Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2016 NuclearPlantJournal.com
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United States, I think we have to close the
fuel cycle. I understand the proliferation
concerns, and those can be addressed
through security and other means.
Further, some of the advanced
reactors currently in development can
help to tackle this challenge. For instance,
TerraPower’s traveling wave reactor
design, for which AREVA is providing
fuel, will use low-enriched uranium as
starter fuel and depleted uranium, a waste
product from the enrichment process,
as its primary fuel. Sodium reactors can
burn mixed oxide fuel.
An important part of closing the
fuel cycle is bringing these innovative
reactor designs into the mix. Then it just
becomes a matter of economics, which
are driven by the efficiency of vendors
and the regulators.
4.
What is the U.S. NRC’s current
approach on regulating the industry?
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is transforming. It is
still staunchly independent, but its staff is
taking a view that independence doesn’t
mean isolationism.
They’re working more with
the industry to come up with more
pragmatic regulation to streamline
the design certification process while
still maintaining the commission’s
rigor in regulating existing and future
technologies.
5.
How do the gas-fired plants affect the
environment?
The full environmental impact of gas-
fired plants hasn’t been fully recognized
yet, but that impact is certainly something
that should be considered. One of the
many benefits of nuclear energy is that
it provides efficient, reliable and round-
the-clock power, and is the United
States’ largest source of emissions-free
generation.
6.
Why are digital upgrades not being
implemented in the U.S., despite their
benefits?
In the United States, three reactor
units led the industry in upgrading to
digital systems and are functioning
very well. Operators report positive
experiences with these systems, which
offer the benefit of removing much of the
potential for human error.
One of the reasons we haven’t seen
more operators pursue a digital upgrade
is that the regulation for these upgrades is
not well defined. In fact, the NRC’s Office
of Nuclear Reactor Regulation and Office
of New Reactors – the existing fleet and
new build reviewers, respectively – don’t
completely agree on what the digital
rules ought to be. The NRC recognizes
this disconnect and is working with the
industry to address it.
Digital upgrades are an important
aspect of extending the operating life of
our existing fleet to 80 years, particularly
because analog systems are becoming
obsolete and increasingly costly to
maintain. In addition to upgrading to
digital systems, we’re working with
operators to complete upgrades by
reverse engineering the old analog cards.
It’s going to take time to transition
entirely to digital, and an important
first step is having clearly defined
regulations. I give the NRC a lot of
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