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NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 2010 N U C L E A R T E C H N O L O G Y REVIEW 2 0 1 0 International Atomic Energy Agency www.iaea.orgAtoms for Peace International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria Telephone: (+43-1) 2600-0 Fax: Atoms(+43-1) for Peace 2600-7 @ Email: [email protected] 10-13671_NTR_cover_digital.indd 1 2010-09-03 12:58:42 NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 2010 The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GHANA NORWAY ALBANIA GREECE OMAN ALGERIA GUATEMALA PAKISTAN ANGOLA HAITI PALAU ARGENTINA HOLY SEE PANAMA ARMENIA HONDURAS PARAGUAY AUSTRALIA HUNGARY PERU AUSTRIA ICELAND PHILIPPINES AZERBAIJAN INDIA POLAND BAHRAIN INDONESIA PORTUGAL BANGLADESH IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF QATAR BELARUS IRAQ REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BELGIUM IRELAND ROMANIA BELIZE ISRAEL RUSSIAN FEDERATION BENIN ITALY BOLIVIA JAMAICA SAUDI ARABIA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JAPAN SENEGAL BOTSWANA JORDAN SERBIA BRAZIL KAZAKHSTAN SEYCHELLES BULGARIA KENYA SIERRA LEONE BURKINA FASO KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE BURUNDI KUWAIT SLOVAKIA CAMBODIA KYRGYZSTAN SLOVENIA CAMEROON LATVIA SOUTH AFRICA CANADA LEBANON SPAIN CENTRAL AFRICAN LESOTHO SRI LANKA REPUBLIC LIBERIA SUDAN CHAD LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA SWEDEN CHILE LIECHTENSTEIN SWITZERLAND CHINA LITHUANIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LUXEMBOURG TAJIKISTAN CONGO MADAGASCAR THAILAND COSTA RICA MALAWI THE FORMER YUGOSLAV CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALAYSIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CROATIA MALI TUNISIA CUBA MALTA TURKEY CYPRUS MARSHALL ISLANDS UGANDA CZECH REPUBLIC MAURITANIA UKRAINE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OF THE CONGO MEXICO DENMARK MONACO UNITED KINGDOM OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONGOLIA GREAT BRITAIN AND ECUADOR MONTENEGRO NORTHERN IRELAND EGYPT MOROCCO UNITED REPUBLIC EL SALVADOR MOZAMBIQUE OF TANZANIA ERITREA MYANMAR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ESTONIA NAMIBIA URUGUAY ETHIOPIA NEPAL UZBEKISTAN FINLAND NETHERLANDS VENEZUELA FRANCE NEW ZEALAND VIETNAM GABON NICARAGUA YEMEN GEORGIA NIGER ZAMBIA GERMANY NIGERIA ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 2010 INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2010 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 email: [email protected] http://www.iaea.org/books © IAEA, 2010 Printed by the IAEA in Austria September 2010 IAEA/NTR/2010 EDITORIAL NOTE This report does not address questions of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person. Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information contained in this publication, neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from its use. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. 1 A. POWER APPLICATIONS . 5 A.1. Nuclear power today. 5 A.2. Projected growth for nuclear power . 10 A.3. Fuel cycle . 11 A.3.1. Uranium resources and production . 11 A.3.2. Conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication . 13 A.3.3. Back end of the fuel cycle. 15 A.4. Additional factors affecting the growth of nuclear power . 16 A.4.1. Economics. 16 A.4.2. Safety . 18 A.4.3. Human resource development. 19 B. ADVANCED FISSION AND FUSION . 21 B.1. Advanced fission. 21 B.1.1. INPRO and GIF . 21 B.1.2. International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) . 23 B.1.3. Additional development of advanced fission . 23 B.2. Fusion . 23 C. ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR DATA . 24 D. ACCELERATOR AND RESEARCH REACTOR APPLICATIONS . 25 D.1. Accelerators . 25 D.2. Research reactors . 26 E. NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE . 28 E.1. Improving livestock productivity and health . 28 E.2. Insect pest control . 30 E.3. Food quality and safety. 32 E.4. Crop improvement . 33 E.5. Sustainable land and water management . 34 E.5.1. Improving agricultural water management using isotopic methods . 34 E.5.2. Soil organic carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation . 35 F. HUMAN HEALTH . 36 F.1. Combating malnutrition with nuclear techniques. 36 F.2. Hybrid imaging SPECT/CT and PET/CT. 37 F.3. Advances in radiation oncology applications . 39 F.4. Impact of digital technology on radiological X ray imaging . 42 G. ENVIRONMENT . 43 G.1. Nuclear techniques for the quantification of submarine groundwater discharge . 43 G.2. Understanding the carbon cycle: Applying nuclear techniques in assessing particle fluxes from ocean to seafloor . 45 H. WATER RESOURCES . 46 H.1. Fact before act. 47 H.2. Using stable isotopes to understand groundwater availability and quality. 49 I. RADIOISOTOPE PRODUCTION AND RADIATION TECHNOLOGY. 50 I.1. Radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals . 50 I.1.1. Radioisotope products and their availability. 50 I.1.2. Security of supplies of molybdenum-99 . 52 I.2. Radiation technology applications . 53 I.2.1. Electron beam sterilization of aseptic packaging materials and containers . 53 I.2.2. Radiation synthesis of carbon-based nanostructures . 54 ANNEX I: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE FOR CANCER MANAGEMENT: FROM NUCLEAR MEDICINE TO MOLECULAR IMAGING . 57 ANNEX II: REDUCING THE RISK OF TRANSBOUNDARY ANIMAL DISEASES THROUGH NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES . 73 ANNEX III: NUCLEAR AND ISOTOPIC TECHNIQUES FOR MARINE POLLUTION MONITORING . 84 ANNEX IV: DECOMMISSIONING STRATEGIES: STATUS, TRENDS AND ISSUES. 102 ANNEX V: HUMAN RESOURCES FOR NUCLEAR POWER EXPANSION . 122 ANNEX VI: RISING EXPECTATIONS FOR NEW NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAMMES . 140 ANNEX VII: PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY OF MOLYBDENUM-99 . 150 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2009, construction started on 12 new nuclear power reactors, the largest number since 1985, and projections of future nuclear power growth were once again revised upwards. However, only two new reactors were connected to the grid, and, with three reactors retired during the year, the total nuclear power capacity around the world dropped slightly for the second year in a row. Current expansion, as well as near term and long term growth prospects, remain centred in Asia. Ten of the 12 construction starts were in Asia, as were both of the new grid connections. Although the global financial crisis that started in the second half of 2008 did not dampen overall projections for nuclear power, it was cited as a contributing factor in near-term delays or postponements affecting nuclear projects in some regions of the world. In some European countries where previously there were restrictions on the future use of nuclear power, there was a trend towards reconsidering these policies. Interest in starting new nuclear power programmes remained high. Over 60 Member States have expressed to the IAEA interest in considering the introduction of nuclear power, and, in 2009, the IAEA conducted its first Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review missions in Jordan, Indonesia and Vietnam. Estimates of identified conventional uranium resources (at less than $130/kg U) increased slightly, due mainly to increases reported by Australia, Canada and Namibia. Uranium spot prices declined, and final data for 2009 are expected to show a consequent decrease in uranium exploration and development. The Board of Governors has authorized the IAEA Director General to sign an agreement with the Russian Federation to establish an international reserve of low enriched uranium (LEU). It would contain 120 tonnes of LEU that could be made available to a country affected by a non-commercial interruption of its LEU supply. The agreement between the IAEA and the Russian Federation was signed in March 2010. The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) selected Östhammar as the site for a final spent fuel geological repository, following a nearly 20 year selection process. In the USA, the Government decided to terminate its development of a permanent repository for high level waste at Yucca Mountain, while continuing the licensing process. It plans to establish a commission to evaluate alternatives. With respect to nuclear fusion,