioactivity (or radioactive decay) is the spontaneous transformation of nuclei unstable nuclides other cores - at the same time it generates ionizing radiation - natural or artificial radioactivity - transmutation - decay of nuclei by decay series and the established principles Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 28 Radioactivity Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 29 Radioactivity - cosmogenic radionuclides: tritium 3H (half-life 12,5 years), carbon 14C (half-life 5730 years) - Primary radionuclides : potassium 40K (half-life 1,26x109 years), thorium 232Th (half-life 1,4x1010 years), uranium 238U (half-life 4,5x109 years), 235U (7x108 years) - Secondary radionuclides: radionuclides of decay series – thorium, uranium, aktinouranium, neptunim Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 30 Sources of radiation Kosmícké zářežní - 14 % Záření z půdy a hornin - 17 % Přírodní radionuklidy v lidském těle - 9 % Lékařství - 11 % Spad z testů jad. zbraní - 0,3 % Jiné - 0,13 % Radon v domech - 49 % Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 31 Radon Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 32 Nuclear energy safety and environmental aspects - the use of nuclear energy is regulated by law - Nuclear safety is not a mere formality, it is an enforceable requirement - All effects are monitored and evaluated - responsibility is transferred to the operator's license holder Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 33 Nuclear safety – deep protection Deep protection = means to achieve the basic objective of safety First barrier: molecular matrix fuel (almost all the fission products resulting from fission are captured in the matrix of the uranium tablets) Second barrier: hermetic fuel cladding (an alloy of zirconium-niobium) Third barrier: the primary circuit pressure limit (resistant to high pressure, temperature, radiation and radiation dynamic conditions of operation) Fourth barrier: hermetic borders of rooms containment (building design protection, resists airplane crash, blast wave, explosion, storm, extreme temperatures, extreme precipitation, etc.) Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 34 Operation of nuclear power plant - nuclear fission - necessary operating conditions - waste production - disposal of spent nuclear fuel All the above can be part of the process or source of ionizing radiation. Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 35 Protection against radiation Distance - ionizing radiation intensity decreases with the square of the distance, ie. after 10 m it is 100 times lower, after 100 m it is 10000 times lower, after 1 km it is a million times lower. Time - the shorter the exposure, the smaller the cumulative dose Shielding - depending on the type of radiation: alpha radiation skin tones, clothing, paper; beta radiation, aluminum sheet; gamma rays concrete, a layer of water, soil; neutron radiation, water, polystyrene, paraffin. Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 36 Protection against radiation Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 37 Protection against radiation Objective of the radiation protection To ensure that during normal operation the radiation exposure inside the device and/or the release of radioactive materials into the environment is as low as reasonably achievable, taking into consideration economic and social factors and prescribed limits and ensure mitigate the extent of exposure to radiation accidents. The principle of ALARA Observe the rules and seek new and better ways of performing work Already applied in the design Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 Příklady expozic ionizujícímu záření včetně limitů platných v ČR Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 Czech Republic - cca 3 mSv/year Iran (Ramsar) - up to 400 mSv/year India (Kerala) - up to 17 mSv/year Brazil (Guarapari) - up to 175 mSv/year Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 40 Protection against radiation Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 41 Porovnání radiačních dávek a účinků Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 42 Chemical effects of radiation Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 43 Effects on human organism Stochastic (random) - few cells damaged, subliminal dose or repeated small doses. - we can only calculate the probability of injury, no injury may in fact occur. - can be detected only by observing a large number of people. Risk of small doses? Scientists still do not match, they can not confirm nor deny it for there is not a sample of people who are not exposed to any radiation at all. No control sample. - It is known that there is a "protective effect" radiation (hormesis) - in places with higher radioactivity there is less incidence of cancer (cells repair any damage). Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 44 Effects on human organism Non-stochastic effects (deterministic) - after a large dose of radiation, many cells, appear in a short time. Examples: local dermatitis Lenticular opacities birth defects fertility Acute radiation sickness Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 45 Protection against outer sources Protection against earthquake Protection from flood and adverse meteorological phenomena Protection against pressure waves from explosions Protection against the effects caused by the fall of the aircraft Protection against the influence of third parties Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 46 Storage Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 47 Storage Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 48 Storage Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 49 Storage Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 50 Storage Fakulta sociálních studií, 10. 05. 2012 51 Storage