Nuclear power in Bangladesh

Perspective and Challenges for Nuclear Power in Bangladesh

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering

By Md. Sabrul Jamil

07108049

Tanzir Naz Chowdhury

08208048

Rezwan Islam

08208051

Supervised by

Jubair Sieed Assistant Professor Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Asia Pacific.

Dhaka -1209, Bangladesh April, 2013 I

Deceleration This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Perspective and Challenges for Nuclear Power in Bangladesh” submitted by us to The Department of EEE of University of Asia Pacific, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1209 for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering is a record of research work carried out by us. The content of this thesis, in full or in parts, has not been submitted to any other Institute or University for the award of any degree.

Name of the Authors

Student ID

Md. Sabrul Jamil

07108049

Tanzir Naz Chowdhury

08208048

Rezwan Islam

08208051

Signature

Supervised by

Jubair Sieed Assistant Professor Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Asia Pacific.

Dhaka -1209, Bangladesh

II

Acceptance

The undersigned certifies that he has gone through the Thesis entitles “Perspective and Challenges for Nuclear Power in Bangladesh” and recommends for acceptance of this in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Supervisor:

Jubair Sieed Assistant Professor Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Asia Pacific.

Dhaka -1209, Bangladesh

III

Acknowledgement

We would like to take the opportunity to express our deep and heartiest gratitude to Mr. Jubair Sieed, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Asia Pacific, for his adequate help and guidance during the completion of the Thesis. Without his supervision it would be impossible to complete such a complex research. This Thesis made us learn a lot during the work.

Our special thanks to Professor Dr. Sekendar Ali, Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Asia Pacific. We are grateful to all teachers of the EEE department of UAP for help and encouragement. We are really grateful to our thesis supervisor for providing us with the necessary information regarding this Thesis.

The Authors

IV

Abstract

Bangladesh, one of the populous countries in Asia who is suffers from energy shortages. Years of under-investment, lack of maintenance and perpetual resource supply problems have elevated the situation to crisis levels. National policy makers have consequently expressed an interest in nuclear power as a source of stable electricity.

Bangladesh's energy infrastructure is quite small, insufficient and poorly managed. The per capita energy consumption in Bangladesh is one of the lowest in the world. Non commercial energy sources, such as wood fuel, animal waste, and crop residues, are estimated to account for over half of the country's energy consumption. Bangladesh has small reserves of oil and coal, but very large natural gas resources. Commercial energy consumption is mostly natural gas (around 66%), followed by oil, hydropower and coal.

Nuclear power is desirable in Bangladesh, due to its underdeveloped and mismanaged energy infrastructure. Nuclear powers are much more rigorous than of other kinds of energy production. Moreover, Nuclear power is a unique source of energy for power production. It is also assume to have a wide application in hydrogen production. However, the future Nuclear power must be safe, much more efficient and no producing radioactive waste. In this thesis we figure out the Perspective and Challenges for Nuclear Power in Bangladesh.

1

Table of Contents Chapter

Title

Page No.

Chapter

1

Introduction

3

Chapter

2

History of Nuclear Power

10

2.1

Introduction to nuclear physics and nuclear fission

10

2.2

1st Nuclear Power (Atom Bomb)

13

2.3

History Accident’s in Nuclear Power

14

2.3.1

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

14

2.3.2

Chernobyl disaster

16

2.3.3

Three Mile Island accident

18

History of Bangladesh in Nuclear

20

2.4 Chapter

3

Technology of Nuclear Power

3.1

Fission/Fusion

23

3.2

Nuclear Reactor

27

3.2.1

Generation I

27

3.2.2

Generation II

28

3.2.3

Generation III

29

3.2.4

Generation III+

31

3.2.5

Generation IV

33

Nuclear Fuel Management

34

3.3.1

Fundamental conception

35

3.3.2

Mining

37

3.3.3

Milling

37

3.3.4

Uranium conversion

38

3.3.5

Enrichment

39

3.3.5

Transport of radioactive materials

40

3.3.6

Nature and significance of radioactive waste

42

3.3.7

The way of producing radioactive waste from

43

3.3

Nuclear Power Plant 3.3.8

Fuel composition and long term radioactivity 2

43

Chapter

3.3.9

Classification of radioactive waste

44

3.3.10

Prevention of waste

46

3.3.11

Initial treatment of waste

47

3.3.12

National management plans

53

3.3.13

Illegal dumping

53

3.3.14

Accidents involving radioactive waste

54

Bangladesh Challenges

55

Estimated available energy

55

1.1.1

Energy Statistics

56

4.1.2

Energy Policy

56

4.1.3

Strategic Goals

58

4.1.4

Perspective Energy Plan of Present Government

62

4.1.5

Role of indigenous fuel in power generation

62

4.1.6

Energy Mix

63

4.1.7

Options of fuel-mix for power generation

64

4.1.8

Structure of electric power sector

64

Waste Management

69

Present status of nuclear power program of

75

4 4.1

4.2 4.2.1

Bangladesh 4.2.2

Present Status of Rooppur Nuclear Power Project

75

4.2.3

INIR Mission

76

Radiation Protection

78

4.3.1

The need for an integrated approach to planning

79

4.3.2

Bangladesh Nuclear Power Action Plan

79

Grid Adaptability

81

4.4.1

Project funding

82

4.4.2

Electric grid development

82

4.4.3

Site selection

84

4.4.4

Organizations involved in construction of NPPs

85

4.5

Fuel cycle including waste management

87

4.6

Research and development

90

4.3

4.4

3

Chapter

4.6.1

R&D organizations

90

4.6.2

International Co-operation and Initiatives

92

4.6.3

Human resources development

93

4.6.4

Stakeholder communication

94

4.6.5

Information to the public

94

Conclusion

96

Appendix [Acronyms]

97

References

98

List of Figures

105

List of Tables

106

5

4

Chapter 1: Introduction

The use of nuclear energy for electricity generation began in the late 1950s and grew strongly until 1990. Although its growth since then has been much slower, it is today a major source of energy, supplying about 14% of the world’s electricity, and 21% of the electricity in OECD countries. Rising concerns in recent years about carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel burning and about security of energy supplies have led to renewed interest in expanding its use, either through power upgrades and life-extension of existing plants or through new build. The accident that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan in March 2011 has however clouded the prospects for the “nuclear renaissance” which many had anticipated. Some countries have subsequently reconsidered their nuclear energy policy, opting for a nuclear phase-out or choosing not to introduce nuclear power in their energy mix. However, while some others are still reassessing their nuclear energy policy, a large number have reaffirmed their intention to build nuclear power plants. In the long term, the fundamental reasons for having nuclear energy in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, competitiveness of electricity production and security of supply still apply, and overall capacity is still expected to grow in the coming years to match rising electricity demands while moving to low -carbon energy sources.

The production of electricity using nuclear energy was first demonstrated in the early 1950s, and the first large-scale nuclear power plants entered operation before 1960.

The first countries to employ this new energy source for power generation were the ex USSR (1954), the United Kingdom (1956), the United States (1957) and France (1963).

Several others followed in the early 1960s, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and Sweden.

5

 Obninsk APS-1, Russia 1954.

Shippingport,  United States 1956.

Figure: 1.1 First nuclear power plants in the world

Table 1.1: Nuclear generating capacity in operation and under Construction (end 2011) In operation

Under construction

No. of

Capacity

No. of

Capacity

reactors

(MW)

reactors

(MW)

Argentina

2

935

1

692

Armenia

1

375

—

—

Belgium

7

5 927

—

—

Brazil

2

1 884

1

1 245

Bulgaria

2

1 906

—

—

Canada

18

12 604

—

—

China

16

11816

26

26620

Chinese Taipei

6

5018

2

2 600

Czech Republic

6

3766

—

—

Finland

4

2 736

1

1600

France

58

63 130

1

1600

Germany

9

12 068

—

—

Hungary

4

1 889

—

—

India

20

4 391

7

4824

6

Iran

1

915

0

0

Japan

50

44 215

2

2650

Mexico

2

1 300

—

—

Netherlands

1

482

—

—

Pakistan

3

725

2

630

Republic of Korea

21

18 751

5

5560

Romania

2

1300

—

—

Russian Federation

33

23643

10

8188

Slovak Republic

4

1816

2

782

Slovenia

1

688

—

—

South Africa

2

1830

—

—

Spain

8

7 567

—

—

Sweden

10

9 326

—

—

Switzerland

5

3 263

—

—

Ukraine

15

13 107

2

1900

United Kingdom

18

9953

—

—

United States

104

101465

1

1165

Total

435

368791

63

60056

Source: IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).

The oil crises of the 1970s led to a surge in nuclear power plant orders and construction. However, an economic downturn and declining fossil fuel prices curtailed the growth in nuclear plant orders by the end of the 1970s. In addition, the accidents at Three Mile Island in the United States (1979) and Chernoby in Ukraine (1986) raised serious questions in the public mind about nuclear safety.

The overall effect was a significant slowing of nuclear energy’s growth after the late 1980s (see Figure 1.2). Only a few countries (notably China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) continued with reactor construction during the 1990s and early 2000s. More recently the pace of construction of new plants increased with the launch of projects in Europe, India, Japan, the Middle East, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and 7

especially China but it is too early to say how this upturn will be affected by the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

Figure 1.2: Worldwide nuclear generating capacity and number of operating reactors (1965-2011) Source: IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).

At the end of 2011, 435 power reactors were in operation in 30 countries with a combined capacity of about 369 Gigawatts (GW) of electricity,1 providing over 2 500 TWh (or 2.5 trillion kWh) annually (see Table 1.1 and Figure 1.3). Nuclear energ y supplies about 6% of the world’s total primary energy and about 14% of all electricity (see Figures 1.4 and 1.5). Over 80% of all nuclear generation occurs in OECD countries, in which it provides about 21% of the overall electricity supply and represents the largest low-carbon energy source.

Since 1990, there has been a significant improvement in nuclear plant performance as measured by the energy availability factor (the percentage of the time that plants are available to produce electricity) (see Figure 1.6). Over the same period, nuclear plants in several countries have had their licensed power output increased as a result of technical upgrades. These factors have led to increased production of nuclear electricity, even though the number of operating reactors has increased only slightly.

8

Figures 1.4 and 1.5 also show the high degree of reliance on fossil fuels to supply primary energy and electricity. The carbon dioxide (CO2) produced as a result of electricity generation from fossil fuels is one of the main contributors to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that could lead to detrimental changes in the global climate. This has led many OECD countries to aim to largely “decarbonise” their electricity supply within the next few decades, as part of their overall strategy to drastically cut CO2 emissions. Some non-OECD countries are also aiming to at least curb the growth in their emissions.

Figure 1.3: Share of nuclear power in total electricity (2011) Source: IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).

9

Figure 1.4: World primary energy demand (2009) Source: IEA, Key World Energy Statistics, 2011.

Figure 1.5: World electricity generation (2009) Source: IEA, Electricity Information, 2011.

10

Figure 1.6: Worldwide nuclear power plant energy availability factor (19902010) Source: IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS)

Nuclear energy and hydropower are the only two major established base-load lowcarbon energy sources. Efforts to reduce CO2 emissions are thus a major factor in the renewed interest in nuclear energy that has become apparent in recent years. Concern over security of energy supplies, arising from the concentration of oil and natural gas resources among relatively few suppliers, is also a consideration in some countries’ energy policies that can be partly addressed through nuclear energy.

Worldwide, 63 reactors were under construction in 14 countries at the end of 2011; these should add over 60 GW to capacity in the next few years (of those 63 reactors, 7 were started before 1988 and had their construction halted or delayed for several reasons.

Construction has now resumed for all but 1 – so overall 62 reactors can be considered as being actively constructed). This represents a significant upturn in construction activity 11

compared to five years earlier, when only 26 units were under construction with a capacity of about 20 GW. In 2010 alone, 16 new construction starts were announced. In 2011, however, only 4 new construction projects were launched.

The trend that was observed until 2010 is likely to slow down in the coming years to allow lessons learnt from the Fukushima Daiichi accident to be fully assessed in terms of reactor design, siting and licensing, but nuclear capacity is then expected to grow more strongly from around 2015. Much of the present construction activity is in China, with 26 units now under construction. The Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation also each have several units under construction.

In the next few years, several other established nuclear countries are expected to start building additional capacity. The Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation will continue their nuclear expansion, and India is planning to step up the pace of its nuclear program. New construction is underway at 2 sites in the United States after a 30 -year hiatus, and the United Kingdom is planning for 4 new units initially with more possibly to follow. Finland and France, with one unit each under construction, are both planning at least a further unit. The Czech Republic has announced ambitious plans to increase its nuclear capacity, in part to fill the electricity-generation gap resulting from Germany’s nuclear phase-out plans. Lithuania has launched a project to construct a new reactor to be in operation in 2020 to partially replace the two Russian design units at Ignalina which were shut down at the end of 2004 and 2009 respectively.

Of countries with no existing nuclear capacity, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have already placed orders for nuclear units to be built in the next few years.

Poland is preparing to develop nuclear capacity in the next decade. Many other countri es (e.g. Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Vietnam) are considering launching nuclear programs but most are at an earlier stage in the process of policy debate, planning, preparation and infrastructure development.

Despite its status as a mature energy source and the advantages it provides in terms of low carbon emissions, competitiveness of electricity generation and security of supply, nuclear energy continues to be the object of strong public and political concerns in many countries. Many factors contribute to this, including concerns about safety (especially in 12

the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident), but also its technical complexity, the need for long-term management and disposal of nuclear waste, the complicated regulatory and legal requirements, and the large-scale investments required to build nuclear power plants. Understanding these issues is important for understanding the potential of nuclear energy today.

13

Chapter 2: History of Nuclear Power

Nuclear fission is a process by which certain heavy atomic nuclei split into two, most often after collision with a neutron. The process produces heat and also releases neutrons; these neutrons can go on to cause further fissions, allowing a chain reaction to be sustained. Fission is the basic reaction that underlies our use of nuclear energy.

Nuclear reactors create and control fission reactions to produce heat for electricity generation or other purposes. There are several types of reactors in commercial operation, the most common of which are the pressurised water reactor (PWR) and the boiling water reactor (BWR). They are principally fuelled with uranium, extracted from the mining of mineral deposits.

Nuclear fusion is another type of nuclear reaction in which the nuclei of lig ht elements are fused together under extreme temperatures and pressures, also producing heat and neutrons. This is essentially the same process that fuels the Sun and other stars.

Research and development aimed at achieving controlled fusion has been pursu ed for many years, but any commercial fusion energy system is at least several decades away.

2.1 Introduction to nuclear physics and nuclear fission All atomic nuclei are made up of a combination of the sub-atomic particles protons and neutrons (except that of hydrogen, which comprises a single proton). Protons have a positive electrical charge, and their number in a nucleus is characteristic of each element. For example, the nucleus of a carbon atom always has six protons, that of oxygen eight. Neutrons have no electrical charge and their number in a nucleus can vary, meaning that more than one variety (or isotope) of nucleus can exist for a single element. For example, carbon nuclei can have six, seven or eight neutrons (together with the six protons).

14

These isotopes are known as carbon-12 (12C), carbon-13 (13C) and carbon-14 (14C) (the number indicating the total number of protons and neutrons combined). The heaviest element found in nature, uranium, is more than 99% comprised of the isotope uranium-238 (238U), which contains 92 protons and 146 neutrons. Some isotopes are stable while others undergo radioactive decay, emitting a nuclear particle and/or electromagnetic radiation. Each radioactive isotope has a characteristic half -life which is the time it takes for half its nuclei to decay. Half-lives can range from fractions of a second to many millions of years. Only stable and very long-lived isotopes are found in nature, but many other (mainly short-lived) isotopes can be produced artificially as a result of nuclear reactions in a reactor or accelerator. Several artificial elements (heavier than uranium) can also be produced, including plutonium. Certain isotopes of naturally occurring and artificial heavy elements, for example uranium and plutonium, can undergo a nuclear reaction known as fission. When such a nucleus is impacted by a neutron it can split into two fragments (known as fission products), releasing at the same time two or three free neutrons and some energy (see Figure 2.1). This is the basic reaction underlying the use of nuclear energy. Current nuclear reactors are based on the fission of uranium 235 (235U),an isotope that comprises 0.71% of uranium found in nature.

Figure 2.1: A typical fission reaction 15

total mass of the products of the reaction (fission products and neutrons) is minutely less than the original mass of the nucleus and impacting neutron, the difference having been converted verted into energy according to Einstein’s famous formula E = mc2. Most of this energy is carried by the fission products in the form of kinetic energy (energy due to their motion). As the fission products collide with nearby atoms they quickly lose most of their kinetic energy, which is converted into heat. In a nuclear power plant this heat is used to generate electricity. When one of the free neutrons released as a result of fission impacts another suitable nucleus,it can cause a further fission, releasing more neutrons and energy. Alternatively, free neutrons may bounce off a nucleus (scattering) , escape from the reactor without interaction (leakage), or be absorbed into a nucleus without causing fission (capture). The fuel and other materials in a nuclear reactor are arranged to produce a self-sustaining chain reaction, where on average just one of the neutrons released by each fission goes on to cause a further fission. At that point the reactor is said to have reached criticality. The critical mass is the minimum amount of fissionable material for a given set of conditions needed to maintain a chain reaction.

Neutrons with low kinetic energy are known as thermal neutrons; these are the most efficient in causing fission in uranium and plutonium. Fast neutrons have many millions of times more kinetic energy than thermal neutrons. All free neutrons produced by a fission reaction are initially fast neutrons. In current nuclear power plants, a material known as a moderator (often ordinary water) is used to slow the fast neutrons released during fission to the thermal energies needed for fission.

16

60

75

90

105

120

135

150

165

Figure 2.2: Fission product yield for thermal fission of 235U

However, although fast neutrons are less efficient than thermal neutrons in producing fission in certain isotopes, they can be effective in fissioning a wider range of isotopes. A “fast reactor” is one that contains no moderator and is based on fission caused by fast neutrons. Several countries have built and operated prototype and demonstration fast reactors. When the nucleus of an atom captures a neutron and does not fission, it may become less stable and change into another element as a result of radioactive decay. In a nuclear reactor, this results in the creation of isotopes of long-lived artificial elements, including neptunium-237 (237Np) (halflife 2.1 million years), plutonium-239 (239Pu) (24 000 years) and americium-243 (243Am) (7 400 years).All these isotopes are radioactive, and some – particularly plutonium – can be used as nuclear fuel. Because of their long half-lives and toxicity they are another important component of high-level nuclear waste, and are the reason why such waste must be isolated for very long periods.

Nuclear fission is an extremely potent source of energy with a very high energy density, i.e. energy produced per unit mass of fuel. Compared to chemical reactions such as combustion of fossil fuels, fission requires a much smaller volume of fuel material to 17

produce an equivalent amount of energy. The energy released from 1 kilogram of natural uranium used to fuel a typical light water reactor (LWR) is equivalent to that r eleased by burning about 45 000 kg of wood, 22 000 kg of coal, 15 000 kg of oil or 14 000 kg of liquefied natural gas.

2.2 1st Nuclear Power (Atom Bomb) The first atomic bombs were developed by the Manhattan Project. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. Two types of atomic bomb were developed during the war. A relatively simple gun-type fission weapon was made using uranium-235, an isotope that makes up only 0.7 percent of natural uranium. Since it is chemically identical to the most common isotope, uranium-238, and has almost the same mass, it proved difficult to separate. Three methods were employed for uranium enrichment: electromagnetic, gaseous and thermal. Most of this work was performed at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In parallel with the work on uranium was an effort to produce plutonium. Reactors were constructed at Oak Ridge and Hanford, Washington, in which uranium was irradiated and transmuted into plutonium. The plutonium was then chemically separated from the uranium. The gun-type design proved impractical to use with plutonium so a more complex implosion-type weapon was developed in a concerted design and construction effort at the project's principal research and design laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

18

Fig 2.3: The first nuclear bomb and the Trinity explosion, 16 ms after detonation.

The Manhattan Project operated under a blanket of tight security, but Soviet atomic spies still penetrated the program. It was also charged with gathering intell igence on the German nuclear energy project.

Through Operation Alsos, Manhattan Project personnel served in Europe, sometimes behind enemy lines, where they gathered nuclear materials and documents, and rounded up German scientists.

The first nuclear device ever detonated was an implosion-type bomb at the Trinity test, conducted at New Mexico's Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range on 16 July 1945.

Little Boy, a gun-type weapon, and the implosion-type Fat Man were used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. In the immediate postwar years the Manhattan Project conducted weapons testing at Bikini Atoll as part of Operation Crossroads, developed new weapons, promoted the development of the network of national laboratories, supported medical research into radiology and laid the foundations for the nuclear navy.

19

2.3 History Accident’s in Nuclear Power 2.3.1 The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011.[5][6] It is the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and only the second disaster (along with Chernobyl) to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.[7]

Fig 2.4: Simplified cross-section sketch of a typical light water, boiling water reactors 20

The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric (GE) and maintained by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

At the time of the quake, Reactor 4 had been de-fueled while 5 and 6 were in cold shutdown for planned maintenance.[8] Immediately after the earthquake, the remaining reactors 1–3 shut down automatically and emergency generators came online to power electronics and c oolant systems. However, the tsunami following the earthquake quickly flooded the low -lying rooms in which the emergency generators were housed. The flooded generators failed, cutting power to the critical pumps that must continuously circulate coolant water through a nuclear reactor for several days in order to keep it from melting down after being shut down.

As the pumps stopped, the reactors overheated due to the normal high radioactive decay heat produced in the first few days after nuclear reactor shutdown (smaller amounts of this heat normally continue to be released for years, but are not enough to cause fuel melting).

At this point, only prompt flooding of the reactors with seawater could have cooled the reactors quickly enough to prevent meltdown. Salt water flooding was delayed because it would ruin the costly reactors permanently. Flooding with seawater was finally commenced only after the government ordered that seawater be used and at this point it was already too late to prevent meltdown.[9] As the water boiled away in the reactors and the water levels in the fuel rod pools dropped, the reactor fuel rods began to overheat severely and melt down. In the hours and days that followed, Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced full meltdown.[10][11] In the high heat and pressure of the reactors, a reaction between the nuclear fuel metal cladding, and the water surrounding them, produced explosive hydrogen gas. As workers struggled to cool and shut down the reactors, several hydrogen-air chemical explosions occurred.[12][13] It is estimated that the hot cladding-water reaction in each reactor produced 800 to 1000 kilograms of hydrogen gas, which was vented out of the reactor pressure vessel, and mixed with the ambient air, eventually reaching explosive 21

concentration limits in units 1 and 3, and due to piping connections between unit 3 and 4, unit 4 also filled with hydrogen, with the hydrogen-air explosions occurring at the top of each unit, that is in their upper secondary containment building.[14][15] Concerns about the atmospheric venting of radioactive gasses led to a 20 km (12 mi)-radius evacuation around the plant. During the early days of the accident, workers were temporarily evacuated at various times for radiation safety reasons. The earthquake damage and flooding in the wake of the tsunami hindered external assistance. Electrical power was slowly restored for some of the reactors, allowing for automated cooling.[16] Measurements taken by the Japanese government 30–50 km from the plant showed caesium-137 levels high enough to cause concern,[17] leading the government to ban the sale of food grown in the area. Tokyo officials temporarily recommended that tap water should not be used to prepare food for infants.[18][19] In May 2012, TEPCO reported that in the first three weeks of the 2011 incident at least 900 PBq had been released into the atmosphere, which is an amount roughly equivalent a sixth (17%) of the total release following Chernobyl.[20][21] However, as of April 2013 radiation is still leaking from the facility.[22]

2.3.2Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially Ukrainian SSR), which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe.

The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011).[23] The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles.[2 4]

22

The official Soviet casualty count of 31 deaths has been disputed, and long -term effects such as cancers and deformities are still being accounted for.

Fig 2.5: A model of the Chernobyl reactor after the lid of the reactor chamber blew off.

On 26 April 1986, at 01:23 (UTC+3), reactor four suffered a catastrophic power increase, leading to explosions in its core. This dispersed large quantities o f radioactive fuel and core materials into the atmosphere [25] and ignited the combustible graphite moderator.

The burning graphite moderator increased the emission of radioactive particles, carried by the smoke, as the reactor had not been encased by any kind of hard containment vessel. The accident occurred during an experiment scheduled to test a potential safety emergency core cooling feature, which took place during a normal shutdown procedure.

23

Table2.1: Areas of Europe contaminated 37–185 k Bq/m2

185–555 kBq/m2 555–1480 kBq/m2

>1480 kBq/m2

Country km2 % of country km2 % of country km2 % of country km2 % of country Belarus

29,900 14.4

10,200 4.9

4,200 2.0

2,200 1.1

Ukraine

37,200 6.2

3,200 0.53

900

0.15

600

0.1

Russia

49,800 0.29

5,700 0.03

2,100 0.01

300

0.002

Sweden

12,000 2.7

—

—

—

—

—

—

Finland

11,500 3.4

—

—

—

—

—

—

Austria

8,600 10.3

—

—

—

—

—

—

Norway

5,200 1.3

—

—

—

—

—

—

Bulgaria

4,800 4.3

—

—

—

—

—

—

Switzerland 1,300 3.1

—

—

—

—

—

—

Greece

1,200 0.91

—

—

—

—

—

—

Slovenia

300

1.5

—

—

—

—

—

—

Italy

300

0.1

—

—

—

—

—

—

Moldova

60

0.2

—

—

—

—

—

—

Totals

162,160 km2

19,100 km2

7,200 km2

3,100 km2

Four hundred times more radioactive material was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The disaster released 1/100 to 1/1000 of the total amount of radioactivity released by nuclear weapons testing during the

1950s and

1960s.Approximately 100,000 km² of land was significantly contaminated with fallout, the worst hit regions being in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.[84] Slighter levels of contamination were detected over all of Europe except for the Iberian Peninsula.

The initial evidence that a major release of radioactive material was affecting other countries came not from Soviet sources, but from Sweden, where on the morning of 28 24

April workers at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant(approximately 1,100 km (680 mi) from the Chernobyl site) were found to have radioactive particles on their clothes

2.3.3 Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown which occurred in one of the two United States Three Mile Island nuclear r eactors in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1979. It was the worst accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history.[26] The partial meltdown resulted in the release of small amounts of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the env ironment.

Epidemiology studies have not linked a single cancer with the accident.

The power plant was named after the island on which it was situated,[27] and was owned and operated by General Public Utilities and Metropolitan Edison (Met Ed). The reactor involved in the accident, Unit 2, was a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock

&

Fig 2.6: Simplified schematic diagram of the TMI-2 plant 25

Wilcox.

The accident began at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28, 1979, with failures in the non-nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-open pilot-operated relief valve (PORV) in the primary system, which allowed large amounts of nuclear reactor coolant to escape. The mechanical failures were compounded by the initial failure of plant operators to recognize the situation as a loss-of-coolant accident due to inadequate training and human factors, such as human-computer interaction design oversights relating to ambiguous control room indicators in the power plant's user interface.

In particular, a hidden indicator light led to an operator manually overriding the automatic emergency cooling system of the reactor because the operator mistakenly believed that there was too much coolant water present in the reactor and causing the steam pressure release.[28] The scope and complexity of the accident became clear over the course of five days, as employees of Met Ed, Pennsylvania state officials, and members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) tried to understand the problem, communicate the situation to the press and local community, decide whether the accident required an emergency evacuation, and ultimately end the crisis. The NRC's authorization of the release of 40,000 gallons (about 150,000 liters) of radioactive waste water directly in the Susquehanna River led to a loss of credibility with the press and community.[28] In the end the reactor was brought under control, although full details of the accident were not discovered until much later, following extensive investigations by both a presidential commission and the NRC. The Kemeny Commission Report concluded that "there will either be no case of cancer or the number of cases will be so small that it will never be possible to detect them. The same conclusion applies to the other possible health effects".[29] Several epidemiological studies in the years since the accident have supported the conclusion that radiation released from the accident had no perceptible effect on cancer incidence in residents near the plant, though these findings are contested by one team of researchers.[9] Cleanup started in August 1979 and officially ended in December 1993, with a total cleanup cost of about $1 billion.[30] The incident was rated a five on the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale: Accident With Wider Consequences.[31] 26

Communications from officials during the initial phases of the accident were confusing.[32] There was an evacuation of 140,000 pregnant women and pre-school age children from the area. The accident crystallized anti-nuclear safety concerns among activists and the general public, resulted in new regulations for the nuclear industry, and has been cited as a contributor to the decline of new reactor construction that was already underway in the 1970s.[33] In a stunning coincidence, the movie The China Syndrome, which depicted an accident at a nuclear reactor, had been released just twelve days before the accident. The high profile of both the movie and the accident influenced public opinion about nuclear energy.[34]

2.4 History of Bangladesh in Nuclear Energy Peaceful uses of Nuclear Technology were initiated in Bangladesh in early 1960's under the framework of the then Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC).

After independence, Bangladesh became a Member State of the Agency in 1972.

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission was formed in 1973 by the Presidential Order No. 15 with the goal of utilization of Nuclear Science & Technology for national development.. Nuclear establishment in the country however existed and concerned activities were carried on even before its independence from Pakistan. The Commission was entrusted with the following charter of duties: "Promotion of the peaceful uses of atomic energy in Bangladesh, the discharge of International obligations connected therewith, the undertaking of research, the execution of development projects involving nuclear power stations and matters incidental thereto." Since then, three decades have elapsed and the Commission pursued various research and development projects, established a number of research and service providing centres with necessary laboratory facilities and equipment, trained working scientists and developed supporting facilities that can be used to meet the fast changing trends of scientific and technological pursuits of the modern world.

BAEC's overall R&D programs are formulated in two distinct trains, namely (a) problems addressing the needs of national development and (b) basic R&D. Of these, the 27

first group of projects is now being given higher priority. This will also be ev ident from the fact that vertical linkage of BAEC is provided through the Ministry and the Planning Commission, which ensures that national goals and development targets are featured in its programs and projects.

Over the years, the Agency has been a partner-in-development in most of the leading BAEC institutes. This has meant a continuing relationship with various institutes at Savar and at AECD. Broadly speaking, the program at Savar covers research reactor commissioning and its utilization for isotope production, 1.85 PBq Co-60 irradiator, neutron activation analysis, and neutron radiography. Nuclear analytical facilities, and laboratories for repair and maintenance of nuclear instruments, have been established both at Savar and at AEC, Dhaka. Utilization of Van de Graaff accelerator at AECD was also supported by the Agency. NDT program at AECD and isotope hydrology at Savar, and food preservation, pest control, radiation sterilization of pharmaceuticals, tissue banking and agrochemical residue analysis at the Institute of Food and Radiation Biology, have also been well supported.

The Law on Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control was enacted in 1993.

Considering that BAEC is the only national institution that has expertise and trained human resources needed for the enforcement of the law, it was also given nuclear regulatory responsibility. In future, a separate regulatory organization will be set up in order to separate promotional responsibilities from the regulatory ones. When this is implemented, it will be possible to attain the required transparency in nuclear safety and radiation control especially in all stages for licensing and inspection of nuclear facilities and radiation sources.

In addition to making excellent use of opportunities under the country TC program, Bangladesh has been an active partner in the Regional Cooperation Agreement (RCA) program. According to a recent review of the Technology Transfer through RCA program, the country participated in different areas of RCA activities. Through the devotion, dedication and hard work of scientists, engineers and technicians, sustained support from the Government, and a judicious combination of IAEA country projects with the RCA

28

program the country has attained a high level of technology transfer. This is a good achievement and reflects the growing maturity of Bangladesh's nuclear program.

The proposal for building a nuclear power plant in the western zone of the country was first mooted in 1961. Since then a number of feasibility reports had been prepa red which established that the plant was technically and economically feasible. The Rooppur site was selected in 1963 and 292 acres (118.3 hectare) of land (105.3 hectare for plant and 13 hectare for residential purposes) was acquired for the project. Phys ical infrastructures like residential quarters, site office, rest house, internal road, electric sub station, pump house etc. were established in the project area. The then Pakistan government gave formal approval for 70 MW, 140 MW and 200 MW Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in 1963, 1966 and 1969, respectively. Following liberation the ECNEC had approved the pp for a 125 MW nuclear power plant in 1980. A number of suppliers had submitted proposals for the project both before and after liberation. However, the pro ject could not be implemented due to several problems with financing as the main obstacle.

Considering the changed circumstances in national and international level the government of Bangladesh expressed its firm commitment to implement the Rooppur nuclear power project (RNPP). It may be mentioned that the inordinate delay in project implementation has brought about a number of changes in the planning process. For example since grid size is growing, it will eventually grow to a size where accommodation of a larger plant of 600 mw with advantage of economy of scale would be required. The growth of the grid to such a size incidentally matches the time needed for implementation of such a plant. Such changes would necessitate updating data, information and some of the past studies.

Nuclear power projects are very complicated and any decision on it, unless taken at an appropriate level of the government, might be rendered ineffective. Continuity of decision over a long time is also an important requirement. In the case of Bangladesh, a Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Head of the Government, has the responsibility to take decision on the project. This Committee includes Ministers and Permanent Secretaries of all relevant Ministries as well as the government agencies related to the project, the Planning Commission of the government and the energy sector in general. It takes all 29

policy decisions based on the information and analyses made available to it. This has also facilitated establishing proper linkages between the macro and micro level planning. A Sub-Committee, headed by the Principal Secretary is also formed to monitor implementation of the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission has been given the responsibility for implementation of the policy decisions.

It is equally important for a developing country to convince relevant foreign governments on the priority of the project, because these are the sources for technology and finance. This may be accomplished through the contacts made at appropriate levels of the foreign government.

The need of early implementation of the Nuclear Power Project at Rooppur in the Western Zone of the country identified in the NEP and also in the last fifth five year plan and also proposed in the 6th five year plan. A supporting project for implementation of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project was approved by the Government in 1999 to carry out the necessary pre-implementation works identified for the successful implementation of the project. A number of initial activities, such as updating the Site Report and preparation of Site Safety Report of 600 MW(e), promulgation of a Nuclear Power Action Plan, Human Resource Development, preparation of Bid Document, etc. have been initiated to facilitate the implementation of the project. In this regard, the Government has adopted the National Nuclear Power Action Plan (2000).

Presently the Government of Bangladesh is looking for sources of foreign soft loan for nuclear power reactor and related technology.

A blanket administrative provision is essential to ensure efficient implementation of a government decision on the national nuclear power programme. Its overwhelming role is evident from the wide range of national as well as international agencies, whose concerted participation is essential for the success in realizing the decision effectively.

Such a provision is best served through a National Nuclear Action Plan, adopted at the appropriate level of the government. The main purpose of this document is to i dentify:

30



Various activities needed for implementation of the nuclear power program ;



The agencies responsible for each of these activities;



Enabling measures like funding, for conducting the activities.

The government of Bangladesh adopted the National Nuclear Action Plan (BNPAP) for meeting the above-mentioned purposes for early implementation of the nuclear power project in the country in 2000.

31

Chapter 3: Technology of Nuclear Power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provided about 5.7% of the world's energy and 13% of the world's electricity, in 2012.[35] In 2013, the IAEA report that there are 437 operational nuclear power reactors (although not all are producing electricity[36], in 31 countries. In addition, there are approximately 140 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion in operation, powered by some 180 reactors.[37] There is an ongoing debate about the use of nuclear energy[38] Proponents, such as the World Nuclear Association, the IAEA and Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy contend that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions.

Opponents, such as Greenpeace International and NIRS, believe that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the environment.[39] Nuclear reactors are devices to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for generating electricity and in propulsion of ships. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which runs through turbines. These either drive a ship's propellers or turn electrical generators. Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating. Some reactors are used to produce isotopes for medical and industrial use, or for production of plutonium for weapons. Some are run only for research.

3.1 Fission/Fusion In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is either a nuclear reaction or a radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei). The fission process often produces free neutrons and photons (in 32

the form of gamma rays), and releasing a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.

Nuclear fission of heavy elements was discovered in 1938 by Lise Meitner, Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, and Otto Robert Frisch. It was named by analogy with biological fission of living cells. It is an exothermic reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material where fission takes place). In order for fission to produce energy, the total binding energy of the resulting elements must be greater than that of the starting element.

Fission is a form of nuclear transmutation because the resulting fragments are not the same element as the original atom. The two nuclei produced are most often of comparable but slightly different sizes, typically with a mass ratio of products of about 3 to 2, for common fissile isotopes. Most fissions are binary fissions (producing two charged fragments), but occasionally (2 to 4 times per 1000 events), three positively charged fragments are produced, in a ternary fission.

The smallest of these fragments in ternary processes ranges in size from a proton to an argon nucleus.

33

Fig 3.1: An induced fission reaction . A neutron is absorbed by a uranium235 nucleus, turning it briefly into an excited uranium-236 nucleus, with the excitation energy provided by the kinetic energy of the neutron plus the forces that bind the neutron. The uranium-236, in turn, splits into fast-moving lighter elements (fission products) and releases three free neutrons. At the same time, one or more "prompt gamma rays" (not shown) are produced, as well.

Fission as encountered in the modern world is usually a deliberately produced man-made nuclear reaction induced by a neutron. It is less commonly encountered as a natural form of spontaneous radioactive decay (not requiring a neutron), occurring especially in very high-mass-number isotopes. The unpredictable composition of the products (which vary in a broad probabilistic and somewhat chaotic manner) distinguishes fission from purely quantum-tunnelling processes such as proton emission, alpha decay and cluster decay, which give the same products each time. Nuclear fission produces 34

energy for nuclear power and to drive the explosion of nuclear weapons. Both uses are possible because certain substances called nuclear fuels undergo fission when struck by fission neutrons, and in turn emit neutrons when they break apart. This makes possible a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction that releases energy at a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or at a very rapid uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon.

Fig3.2: The stages of binary fission in a liquid drop model . Energy input deforms the nucleus into a fat "cigar" shape, then a "peanut" shape, followed by binary fission as the two lobes exceed the short-range strong force attraction distance, then are pushed apart and away by their electrical charge. Note that in this model, the two fission fragments are the same size.

The amount of free energy contained in nuclear fuel is millions of times the amount of free energy contained in a similar mass of chemical fuel such as gasoline, making nuclear fission a very dense source of energy. The products of nuclear fission, however, are on average far more radioactive than the heavy elements which are normally fissi oned as fuel, and remain so for significant amounts of time, giving rise to a nuclear waste problem. Concerns over nuclear waste accumulation and over the destructive potential of nuclear weapons may counterbalance the desirable qualities of fission as an energy source, and give rise to ongoing political debate over nuclear power.

35

In nuclear physics, nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei collide at very high speed and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus (e.g. The energy that the Sun emits into space is produced by nuclear reactions that happen in its core due to the collision of hydrogen nuclei and the formation of helium nuclei).

During this process, matter is not conserved because some of the mass of the fusing nucl ei is converted to photons which are released through a cycle that even our sun uses. Fusion is the process that powers active stars.

The fusion of two nuclei with lower masses than iron (which, along with nickel, has the largest binding energy per nucleon) generally releases energy, while the fusion of nuclei heavier than iron absorbs energy. The opposite is true for the reverse process, nuclear fission. This means that fusion generally occurs for lighter elements only, and likewise, that fission normally occurs only for heavier elements.

There are extreme astrophysical events that can lead to short periods of fusion with heavier nuclei. This is the process that gives rise to nucleosynthesis, the creation of the heavy elements during events such as supernovae.

Fig3.3: Fusion of deuterium with tritium creating helium-4, freeing a neutron, and releasing 17.59 MeV of energy, as an appropriate amount of mass 36

changing forms to appear as the kinetic energy of the products, in agreement with kinetic E = Δmc2, where Δm is the change in rest mass of particles.

Following the discovery of quantum tunneling by Friedrich Hund, in 1929 Robert Atkinson and Fritz Houtermans used the measured masses of light elements to predict that large amounts of energy could be released by fusing small nuclei. Building upon the nuclear transmutation experiments by Ernest Rutherford, carried out several years earlier, the laboratory fusion of hydrogen isotopes was first accomplished by Mark Oliphant in 1932. During the remainder of that decade the steps of the main cycle of nuclear fusion in stars were worked out by Hans Bethe. Research into fusion for military purposes began in the early 1940s as part of the Manhattan Project, but this was not accomplished until 1951 (see the Greenhouse Item nuclear test), and nuclear fusion on a large scale in an explosion was first carried out on November 1, 1952, in the Ivy Mike hydrogen bomb test.

Research into developing controlled thermonuclear fusion for civil purposes also began in earnest in the 1950s, and it continues to this day. Two projects, the National Ignition Facility and ITER, are expected to have high gains, that is, producing more energy than required to ignite the reaction, after 60 years of design improvements developed from previous experiments.[citation needed] While these ICF and Tokamak designs became popular in recent times, experiments with Stellarators gain international scientific attention again, like Wendelstein 7-X in Greifswald, Germany.

37

3.2 Nuclear Reactor Just as conventional power-stations generate electricity by harnessing the thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear reactors convert the thermal energy released from nuclear fission.

Nuclear reactor designs are usually categorized by “generation”; that is, Generation I, II, III, III+, and IV. The key attributes characterizing the development and deployment of nuclear power reactors illuminate the essential differences between the various generations of reactors.

Fig3.5 : The Evolution of Nuclear Reactors

3.2.1 Generation I Gen I refers to the prototype and power reactors that launched civil nuclear power. This generation consists of early prototype reactors from the 1950s and 1960s, such as Shippingport (1957–1982) in Pennsylvania, Dresden-1 (1960–1978) in Illinois, and Calder Hall-1 (1956–2003) in the United Kingdom. This kind of reactor typically ran at 38

power levels that were “proof-of-concept.” In the United States, Gen I reactors are regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50 (10 CFR Part 50). The only remaining commercial Gen I plant, the Wylfa Nuclear Power Station in Wales, was scheduled for closure in 2010.

However, the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced in October 2010 that the Wylfa Nuclear Power Station will operate up to December 2012.

Republic Reactor designs Gen II

China

France

CPR-1000 (Gen II)

18

CNP series (Gen II)

3

Japan

of Korea

Russia

Other

Total

Countries

GW 19.4 2.0

OPR-1000 (Gen II)

4

V V ER series (Gen II)

4.0 7

4

12.3

Gen III A PR-1400 (Gen III)*

2

A BW R (Gen III)

2

A PW R (Gen III)

2

2.7 2

5.4 3.1

Gen III + A P-1000 (Gen III+)†

4

4.8

EPR (Gen III+)

2

1

Sub-total

27

1

1 4

6

7

6.6

7

Total

60.3

Table 3.1: Global Nuclear Power Plant Construction 3.2.2 Generation II Gen II refers to a class of commercial reactors designed to be economical and reliable.

Designed for a typical operational lifetime of 40 years, prototypical Gen II reactors include pressurized water reactors (PWR), CANada Deuterium Uranium reactors (CANDU), boiling water reactors (BWR), advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR), and Vodo-Vodyanoi Energetichesky Reactors (VVER). Gen II reactors in the United States are regulated by the NRC pursuant to 10 CFR Part 50. Gen II systems began operation in the late 1960s and comprise the bulk of the world’s 400+ commercial PWRs and BWRs. These reactors, typically referred to as light water reactors (LWRs), use traditional active safety features involving electrical or mechanical operations that are initiated 39

automatically and, in many cases, can be initiated by the operators of the nuclear reactors.

Some engineered systems still operate passively (for example, using pressure relief valves) and function without operator control or loss of auxiliary power. Most of the Gen II plants still in operation in the West were manufactured by one of three companies: Westinghouse, Framatome4 (now part of AREVA5), and General Electric (GE).

The Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP), which is based on Gen II technology developed by Combustion Engineering (now Westinghouse) and Framatome (now AREVA), is now recognized as a Gen II design and has evolved to become the KSNP+. In 2005 the KSNP/KSNP+ was rebranded as the OPR-1000 (Optimized Power Reactor) for Asian markets, particularly Indonesia and Vietnam. Six OPR-1000 units are in operation, and four are under construction. China’s existing and planned civilian power fleet is based on the PWR. Two important designs used in China are the improved Chinese PWR 1000 (the CPR-1000), which is based on Framatome’s 900 megawatt (MW) threeloop Gen II design, and the standard PWR 600 MW and 1,000 MW designs (the CNP series).

40

Fig: 3.6 WWER-1000 (or VVER-1000 as a direct transliteration of Russian ВВЭР1000) a 1000 MWe Russian nuclear power reactor of PWR type.

3.2.3 Generation III Gen III nuclear reactors are essentially Gen II reactors with evolutionary, state-ofthe-art design improvements. These improvements are in the areas of fuel technology, thermal efficiency, modularized construction, safety sys- tems (especially the use of passive rather than active systems), and standard- ized design. Improvements in Gen III reactor

technology have aimed at a longer

operational life, typically 6 0 years of

operation, potentially to greatly exceed 60 years, prior to complete overhaul and reactor pressure vessel re- placement.

Fig 3.7: Cut-away view of a Gen III GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy reactor design

Confirmatory research to investigate nuclear plant aging beyond 60 years is needed to allow these reactors to operate over such extended life- times. Unlike Gen I and Gen II reactors, Gen III reactors are regulated by NRC regulations based on 10 CFR Part 52.

The Westinghouse 600 MW advanced PWR (AP-600) was one of the first Gen III reactor designs. On a parallel track, GE Nuclear Energy designed the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) and obtained a design certification from the NRC. The first of these units went online in Japan in 1996. Other Gen III reactor designs include the

41

Enhanced CANDU 6, which was developed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL); and System 80+, a Combustion Engineering design.

Only four Gen III reactors, all ABWRs, are in operation today. No Gen III plants are in service in the United States. Hitachi carefully honed its construction proces ses during the building of the Japanese ABWRs. For example, the company broke ground on Kashi- wazaki-Kariwa Unit 7 on July 1, 1993. The unit went critical on November 1, 1996, and began commercial operation on July 2, 1997—four years and a day after the first shovel of dirt was turned. If the U.S. nuclear power industry can learn from Hitachi’s construction techniques, many billions of dollars and years of time might be saved. The Shaw Group and Westinghouse have adopted modular construction practices in launching a joint venture for a Lake Charles, Louisiana, facility that will manufacture modules for the AP-1000.

Safety Features of Gen-III reactors: The third generation started in the late nineties and features evolutionary reactor designs, built on Gen-II but improving them in all respects by reducing lead times, costs, and waste volume and improving (capacity factors, efficiency, and safety by introducing passive safety systems.

Passive Safety Systems are those Safety Systems that use natural forces like Gravity, Natural Circulation, Pressure of compressed gas, etc. for ensuring safety of the reactors. These systems do not need external power for functioning.

42

Fig 3.8: Generation III Nuclear ractor safety features

3.2.4 Generation III+ Gen III+ reactor designs are an evolutionary development of Gen III reac- tors, offering significant improvements in safety over Gen III reactor designs certified by the NRC in the 1990s. In the United States, Gen III+ designs must be certified by the NRC pursuant to 10 CFR Part 52.

Examples of Gen III+ designs include: • VVER-1200/392M Reactor of the AES-2006 type 43

• Advanced CANDU Reactor (ACR-1000) • AP1000: based on the AP600, with increased power output

Fig 3.9: GE Hitachi Gen III+ Reactor Manufacturers began development of Gen III+ systems in the 1990s by building on the operating experience of the American, Japanese, and Western European LWR fleets.

Perhaps the most significant improvement of Gen III+ systems over secondgeneration designs is the incorporation in some designs of passive safety features that do not require active controls or operator intervention but instead rely on gravity or natural convection to mitigate the impact of abnormal events. The inclusion of passive safety features, among other improvements, may help expedite the reactor certification review process and thus shorten construction schedules. These reactors, once on line, are 44

expected to achieve higher fuel burnup than their evolutionary predecessors (thus reducing fuel consumption and waste production).

More than two dozen Gen III+ reactors based on five technologies are planned for the United States (Table

2 lists applications

and their status as of November

2010).Gen III and III+ designs have a defined safety envelope based on Western safety standards and set the worldwide standards for safeguards and security. However, they have also produced a legacy of significant quantities of used fuel, require relativ ely large electric grids, and present public-acceptance challenges.

3.2.5 Generation IV Generation IV reactors (Gen IV) are a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs currently being researched. Most of these designs are generally not expected to be available for commercial construction before 2030. Current reactors in operation around the world are generally considered second- or third-generation systems, with most of the first-generation systems having been retired some time ago. Generation V reactors refer to reactors that may be possible but are not yet considered feasible, and are not actively being developed.

Fig 3.10: Gen IV reactor systems

45

Many reactor types were considered initially; however, the list was downsized to focus on the most promising technologies and those that could most likely meet the goals of the Gen IV initiative. Three systems are nominally thermal reactors and three are fast reactors. The Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) is also being researched for potentially providing high quality process heat for hydrogen production. The fast reactors offer the possibility of burning actinides to further reduce waste and of being able to "breed more fuel" than they consume. These systems offer significant advances in sustainability, safety and reliability, economics, proliferation resistance and physical protection.

Relative to current nuclear power plant technology, the claimed benefits for 4th generation reactors include: 

Nuclear waste that remains radioactive for a few centuries instead of millennia



100-300 times more energy yield from the same amount of nuclear fuel



The ability to consume existing nuclear waste in the production of electricity



Improved operating safety

One disadvantage of any new reactor technology is that safety risks may be greater initially as reactor operators have little experience with the new design. Nuclear engineer David Lochbaum has explained that almost all serious nuclear accidents have occurred with what was at the time the most recent technology. He argues that "the problem with new reactors and accidents is twofold: scenarios arise that are impossible to plan for in simulations; and humans make mistakes".[6] As one director of a U.S. research laboratory put it, "fabrication, construction, operation, and maintenance of new reactors will face a steep learning curve: advanced technologies will have a heightened risk of accidents and mistakes. The technology may be proven, but people are not".

A specific risk of the sodium-cooled fast reactor is related to using metallic sodium as a coolant. In case of a breach, sodium explosively reacts with water. Fixing breaches may also prove dangerous, as the noble gas argon is also used to prevent sodium oxidation. Argon is an asphyxiant, so workers may be exposed to this additional risk. This is a pertinent problem as can be testified by the events at the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor Monju at Tsuruga, Japan.

46

3.3 Nuclear Fuel Management Nuclear fuel management [40] involves making the following decisions: the quantity and attributes of the fresh fuel assemblies that will be purchased, the partially burnt fuel assemblies that will be reinserted, the locations of both the fresh and partially burnt fuel assemblies within the core, i.e. core loading pattern (LP), and f or a boiling water reactors the control rod program/core flow (CRP/CF) strategy. These decisions need to be made for each reload cycle. Since fuel assemblies are irradiated several core cycles, the nuclear fuel management decisions made for the current cycle will impact those made in subsequent cycles. The objective of nuclear fuel management is to minimize the nuclear fuel cycle cost while satisfying the cycle energy requirement. This must be done such that all safety and operational constraints are satisfied with sufficient margin.

It consists of steps in the front end, which are the preparation of the fuel, steps in the service period in which the fuel is used during reactor operation, and steps in the back end, which are necessary to safely manage, contain, and either reprocess or dispose of spent nuclear fuel. If spent fuel is not reprocessed, the fuel cycle is referred to as an open fuel cycle (or a once-through fuel cycle); if the spent fuel is reprocessed, it is referred to as a closed fuel cycle. Bangladesh is planning to adopt an open fuel cycle policy.

47

Fig 3.11: Nuclear Fuel Cycle 3.3.1 Fundamental conception: Nuclear power relies on fissionable material that can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons. Examples of such materials include uranium and plutonium. Most nuclear reactors use a moderator to lower the kinetic energy of the neutrons and increase the probability that fission will occur. This allows reactors to use material with far lower concentration of fissile isotopes than nuclear weapons. Graphite and heavy water are the most effective moderators, because they slow the neutrons through collisions without absorbing them.

48

Reactors using heavy water or graphite as the moderator can operate using natural uranium. A Light water reactor (LWR) uses water in the form that occurs in nature, and require fuel that is enriched in fissile isotopes, typically uranium enriched to 3 -5% in the less common isotope U-235, the only fissile isotope that is found in significant quantity in nature.

One alternative to this low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel are Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuels produced by blending plutonium with natural or depleted uranium, and these fuels provide an avenue to utilize surplus weapons-grade plutonium. Another type of MOX fuel involves mixing LEU with thorium, which generates the fissile isotope U-233. Both plutonium and U-233 are produced from the absorption of neutrons by irradiating fertile materials in a reactor, in particular the common uranium isotope U-238 and thorium, respectively, and can be separated from spent uranium and thorium fuels in reprocessing plants.

Some reactors do not use moderators to slow the neutrons. Like nuclear weapons, which also use un moderated or "fast" neutrons, these Fast-neutron reactors require much higher concentrations of fissile isotopes in order to sustain a chain reaction. They are also capable of breeding fissile isotopes from fertile materials; a Breeder reactor is one that generates more fissile material in this way than it consumes.

During the nuclear reaction inside a reactor, the fissile isotopes in nuclear fuel are consumed, producing more and more fission products, most of which are considered radioactive waste. The buildup of fission products and consumption of fissile isotopes eventually stop the nuclear reaction, causing the fuel to become a spent nuclear fuel.

When 3% enriched LEU fuel is used, the spent fuel typically consists of roughly 1% U 235, 95% U-238, 1% plutonium and 3% fission products. Spent fuel and other high-level radioactive waste is extremely hazardous, although nuclear reactors produce relatively small volumes of waste compared to other power plants because of the high energy density of nuclear fuel. Safe management of these byproducts of nuclear power, including their storage and disposal, is a difficult problem for any country using nuclear power.

Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of 49

nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine. Radioactive waste is hazardous to most forms of life and the environment, and is regulated by government agencies in order to protect human health and the environment.

Radioactivity diminishes over time, so waste is typically isolated and stored for a period of time until it no longer poses a hazard. The period of time waste must be stored depends on the type of waste. Low-level waste with low levels of radioactivity per mass or volume (such as some common medical or industrial radioactive wastes) may need to be stored for only hours or days while high-level wastes (such as spent nuclear fuel or byproducts of nuclear reprocessing) must be stored for a year or more.

Current major approaches to managing radioactive waste have been segregation and storage for short-lived wastes, near-surface disposal for low and some intermediate level wastes, and deep burial or transmutation for the high-level wastes.

A summary of the amounts of radioactive wastes and management approaches for most developed countries are presented and reviewed periodically as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.[41] Exploration: A deposit of uranium, such as uraninite, discovered by geophysical techniques, is evaluated and sampled to determine the amounts of uranium materials that are extractable at specified costs from the deposit. Uranium reserves are the amounts of ore that are estimated to be recoverable at stated costs. Uranium in nature consists primarily of two isotopes, U-238 and U-235. The numbers refer to the atomic mass number for each isotope, or the number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus. Naturally occurring uranium consists of approximately 99.28% U-238 and 0.71% U-235. The atomic nucleus of U-235 will nearly always fission when struck by a free neutron, and the isotope is therefore said to be a "fissile" isotope. The nucleus of a U-238 atom on the other hand, rather than undergoing fission when struck by a free neutron, will nearly always absorb the neutron and yield an atom of the isotope U-239. This isotope then undergoes natural radioactive decay to yield Pu-239, which, like U-235, is a fissile isotope. The atoms of 50

U-238 are said to be fertile, because, through neutron irradiation in the core, some eventually yield atoms of fissile Pu-239.

3.3.2 Mining: Uranium ore can be extracted through conventional mining in open pit and underground methods similar to those used for mining other metals. In-situ leach mining methods also are used to mine uranium in the United States.

Fig 3.12: A Uranium Mine In this technology, uranium is leached from the in-place ore through an array of regularly spaced wells and is then recovered from the leach solution at a surface plant. Uranium ores in the United States typically range from about 0.05 to 0.3% uranium oxide (U3O8).

Some uranium deposits developed in other countries are of higher grade and are also larger than deposits mined in the United States. Uranium is also present in very low-grade 51

amounts (50 to 200 parts per million) in some domestic phosphate-bearing deposits of marine origin. Because very large quantities of phosphate-bearing rock are mined for the production of wet-process phosphoric acid used in high analysis fertilizers and other phosphate chemicals, at some phosphate processing plants the uranium, although present in very low concentrations, can be economically recovered from the process stream.

3.3.3 Milling Mined uranium ores normally are processed by grinding the ore materials to a uniform particle size and then treating the ore to extract the uranium by chemical leaching.

The milling process commonly yields dry powder-form material consisting of natural uranium, "yellowcake", which is sold on the uranium market as U3O8.

3.3.4 Uranium conversion Milled uranium oxide, U3O8, must be converted to uranium hexafluoride, UF6, which is the form required by most commercial uranium enrichment facilities currently in use. A solid at room temperature, uranium hexafluoride can be changed to a gaseous form at moderately higher temperature of 57 °C (134 °F). The uranium hexafluoride conversion product contains only natural, not enriched, uranium. Triuranium octaoxide (U3O8) is also converted directly to ceramic grade uranium dioxide (UO2) for use in reactors not requiring enriched fuel, such as CANDU. The volumes of material converted directly to UO2 are typically quite small compared to the amounts converted to UF6.

52

Fig 3.13: Technicians working in a uranium conversion facility

3.3.4 Enrichment The concentration of the fissionable isotope, U-235 (0.71% in natural uranium) is less than that required to sustain a nuclear chain reaction in light wate r reactor cores.

Natural UF6 thus must be enriched in the fissionable isotope for it to be used as nuclear fuel. The different levels of enrichment required for a particular nuclear fuel application are specified by the customer: light-water reactor fuel normally is enriched to 3.5% U235, but uranium enriched to lower concentrations is also required. Enrichment is accomplished using one or more methods of isotope separation.

Gaseous diffusion and gas centrifuge are the commonly used uranium enrichment technologies, but new enrichment technologies are currently being developed. The bulk (96%) of the byproduct from enrichment is depleted uranium (DU), which can be used for armor, kinetic energy penetrators, radiation shielding and ballast. Still, there are v ast 53

quantities of depleted uranium in storage. The United States Department of Energy alone has 470,000 tones.[41] About 95% of depleted uranium is stored as uranium hexafluoride (UF6).

Fabrication Nuclear fuel cycle 4 for use as nuclear fuel, enriched uranium hexafluoride is converted into uranium dioxide (UO2) powder that is then processed into pellet form. The pellets are then fired in a high temperature sintering furnace to create hard, ceramic pellets of enriched uranium. The cylindrical pellets then undergo a grinding process to achieve a uniform pellet size. The pellets are stacked, according to each nuclear reactor core's design specifications, into tubes of corrosion-resistant metal alloy. The tubes are sealed to contain the fuel pellets: these tubes are called fuel rods. The finished fuel rods are grouped in special fuel assemblies that are then used to build up the nuclear fuel core of a power reactor.

The alloy used for the tubes depends on the design of the reactor. Stainless steel was used in the past, but most reactors now use a zirconium alloy. For the most common types of reactors, boiling water reactors (BWR) and pressurized water reactors (PWR), the tubes are assembled into bundles with the tubes spaced precise distances apart. These bundles are then given a unique identification number, which enables them to be tracked from manufacture through use and into disposal.

Fig 3.14: Uranium enrichment process

54

3.3.5 Transport of radioactive materials Transport is an integral part of the nuclear fuel cycle. There are nuclear power reactors in operation in several countries but uranium mining is viable in only a few areas.

Also, in the course of over forty years of operation by the nuclear industry, a number of specialized facilities have been developed in various locations around the world to provide fuel cycle services and there is a need to transport nuclear materials to and from these facilities.

Most transports of nuclear fuel material occur between different stages of the cycle, but occasionally a material may be transported between similar facilities. With some exceptions, nuclear fuel cycle materials are transported in solid form, the exception being uranium hexafluoride (UF6) which is considered a gas. Most of the material used in nuclear fuel is transported several times during the cycle. Transports are frequently international, and are often over large distances. Nuclear materials are generally transported by specialized transport companies. Since nuclear materials are radioactive, it is important to ensure that radiation exposure of both those involved in the transport of such materials and the general public along transport routes is limited. Packaging for nuclear materials includes, where appropriate, shielding to reduce potential radiat ion exposures.

In the case of some materials, such as fresh uranium fuel assemblies, the radiation levels are negligible and no shielding is required. Other materials, such as spent fuel and high-level waste, are highly radioactive and require special handling. To limit the risk in transporting highly radioactive materials, containers known as spent nuclear fuel shipping casks are used which are designed to maintain integrity under normal transportation conditions and during hypothetical accident conditions. In-core fuel management A nuclear reactor core is composed of a few hundred "assemblies", arranged in a regular array of cells, each cell being formed by a fuel or control rod surrounded, in most designs, by a moderator and coolant, which is water in most reactors.

Because of the fission process that consumes the fuels, the old fuel rods must be changed periodically to fresh ones (this period is called a cycle). However, only a part of the assemblies (typically one-third) are removed since the fuel depletion is not spatially 55

uniform. Furthermore, it is not a good policy, for efficiency reasons, to put the new assemblies exactly at the location of the removed ones. Even bundles of the same age may have different burn-up levels, which depends on their previous positions in the core. Thus the available bundles must be arranged in such a way that the yield is maximized, while safety limitations and operational constraints are satisfied. Consequently reactor operators are faced with the so-called optimal fuel reloading problem, which consists in optimizing the rearrangement of all the assemblies, the old and fresh ones, while still maximizing the reactivity of the reactor core so as to maximize fuel burn-up and minimize fuel-cycle costs. Nuclear fuel cycle 5 This is a discrete optimization problem, and computationally infeasible by current combinatorial methods, due to the huge number of permutations and the complexity of each computation. Many numerical methods have been proposed for solving it and many commercial software packages have been written to support fuel management. This is an on-going issue in reactor operations as no definitive solution to this problem has been found. Operators use a combination of computational and empirical techniques to manage this problem.

3.3.6 Nature and significance of radioactive waste Radioactive waste typically comprises a number of radioisotopes: unstable configurations of elements that decay, emitting ionizing radiation which can be harmful to humans and the environment. Those isotopes emit different types and levels of radiation, which last for different periods of time. The radioactivity of all nuclear waste diminishes with time.

All radioisotopes contained in the waste have a half-life—the time it takes for any radionuclide to lose half of its radioactivity—and eventually all radioactive waste decays into nonradioactive elements (i.e., stable isotopes). Certain radioactive elements (such as plutonium239) in “spent” fuel will remain hazardous to humans and other creatures for hundreds or thousands of years. Other radioisotopes remain hazardous for millions of years. Thus, these wastes must be shielded for centuries and isolated from the living environment for millennia.[42] Since radioactive decay follows the half-life rule, the rate of decay is inversely proportional to the duration of decay. In other words, the radiation from a long-lived isotope like iodine-129 will be much less intense than that of a short-lived isotope like iodine-131.[43] 56

The two tables show some of the major radioisotopes, their half-lives, and their radiation yield as a proportion of the yield of fission of uranium-235.

The energy and the type of the ionizing radiation emitted by a radioactive substance are also important factors in determining its threat to humans.[44] The chemical properties of the radioactive element will determine how mobile the substance is and how likely it is to spread into the environment and contaminate humans.[45] This is further complicated by the fact that many radioisotopes do not decay immediately to a stable state but rather to radioactive decay products within a decay chain before ultimately reaching a stable state.

3.3.7 The way of producing radioactive waste from Nuclear Power Plant Front end:

Waste from the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle is usually alpha-emitting waste from the extraction of uranium. It often contains radium and its decay products. Uranium dioxide (UO2) concentrate from mining is not very radioactive - only a thousand or so times as radioactive as the granite used in buildings. It is refined from yellowcake (U3O8), then converted to uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6). As a gas, it undergoes enrichment to increase the U-235 content from 0.7% to about 4.4% (LEU). It is then turned into a hard ceramic oxide (UO2) for assembly as reactor fuel elements.[46] The main by-product of enrichment is depleted uranium (DU), principally the U238 isotope, with a U-235 content of ~0.3%. It is stored, either as UF6 or as U3O8. Some is used in applications where its extremely high density makes it valuable, such as the keels of yachts, and anti-tank shells.[47] It is also used with plutonium for making mixed oxide fuel (MOX) and to dilute, or down blend, highly enriched uranium from weapons stockpiles which is now being redirected to become reactor fuel.

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Back end: The back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, mostly spent fuel rods, contains fission products that emit beta and gamma radiation, and actinides that emit alpha particles, such as uranium234, neptunium-237, plutonium-238 and americium-241, and even sometimes some neutron emitters such as californium (Cf). These isotopes are formed in nuclear reactors.

It is important to distinguish the processing of uranium to make fuel from the reprocessing of used fuel. Used fuel contains the highly radioactive products of fission (see high level waste below). Many of these are neutron absorbers, called neutron poisons in this context. These eventually build up to a level where they absorb so many neutrons that the chain reaction stops, even with the control rods completely removed. At that point the fuel has to be replaced in the reactor with fresh fuel, even though there is still a substantial quantity of uranium-235 and plutonium present. In the United States, this used fuel is stored, while in countries such as Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and India, the fuel is reprocessed to remove the fission products, and the fuel can then be re-used. This reprocessing involves handling highly radioactive materials, and the fission products removed from the fuel are a concentrated form of high-level waste as are the chemicals used in the process. While these countries reprocess the fuel carrying out single plutonium cycles, India is the only country known to be planning multiple plutonium recycling schemes.[48]

3.3.8 Fuel composition and long term radioactivity Long-lived radioactive waste from the back end of the fuel cycle is especially relevant when designing a complete waste management plan for spent nuclear fuel (SNF).

When looking at long term radioactive decay, the actinides in the SNF have a significant influence due to their characteristically long half-lives. Depending on what a nuclear reactor is fueled with, the actinide composition in the SNF will be different.

An example of this effect is the use of nuclear fuels with thorium. Th-232 is a fertile material that can undergo a neutron capture reaction and two beta minus decays, resulting in the production of fissile U-233. The SNF of a cycle with thorium will contain 58

U-233. Its radioactive decay will strongly influence the long-term activity curve of the SNF around 1 million years. A comparison of the activity associated to U-233 for three different SNF types can be seen in the figure on the top right. The burnt fue ls are thorium with reactor-grade plutonium (RGPu), thorium with weapons-grade plutonium (WGPu) and Mixed Oxide fuel (MOX). For RGPu and WGPu, the initial amount of U-233 and its decay around 1 million years can be seen. This has an effect in the total act ivity curve of the three fuel types.

The absence of U-233 and its daughter products in the MOX fuel results in a lower activity in region 3 of the figure on the bottom right, whereas for RGPu and WGPu the curve is maintained higher due to the presence of U-233 that has not fully decayed.

The use of different fuels in nuclear reactors results in different SNF composition, with varying activity curves.

3.3.9 Classification of radioactive waste Classifications of nuclear waste varies by country. The IAEA, which publishes the Radioactive Waste Safety Standards (RADWASS), also plays a significant role.[49] Uranium tailings: Uranium tailings are waste by-product materials left over from the rough processing of uranium-bearing ore. They are not significantly radioactive. Mill tailings are sometimes referred to as 11(e)2 wastes, from the section of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 that defines them. Uranium mill tailings typically also contain chemically hazardous heavy metal such as lead and arsenic. Vast mounds of uranium mill tailings are left at many old mining sites, especially in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.

Low-level waste: Low level waste (LLW) is generated from hospitals and industry, as well as the nuclear fuel cycle. Low-level wastes include paper, rags, tools, clothing, filters, and other materials which contain small amounts of mostly short-lived radioactivity. Materials that 59

originate from any region of an Active Area are commonly designated as LLW as a precautionary measure even if there is only a remote possibility of being contaminated with radioactive materials. Such LLW typically exhibits no higher radioactivity than one would expect from the same material disposed of in a non-active area, such as a normal office block. Some high-activity LLW requires shielding during handling and transport but most LLW is suitable for shallow land burial. To reduce its volume, it is often compacted or incinerated before disposal. Low-level waste is divided into four classes: class A, class B, class C, and Greater Than Class C (GTCC) Intermediate-level waste: Intermediate-level waste (ILW) contains higher amounts of radioactivity and in some cases requires shielding. Intermediate-level wastes includes resins, chemical sludge and metal reactor nuclear fuel cladding, as well as contaminated materials from reactor decommissioning. It may be solidified in concrete or bitumen for disposal.

As a general rule, short-lived waste (mainly non-fuel materials from reactors) is buried in shallow repositories, while long-lived waste (from fuel and fuel reprocessing) is deposited in geological repository. U.S. regulations do not define this category of waste; the term is used in Europe and elsewhere.

Removal of low-level waste

Modern medium to high level transport container for nuclear waste

Fig 3.15: Nuclear waste removal High-level waste: 60

High-level waste (HLW) is produced by nuclear reactors. It contains fission products and transuranic elements generated in the reactor core. It is highly radioactive and often thermally hot. HLW accounts for over 95 percent of the total radioactivity produced in the process of nuclear electricity generation. The amount of HLW worldwide is currently increasing by about 12,000 metric tons every year, which is the equivalent to about 100 double-decker buses or a two-story structure with a footprint the size of a basketball court.[50] A 1000-MW nuclear power plant produces about 27 tones of spent nuclear fuel (un reprocessed) every year.[51] Transuranic waste: Transuranic waste (TRUW) as defined by U.S. regulations is, without regard to form or origin, waste that is contaminated with alpha-emitting transuranic radionuclides with half-lives greater than 20 years and concentrations greater than 100 nCi/g (3.7 MBq/kg), excluding high-level waste. Elements that have an atomic number greater than uranium are called transuranic ("beyond uranium"). Because of their long half -lives, TRUW is disposed more cautiously than either low- or intermediate-level waste. In the U.S., it arises mainly from weapons production, and consists of clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris and other items contaminated with small amounts of radioactive elements (mainly plutonium). Under U.S. law, transuranic waste is further categorized into "contact-handled" (CH) and "remote-handled" (RH) on the basis of radiation dose measured at the surface of the waste container. CH TRUW has a surface dose rate not greater than 200 Roentgen equivalent man per hour (to millisievert/hr), whereas RH TRUW has a surface dose rate of 200 Rontgen equivalent man per hour (2 mSv/h) or greater.

CH TRUW does not have the very high radioactivity of high-level waste, nor its high heat generation, but RH TRUW can be highly radioactive, with surface dose rates up to 1000000 Rontgen equivalent man per hour (10000 mSv/h). The U.S. currently disposes of TRUW generated from military facilities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.[52]

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3.3.10 Prevention of waste A theoretical way to reduce waste accumulation is to phase out current reactors in favour of Generation IV Reactors or Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors, which output less waste per power generated. Fast reactors can theoretically consume some existing waste, but the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority described this technology as immature and commercially unproven, and unlikely to start before 2050.[54]

3.3.11 Management of waste Of particular concern in nuclear waste management are two long-lived fission products, Tc-99 (half-life 220,000 years) and I-129 (half-life 17 million years), which dominate spent fuel radioactivity after a few thousand years. The most troublesome transuranic elements in spent fuel are Np-237 (half-life two million years) and Pu-239 (half-life 24,000 years).[55] Nuclear waste requires sophisticated treatment and management to successfully isolate it from interacting with the biosphere. This usually necessitates treatment, followed by a long-term management strategy involving storage, disposal or transformation of the waste into a non-toxic form.[56] Governments around the world are considering a range of waste management and disposal options, though there has been limited progress toward long-term waste management solutions.[57]

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Fig3.16: Nuclear waste disposal pool In second half of 20th century, several methods of disposal of radioactive waste were investigated by nuclear nations.[58] Which are; • "Long term above ground storage", not implemented.

• "Disposal in outer space", not implemented.

• "Deep borehole disposal", not implemented.

• "Rock-melting", not implemented.

• "Disposal at subduction zones", not implemented.

• "Ocean disposal", done by USSR, UK, Switzerland, USA, Belgium, France, Netherland, Japan, Sweden, Russia, Germany, Italy and South Korea. (1954–93) It's not permitted by international agreements.

• "Sub seabed disposal", not implemented, not permitted by international agreements.

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• "Disposal in ice sheets", rejected in Antarctic Treaty • "Direct injection", done by USSR and USA.

3.3.11 Initial treatment of waste Vitrification: Long-term storage of radioactive waste requires the stabilization of the waste into a form which will neither react nor degrade for extended periods of time. One way to do this is through vitrification.[59] Currently at Sellafield the high-level waste (PUREX first cycle raffinate) is mixed with sugar and then calcined. Calcination involves passing the waste through a heated, rotating tube. The purposes of calcination are to evaporate the water from the waste, and de-nitrate the fission products to assist the stability of the glass produced.[60] The 'calcine' generated is fed continuously into an induction heated furnace with fragmented glass.[61] The resulting glass is a new substance in which the waste products are bonded into the glass matrix when it solidifies. This product, as a melt, is poured into stainless steel cylindrical containers ("cylinders") in a batch process. When cooled, the fluid solidifies ("vitrifies") into the glass. Such glass, after being formed, is highly resistant to water.[62] After filling a cylinder, a seal is welded onto the cylinder.

The cylinder is then washed. After being inspected for external contamination, the steel cylinder is stored, usually in an underground repository. In this form, the waste products are expected to be immobilized for a long period of time (many thousands of years).[63]

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The glass inside a cylinder is usually a black glossy substance. All this work (in the United Kingdom) is done using hot cell systems. The sugar is added to control the ruthenium chemistry and to stop the formation of the volatile

RuO4

containing

radioactive

ruthenium isotopes. In the west, the glass is normally a borosilicate glass (similar to Pyrex), while in the former Soviet bloc it is normal to use a phosphate glass.[64] The amount of fission products in the glass must be limited because some (palladium, the other Pt group metals, and tellurium) tend to form metallic phases which separate from the glass.

Bulk vitrification uses electrodes to melt soil and

wastes,

which

are

then

buried

underground.[65] In Germany a vitrification plant is in use; this is treating the waste from

Fig 3.17: Virtification process

a small demonstration reprocessing plant which has since been closed down.[66]

The glass inside a cylinder is usually a black glossy substance. All this work (in the United Kingdom) is done using hot cell systems. The sugar is added to control the ruthenium chemistry and to stop the formation of the volatile RuO4 containing radioactive ruthenium isotopes. In the west, the glass is normally a borosilicate glass (simi lar to Pyrex), while in the former Soviet bloc it is normal to use a phosphate glass.[ 67] The amount of fission products in the glass must be limited because some (palladium, the other Pt group metals, and tellurium) tend to form metallic phases which sepa rate from the glass. Bulk vitrification uses electrodes to melt soil and wastes, which are then buried

65

underground.[25] In Germany a vitrification plant is in use; this is treating the waste from a small demonstration reprocessing plant which has since been closed down.[68] Ion exchange: It is common for medium active wastes in the nuclear industry to be treated with ion exchange or other means to concentrate the radioactivity into a small volume. The much less radioactive bulk (after treatment) is often then discharged. For instance, it is possible to use a ferric hydroxide floc to remove radioactive metals from aqueous mixtures.[69] After the radioisotopes are absorbed onto the ferric hydroxide, the resulting sludge can be placed in a metal drum before being mixed with cement to form a solid waste form.[70] In order to get better long-term performance (mechanical stability) from such forms, they may be made from a mixture of fly ash, or blast furnace slag, and Portland cement, instead of normal concrete (made with Portland cement, gravel and sand).

Synroc: The Australian Synroc (synthetic rock) is a more sophisticated way to immobilize such waste, and this process may eventually come into commercial use for civil wastes (it is currently being developed for US military wastes). Synroc was invented by the late Prof Ted Ringwood (a geochemist) at the Australian National University.[71] The Synroc contains pyrochlore and cryptomelane type minerals. The original form of Synroc (Synroc C) was designed for the liquid high level waste (PUREX raffinate) from a light water reactor. The main minerals in this Synroc are hollandite (BaAl2Ti6O16), zirconolite (CaZrTi2O7) and perovskite (CaTiO3). The zirconolite and perovskite arehosts for the actinides. The strontium and barium will be fixed in the perovskite. The caesium will be fixed in the hollandite.

Long term management of waste: The time frame in question when dealing with radioactive waste ranges from 10,000 to 1,000,000 years,[72] according to studies based on the effect of estimated radiation doses.[31] Researchers suggest that forecasts of health detriment for such 66

periods should be examined critically] Practical studies only consider up to 100 years as far as effective planning[73] and cost evaluations[74] are concerned.

Long term behavior of radioactive wastes remains a subject for ongoing research projects in geoforecasting. Above-ground disposal Dry cask storage typically involves taking waste from a spent fuel pool and sealing it (along with an inert gas) in a steel cylinder, which is placed in a concrete cylinder which acts as a radiation shield. It is a relatively inexpensive method which can be done at a central facility or adjacent to the source reactor. The waste can be easily retrieved for reprocessing.

Geologic disposal: The process of selecting appropriate deep final repositories for high level waste and spent fuel is now under way in several countries with the first expected to be commissioned some time after 2010. The basic concept is to locate a large, stable geologic formation and use mining technology to excavate a tunnel, or large-bore tunnel boring machines (similar to those used to drill the Channel Tunnel from England to France) to drill a shaft 500 meters (1,600 ft) to 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) below the surface where rooms or vaults can be excavated for disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The goal is to permanently isolate nuclear waste from the human environment. Many people remain uncomfortable with the immediate stewardship cessation of this disposal system, suggesting perpetual management and monitoring would be more prudent.

Because some radioactive species have half-lives longer than one million years, even very low container leakage and radionuclide migration rates must be taken into account.[75] Moreover, it may require more than one half-life until some nuclear materials lose enough radioactivity to cease being lethal to living things. A 1983 review of the Swedish radioactive waste disposal program by the National Academy of Sciences found that country’s estimate of several hundred thousand years—perhaps up to one million years—being necessary for waste isolation “fully justified.”[76] Aside from dilution, chemically toxic stable elements in some waste such as arsenic remain toxic for up to billions of years or indefinitely.[77] Sea-based options for disposal of radioactive waste[77] include burial beneath a stable abyssal plain, burial in a subduction zone that would slowly carry the waste downward into the Earth's mantle and burial beneath a 67

remote natural or human-made island. While these approaches all have merit and would facilitate an international solution to the problem of disposal of radioactive waste, they would require an amendment of the Law of the Sea.[78] Article 1 (Definitions), 7., of the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, (the London Dumping Convention) states: “Sea” means all marine waters other than the internal waters of States, as well as the seabed and the subsoil thereof; it does not include sub-seabed repositories accessed only from land.” The proposed land-based subductive waste disposal method disposes of nuclear waste in a subduction zone accessed from land,[79] and therefore is not prohibited by international agreement. This method has been described as the most viable means of disposing of radioactive waste,[80] and as the state-of-the-art as of 2001 in nuclear waste disposal technology.[81] Another approach termed Remix & Return would blend high-level waste with uranium mine and mill tailings down to the level of the original radioactivity of the uranium ore, then replace it in inactive uranium mines. This approach has the merits of providing jobs for miners who would double as disposal staff, and of facilitating a cradleto-grave cycle for radioactive materials, but would be inappropriate for spent reactor fuel in the absence of reprocessing, due to the presence in it of highly toxic radioactive elements such as plutonium. Deep borehole disposal is the concept of disposing of highlevel radioactive waste from nuclear reactors in extremely deep boreholes. Deep borehole disposal seeks to place the waste as much as 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) beneath the surface of the Earth and relies primarily on the immense natural geological barrier to confine the waste safely and permanently so that it should never pose a threat to the environment.

The Earth's crust contains 120 trillion tons of thorium and 40 trillion tons of uranium (primarily at relatively trace concentrations of parts per million each adding up over the crust's 3 * 1019 ton mass), among other natural radioisotopes. Since the fraction of nuclides decaying per unit of time is inversely proportional to an isotope's half -life, the relative radioactivity of the lesser amount of human-produced radioisotopes (thousands of tons instead of trillions of tons) would diminish once the isotopes with far shorter half lives than the bulk of natural radioisotopes decayed.

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Fig 3.18: Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository of US Transmutation: There have been proposals for reactors that consume nuclear waste and transmute it to other, less-harmful nuclear waste. In particular, the Integral Fast Reactor was a proposed nuclear reactor with a nuclear fuel cycle that produced no transuranic waste and in fact, could consume transuranic waste. It proceeded as far as large-scale tests, but was then canceled by the US Government. Another approach, considered safer but requiring more development, is to dedicate subcritical reactors to the transmutation of the left-over transuranic elements.

An isotope that is found in nuclear waste and that represents a concern in terms of proliferation is Pu-239. The estimated world total of plutonium in the year 2000 was of 1,645 MT, of which 210 MT had been separated by reprocessing. The large stock of plutonium is a result of its production inside uranium-fueled reactors and of the reprocessing of weapons-grade plutonium during the weapons program. An option for getting rid of this plutonium is to use it as a fuel in a traditional Light Water Reactor (LWR). Several fuel types with differing plutonium destruction efficiencies are under study. Transmutation was banned in the US in April 1977 by President Carter due to the 69

danger of plutonium proliferation,[81] but President Reagan rescinded the ban in 1981.[53] Due to the economic losses and risks, construction of reprocessing plants during this time did not resume. Due to high energy demand, work on the method has continued in the EU. This has resulted in a practical nuclear research reactor called Myrrha in which transmutation is possible. Additionally, a new research program called ACTINET has been started in the EU to make transmutation possible on a large, industrial scale.

According to President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) of 2007, the US is now actively promoting research on transmutation technologies needed to markedly reduce the problem of nuclear waste treatment.[82] There have also been theoretical studies involving the use of fusion reactors as so called "actinide burners" where a fusion reactor plasma such as in a Tokamak, could be "doped" with a small amount of the "minor" transuranic atoms which would be transmuted (meaning fissioned in the actinide case) to lighter elements upon their successive bombardment by the very high energy neutrons produced by the fusion of deuterium and tritium in the reactor. A study at MIT found that only 2 or 3 fusion reactors with parameters similar to that of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) could transmute the entire annual minor actinide production from all of the light water reactors presently operating in the United States fleet while simultaneously generating approximately 1 gigawatt of power from each reactor.[83] Re-use of waste Another option is to find applications for the isotopes in nuclear waste so as to re -use them.[56] Already, caesium-137, strontium-90 and a few other isotopes are extracted for certain industrial applications such as food irradiation and radioisotope thermoelectric generators. While re-use does not eliminate the need to manage radioisotopes, it reduces the quantity of waste produced.

The Nuclear Assisted Hydrocarbon Production Method,[84] Canadian patent application 2,659,302, is a method for the temporary or permanent storage of nuclear waste materials comprising the placing of waste materials into one or more repositories or boreholes constructed into an unconventional oil formation. The thermal flux of the waste materials fracture the formation, alters the chemical and/or physical properties of 70

hydrocarbon material within the subterranean formation to allow removal of the altered material. A mixture of hydrocarbons, hydrogen, and/or other formation fluids are produced from the formation. The radioactivity of high-level radioactive waste affords proliferation resistance to plutonium placed in the periphery of the repository or the deepest portion of a borehole. Breeder reactors can run on U-238 and transuranic elements, which comprise the majority of spent fuel radioactivity in the 1000-100000 year time span.

Space disposal: Space disposal is attractive because it permanently removes nuclear waste from the environment. It has significant disadvantages, such as the potential for catastrophic failure of a launch vehicle, which could spread radioactive material into the atmosphere and around the world. A high number of launches would be required because no individual rocket would be able to carry very much of the material relative to the total amount that needs to be disposed of. This makes the proposal impractical economically and it increases the risk of at least one or more launch failures.[86] To further complicate matters, international agreements on the regulation of such a program would need to be established.[85] Costs and inadequate reliability of modern rocket launch systems for space disposal has been one of the motives for interest in non-rocket space launch systems such as mass drivers, space elevators, and other proposals.

3.3.12 National management plans Most countries are considerably ahead of the United States in developing plans for high-level radioactive waste disposal. Sweden and Finland are furthest along in committing to a particular disposal technology, while many others reprocess spent fuel or contract with France or Great Britain to do it, taking back the resulting plutonium and high-level waste. “An increasing backlog of plutonium from reprocessing is developing in many countries... It is doubtful that reprocessing makes economic sense in the present environment of cheap uranium.”[86]

71

In many European countries (e.g., Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland) the risk or dose limit for a member of the public exposed to radiation from a future high-level nuclear waste facility is considerably more stringent than that suggested by the International Commission on Radiation Protection or proposed in the United States. European limits are often more stringent than the standard suggested in 1990 by the International Commission on Radiation Protection by a factor of 20, and more stringent by a factor of ten than the standard proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository for the first 10,000 years after closure.[88] The U.S. EPA’s proposed standard for greater than 10,000 years is 250 times more permissive than the European limit.[89] The U.S. EPA proposed a legal limit of a maximum of 3.5 milli-Sieverts (350 millirem) each annually to local individuals after 10,000 years, which would be up to several percent of the exposure currently received by some populations in the highest natural background regions on Earth, though the U.S. DOE predicted that received dose would be much below that limit.[89] Over a timeframe of thousands of years, after the most active short half-life radioisotopes decayed, burying U.S. nuclear waste would increase the radioactivity in the top 2000 feet of rock and soil in the United States (10 million km2) by ≈ 1 part in 10 million over the cumulative amount of natural radioisotopes in such a volume, but the vicinity of the site would have a far higher concentration of artificial radioisotopes underground than such an average.[90]

3.3.13 Illegal dumping Authorities in Italy are investigating a 'Ndrangheta mafia clan accused of trafficking and illegally dumping nuclear waste. According to a turncoat, a manager of the Italy’s state energy research agency Enea paid the clan to get rid of 600 drums of toxic and radioactive waste from Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the US, with Somalia as the destination, where the waste was buried after buying off local politicians. Former employees of Enea are suspected of paying the criminals to take waste off their hands in the 1980s and 1990s.

Shipments to Somalia continued into the 1990s, while the 'Ndrangheta clan also blew up shiploads of waste, including radioactive hospital waste, and sending them to the sea bed off 72

the Calabrian coast. According to the environmental group Legambiente, former members of the 'Ndrangheta have said that they were paid to sink ships with radioactive material for the last 20 years.[91]

3.3.14 Accidents involving radioactive waste A few incidents have occurred when radioactive material was disposed of improperly, shielding during transport was defective, or when it was simply abandoned or even stolen from a waste store.[92] In the Soviet Union, waste stored in Lake Karachay was blown over the area during a dust storm after the lake had partly dried out.[93] At Maxey Flat, a low-level radioactive waste facility located in Kentucky, containment trenches covered with dirt, instead of steel or cement, collapsed under heavy rainfall into the trenches and filled with water. The water that invaded the trenches became radioactive and had to be disposed of at the Maxey Flat facility itself. In other cases of radioactive waste accidents, lakes or ponds with radioactive waste accidentally overflowed into the rivers during exceptional storms. In Italy, several radioactive waste deposits let material flow into river water, thus contaminating water for domestic use.[94] In France, in the summer of 2008 numerous incidents happened;[95] in one, at the Areva plant in Tricastin, it was reported that during a draining operation, liquid containing untreated uranium overflowed out of a faulty tank and about 75 kg of the radioactive material seeped into the ground and, from there, into two rivers nearby;[96] in another case, over 100 staff were contaminated with low doses of radiation.[97] Scavenging of abandoned radioactive material has been the cause of several other cases of radiation exposure, mostly in developing nations, which may have less regulation of dangerous substances (and sometimes less general education about radioactivity and its hazards) and a market for scavenged goods and scrap metal. The scavengers and those who buy the material are almost always unaware that the material is radioactive and it is selected for its aesthetics or scrap value.[98] Irresponsibility on the part of the radioactive material's owners, usually a hospital, university or military, and the absence of regulation concerning radioactive waste, or a lack of enforcement of such regulations, have been

73

significant factors in radiation exposures. For an example of an accident involving radioactive scrap originating from a hospital see the Goiania accident.[99] Transportation accidents involving spent nuclear fuel from power plants are unlikely to have serious consequences due to the strength of the spent nuclear fuel shipping casks.[100] On 15 December 2011 top government spokesman Osamu Fujimura of the Japanese government admitted that nuclear substances were found in the waste of Japanese nuclear facilities. Although Japan did commit itself in 1977 to these inspections in the safeguard agreement with the IAEA, the reports were kept secret for the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Japan did start discussions with the IAEA about the large quantities of enriched uranium and plutonium that were discovered in nuclear waste cleared away by Japanese nuclear operators.

At the press conference Fujimura said: "Based on investigations so far, most nuclear substances have been properly managed as waste, and from that perspective, there is no problem in safety management," But according to him, the matter was at that moment still being investigated.[101]

74

Chapter 4: Bangladesh Challenges

4.1. Estimated available energy Bangladesh's per capita energy consumption is very low, the lowest within the Indian subcontinent. The 2008 energy consumption value stands at about 250 kgOE which is quite low compared to 550 kgOE for India, 515 kgOE for Pakistan, 430 kgOE for Sri Lanka, 475 kgOE (average) for South Asia and far below the world average of 1680 kgOE. Total primary energy consumption in 2008 was 33.50 MTOE and the energy consumption mix was estimated as: indigenous biomass 62%, indigenous natural gas 25%, imported oil 12% and imported coal and hydro combined about 1%. Two-thirds of the country's total population livel in rural areas, meeting most of their energy needs (domestic, commercial and industrial) from traditional biomass fuels. Various marketing companies under the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) distribute kerosene and diesel throughout the country at a uniform tariff rate set by the government. Around 32% have access to electricity, while in rural areas the availability of electricity is only 22%.

But the quality of service in rural areas is very poor: frequent outages, voltage fluctuations and unreliable and erratic supply. Only 34% of the households have natural gas connection for cooking purposes. Only about 23% households use kerosene for cooking and the rest (over 90%) depend on biomass. Contribution of biomass in total primary energy consumption of Bangladesh is around 60%. The major sources of traditional biomass are agricultural residues (45%), wood and wood wastes (35%) and animal dung (20%). Industrial and commercial use of biomass accounts for 14% of total energy consumption. 63% of energy required in the industrial sector comes from biomass fuel.

Primarily biomass and kerosene are used by a majority of households. Natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electricity, kerosene and biomass fuels are mainly used for cooking. In areas without natural gas and electricity, biomass is use d to meet 75

household cooking needs. A good amount of bio energy is used for parboiling and space heating. A recent urban household survey estimated that consumption of biomass fuel is 319 kg per capita per year. Natural gas is currently the only indigenous non-renewable energy resource of the country and this has been continuously produced and consumed in significant quantities since 1970. Gas, the main source of commercial energy, plays a vital role in the economic growth of Bangladesh. The major consumers of gas are the power and fertiliser (using gas as feedstock) sectors, which account for 46.65% and 21.71% respectively.

The cumulative efforts for exploration of oil and gas resources in Bangladesh have resulted in the discovery of 22 gas fields of various sizes. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Bangladesh had, in 2007, proven natural gas reserves of 0.39 trillion cubic meters (0.21% of the world total) with production for the year totalling 16.27 billion cubic meters (0.55% of the world total). Although the remaining recoverable gas reserve is enough for the time being, it is understood that there is significant field growth potential, as most of the state- owned gas fields have not yet been fully appraised.

Therefore, among the various renewable energy options, biomass energy might be the best choice for the electrification of rural Bangladesh.

Average

4.1.1 Energy statistics

annual growth rate (%) 2000 to Energy consumption** 1980 1990 2000 - Total

0.17

2006

0.33 0.5306 1.15

2008

2010

1.3724 1.5242

- Solids***

0.007 0.01 0.015

7 0.01

0.168

0.171

- Liquids

0.07 70.08 0.173

6 0.19

0.212

0.2186

- Gases

0.05

0.15 0.35

71 0.58

0.633

0.762

- Nuclear

0.00

0.00 0.00

70.00

0.00

0.00

76

2010* 14.10

- Hydro+Wind

0.003 0.00 0.003

.003

0.0034 0.0026

- Other

0.00 30.00 0.00

3 0.35

0.356

0.370

3

Renewables Energy production - Total

0.10

0.23 0.369

0.94

1.0338 1.1741

- Solids***

0.00

0.00 0.00

30.00 0.0144 0.0395 4

- Liquids

0.00

0.00 0.00

0.00

0.00

- Gases

0.05

0.15 0.35

0.58

0.651

0.762

- Nuclear

0.00

0.00 0.00

70.00

0.00

0.00

- Hydro

0.01

0.01 0.003

.003

15.57

4 0.00

0.0034 0.0026

3

0.07 0.10 0.161 energy 0.19 consumption 0.1978 0.2431 5.28(Import * Year- Total 2010 ** Energy consumption = Primary + Net import

TABLE 4.1: ENERGY STATISTICS (All 4energy values are in Exa-Joule)

4.1.2 ENERGY POLICY Presently, primary commercial energy resources include natural gas, oil, condensates, coal, peat and renewable energy resources. Biomass still plays an important role in the country’s energy consumption in the rural area. Government is actively considering use of nuclear energy for electricity generation.

The appreciable commercial energy resources of the country are well-developed natural gas sector and undeveloped coal sector. Prevailing constraints in the indigenous commercial energy sources limit the scope of widening the range of possible long -term national energy supplies.

A long-term strategic plan is required for carrying out systematic exploration and proper appraisal of discoveries. Hydrocarbon resource assessment studies indicate good prospects for finding new hydrocarbon resources especially in the offshore and deep sea areas.

77

In 2005-06 energy consumption was about 35 MTOE with biomass contributing 35% of the total energy. During 1999 – 2006, average annual increase of energy consumption was about 5%. In 2005-06 major commercial energy consumers were transport and household followed by agriculture, industry and commercial entities.

During 1999 –2006 share of biomass in total energy consumption was decreasing although its quantity was increasing at an average rate of about 2% per annum. Consumption of LPG in households and coal in brickfields will be encouraged to reduce the use of biomass and thereby reducing deforestation.

Bangladesh is facing twin energy crises – an urban energy crisis characterized by power shortages and skyrocketing gas consumption and a rural energy crisis reflected in the increasing inability of the rural poor to have access even to low-valued traditional biomass. To overcome these crises, sector reforms and additional investments are urgently needed for accelerated development and thus improving basic livelihoods of urban and rural population.

Areas having prospects of finding uranium and thorium deposits are to be appraised and techno-economic feasibilities conducted at prospective sites.

An earlier energy planning effort led to the formulation of first National Energy Policy (NEP), 1996 which brought Government attention to the urgency of ensuring proper exploration, production, distribution and rational use of energy sources to meet the growing energy demand of the country. With the rapid changes in global as well as domestic conditions Energy & Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) has undertaken a comprehensive programme for updating the National Energy Policy. The proposed updated policy will describe the role that the energy sector must play in order to meet its obligations for sustainable development of the country. This policy will also focus on implementation mechanisms and procedures for tracking results to ensure that the policies are reflected in practice.

Priority will be given on diversification of available indigenous commercial energy resources with coal assuming a much expanded role in providing the country’s future energy needs. The recoverable reserves of 4 (four) coalfields could range from 250 million to 900 million tons depending on the mining methods applied. Due attention will 78

be given for implementation of Nuclear Power Plant to cater to the future energy needs of the country. At the same time opportunity for regional energy trade will be explored to enhance energy security of the country.

The major issues causing slow development of the energy sector have been identified

by Govt. and other agencies. Following remedial measures need to be taken to address those issues:



More emphasis needs to be given on hydrocarbon exploration and development by national companies as well as IOCs to meet the future demand of gas.



Dependence on natural gas is to be reduced by developing alternative sources of commercial energy. Gas and electricity consumption practices are to be improved by efficient management.



Transparent transaction of subsidies needs to be ensured through oversight regulatory body.



Massive investment is required to meet the growing energy demand.



Power supply shortages are to be addressed by establishing new power plants, and proper maintenance and rehabilitation of existing power plants.



Public-private partnership and/or joint ventures and private sector participation are to be further encouraged.



Institutional capacity is to be built through necessary legal and administrative reforms and intensive investment programmes.



Nuclear energy is to be introduced within the shortest possible time.

4.1.3 Strategic Goals The overall goals of the energy sector are to: 

Provide adequate and secure energy resources for all.



Support socio-economic development.

79



Reduce poverty and ensure social equity.



Provide sustainable energy mix.



Promote rational use of energy.



Improve sector management and performance.



Increase private sector investment.



Ensure balanced growth of east and west zone of the country.



Promote regional energy markets.

4.1.4 Projected demand for electricity In Bangladesh, the power supply has constantly remained strained in peak hours.

Potential demands have not been met, and rotational outage has frequently occurred. The actual recorded maximum power has not included these potential demands. To estimate the maximum power that includes potential demands, PSMP 2006 adopts a method for calculating the generated power energy with which a compound daily load curve is produced by adding the evening peak demand for lighting, calculated from a daily load curve with no rotational outage on weekends and holidays in winter, to a daily load curve suppressed by rotational outage on weekdays in summer. By regressively analyzing the relation between the generated power energy calculated this way and the economic level indicated by the actual GDP and setting the load factor from a load curve that includes potential demands, PSMP 2006 estimates the maximum power energy. The following table shows the result of the forecast of power demands indicated in PSMP 2006.

In the first step of PSMP 2010, the power demand will be forecast using a similar method as that used in PSMP 2006. Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has striven to improve its socioeconomic conditions and grow its economy with support from domestic and international society. The average annual growth rate in the 14 -year period from 1995 to 2008 was 5.6%. In the past three years, a high growth rate has been maintained since the stable and high growth of the mining and industrial sectors and the service sector has covered the low growth rate of the agricultural sector. The midterm macroeconomic framework of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), which the 80

government has formulated, set a goal of achieving a GDP growth rate of 6.8% in fiscal 2007 and 7.0% in fiscal 2008 and 2009. However, due to negative factors such as increased pressure for inflation, soaring international prices of crude oil, disasters caused by floods and cyclones, and serious power shortages, the real GDP growth rate in fiscal 2008 was only 6.2%.

Table 4.2: PSMP 2006 demand forecast scenarios In the first step of PSMP 2010, the power demand will be forecast using a similar method as that used in PSMP 2006.

81

Since its independence in 1971, Bangladesh has striven to improve its socioeconomic conditions and grow its economy with support from domestic and international society. The average annual growth rate in the 14-year period from 1995 to 2008 was 5.6%. In the past three years, a high growth rate has been maintained since the stable and high growth of the mining and industrial sectors and the service sector has covered the low growth rate of the agricultural sector. The midterm macroeconomic framework of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), which the government has formulated, set a goal of achieving a GDP growth rate of 6.8% in fiscal 2007 and 7.0% in fiscal 2008 and 2009. However, due to negative factors such as increased pressure for inflation, soaring international prices of crude oil, disasters caused by floods and cyclones, and serious power shortages, the real GDP growth rate in fiscal 2008 was only 6.2%. The World Bank has drawn up a mid- to long-term growth scenario that by judging from circumstances, including the following facts: the country has assets required for growth, its economic fundamentals have improved and it has succeeded in first -stage reforms, its workforce is young, and corporate spirit and cultures have been established, the country will break away from its present status of being the poorest country and advance to become a medium-income country in approximately 10 years1.

Table 4.3: Economic Growth Scenarios

82

The adoption scenarios of the power demand forecast in this MP are as shown in the figure 2 below. The figure indicates three scenarios; (i) GDP 7% scenario and (ii) GDP 6% scenario, based on energy intensity method, and (iii) government policy scenario.

Figure 4.1: Three scenarios for power demand forecast

4.1.5 Perspective Energy Plan of Present Government The Perspective Plan of the Planning Commission of the government of Bangladesh for the period 2010 – 2021 has recommended an energy mix to achieve the generation of 20,000 MW by 2021. Targets of electricity production by 2013 and 2015 are 7,000 MW and 8000 MW, respectively. According to the Perspective Plan, the energy mix for power generation is as follows.

83

Table 4.4: Energy mix of the Perspective Plan 2010 – 2025 for power generation Energy Sources

Target Current 88

202 Period 30 Gas 1 3.7 53 % % Coal 6% 3% % % Oil Hydro 2.7 1% Nuclear 0% 10 % Renewable 0% 3% % Source: The Perspective Plan for Bangladesh 2010-2021.

203 28% 0 38% 5% 4% 19 6% %

4.1.6 Role of indigenous fuel in power generation The total gas shortfall was about 800 mmcdf, in which about 500 mmcfd was unmet demand, i.e. the amount was not delivered to the existing gas customer, and about 300 mmcfd was potential demand, i.e. the amount was wanted from the potential customer who had already applied for a gas contract but it was not executed yet. This gas shortfall arose continuously from around 2005. In order to project the gas demand forecast, the shortfall amount as of June 2010 was incorporated into the forecast as unmet/potential demand, then extrapolated to 2005. The gas shortfall will be alleviated due to the Gas Evacuation Plan (2010-2015) including the introduction of LNG, and the Government incentive plan for switching from gas to other fuels to gas potential customers. Via these measures, the gas shortfall is expected to be dissolved by 2016.

Since the development of Chattak gas field, 23 gas fields have been discovered until now and currently (June 2009), 17 gas field are producing the gas. The gas fields are operated by three National companies and four IOC companies. The gas fields of Titas, Bakhrabad, Habiganj, Narsingdi, and Meghna are possessed by BGFCL, the gas fields

of

Sylhet, Kailasitila, Rashidpur, and Beanibazar are possessed by SGFL

Company, and the gas fields of Salda, Fenchuganj, and Shahbazpur are possessed by BAPEX. The gas fields of Jalalabad, Moulavizar, Bibiyana (Chevron), Sangu (Cairn), 84

Bangura (Tullow) and Feni (Niko) are operated by IOCs with PSC. The average gas production volume is 1,791 mmcfd (2008/09) in all, and the production volume of IOC makes up 50%.

4.1.7 Energy Mix Considering all the indigenous sources in Bangladesh, it can be concluded that the present primary energy sources cannot meet even the base case scenario (which is shown previously) let alone the high case scenario. Even considering high-case scenario, it is below those of the neighboring countries like India, Pakistan. In this context, the Government is formulating the “Five-Fuel strategy” in which the priorities are given below.

1. Undertake immediate exploration of hydrocarbon and identify additional reserves that can meet the growing demand of gas by all consuming sectors 2. Develop alternative commercial energy supplies suitable for power generation, especially coal to ease the burden of fast-growing electricity demand on gas resources.

Thus a two-fuel (gas and coal) strategy is required for both resource diversification and energy security.

3. Ensure efficient use of energy by using energy–saving appliances, plants and equipment in order to effectively increase the stock of available energy supplies. It can alleviate current capacity shortages, and create a more sustainable energy supply and demand balance. Mobilization of this “third fuel” will dampen unwanted demand growth, reduce the need to add new peak power capacity, and insulate consumers from future price increases.

4. The resource potential of renewable energy is significantly larger than its present consumption and is a promising source of clean, convenient energy supply, especially in rural areas. With available and evolving technologies, renewable energy can be converted into modern energy like photovoltaic, biogas, bio-fuels, wind energy etc. making significant contributions to the total energy supply. This “fourth fuel” can help 85

in meeting the energy access throughout the country including the remote areas and thereby achieving poverty reduction goals.

5. Considering the limitation of fossil fuel supplies, nuclear fuel could be a potential energy option for the country, as it is a proven technology for economic, reliable and sustainable electricity generation. So, nuclear energy may be considered as the fifth fuel in the energy sector. Over the next decade, it could become a significant source of energy, thereby increasing diversity in the energy sector.

4.1.8 Options of fuel-mix for power generation Fuels and Technologies Considering the projected demand of power and the reserve bases of both gas and coal, it is high time to consider introduction of nuclear power as an alternative source of primary energy, and to explore the opportunity for regional energy trade. The option of the fuels and technologies for power generation is follows.

1. Considering the reserves and availability of resources, efforts are to be made to maximize the use of indigenous fuels, namely natural gas and coal.

2. A mix of fuel such as gas, coal and oil may be used for power generation and nuclear fuel should be considered to reduce reliance on any particular type of fue l for handling and transporting imported coal for power generation is to be developed.

4. Criteria for selection of technologies will include its proven, reliability, efficiency, maintainability and environmental compatibility.

5. Priority will be given to combine cycle technology for base load power plants using gas.

6. Preference will be given to nuclear energy for power generation.

86

7. Efforts will be made to standardize systems, sub-systems and components of energy equipment so as to minimize cost, improve reliability of the system and facilitate operation and maintenance

4.1.9. Structure of electric power sector In the country Bangladesh MoPEMR Power Division manages the electricity business. Under its control, the power is generated by the BPDB, power plants which are departments and subsidiaries of BPDB, IPP, and private power generation companies.

Power is supplied through PBCB’s power transmission facilities to customers in local cities by BPDB, in the metropolitan area by DPDC and DESCO, and in rural areas by PBS. Note that distribution departments in local cities are being separated one by one.

Fig. 3 shows the structure of the electric power sector in the country Bangladesh.

87

Figure 4.2: Structure of Electric Power Sector of Bangladesh

88

Generation: During the year 2009-10, 16072 GWh of net energy was generated in the public sector power plants. In addition, about 11,398 GWh of electricity was purchased by BPDB as a single buyer from IPPs, SIPPs & rental power plants in the private sector. As a result, the net energy generated by public and private sector power plants stood at 27,470 GWh (excluding power purchase by REB and IPP) which was 7.21 percent higher than that of the previous year’s net generation of 25,622 GWh. Total electricity generation by types of fuel was as follows: hydro (728.56 GWh, 2.65%), natural gas (24316.49 GWh, 88.52%), furnace oil (876.51 GWh, 3.19%), diesel (517.36 GWh, 1.89%), coal

(728.56

GWh,

3.75%). The overall thermal efficiency (net) of the

generators in the public sector in the financial year 2010 was 32.12% compared to 31.99% in the previous year. The forecast of maximum demand for financial year 2010 was 6454 MW. Demand is increasing fast due to enhanced economic activities in the country with sustained GDP growth. At present, electricity demand growth is about 10 percent which is expected to be more in the coming years. Total installed capacity was 5823 MW including 1330 MW in IPP, 548 MW in SIPP/ rental power plant and 226 MW in REB, but generation capacity (derated) was 5271 MW. The actual maximum peak generation was 4606 MW which was 10.67% higher than that in the previous year. The reasons for lower actual peak generation were (1) some plants were out of operation for maintenance, rehabilitation and overhauling. (2) capacity of the plants was derated due to aging and (3) gas shortage. The installed capacity mix including IPPs by plant type in the financial year 2010 was as follows: Hydro (230 MW, 3.95%), Steam Turbine (2638 MW, 45.31%), Gas Turbine (1466 MW, 25.18%), Combine Cycle (1263 MW, 21.69%), Diesel (226 MW, 3.87%). Also, the installed capacity mix including IPPs by fuel type in the financial year 2010 was as follows: Gas (4822 MW, 82.81%), Furnace Oil (335 MW, 5.75%), Diesel (186 MW, 3.20%), Hydro (230 MW, 3.95%) and Coal (250 MW, 4.29%).

In the east zone, electricity generated is mainly by indigenous gas based power plants.

Hydro in south- east region contributes a small portion of total generation. In the west zone, imported liquid fuel, domestic coal and natural gas are used for generation of electricity. Low cost electricity generated in the east zone, is being transferred to the west zone through 230 KV East-West Interconnector (EWI). The energy transferred through 89

EWI at the Ghorashal and Ashuganj end in the financial year 2010 was 3831 GWh, which is 50% increase over the previous year. The average fuel cost per unit generation of thermal power plants in the east and west zone under BPDB was Taka 0.88/KWh and Taka 3.76/KWh respectively.

Transmission and distribution: Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA), Rural Electrification Board (REB), Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) are responsible for transmission and distribution of electricity. During the financial year 2009- 10, Khulna(s) – Gallamari 4.2 Km double circuit 132 KV transmission

line

under

ADP (Annual Development Programme) and Ashuganj -

Shahjibazar 53 Km 132 KV single circuit, Naogaon-Niamatpur 46 Km 132 KV single circuit & Aminbazar-Savar 13 Km 132 KV double circuit transmission lines from PGCB’s own fund were completed and energized. Construction of several 132 KV lines are under way. Some will be commissioned very soon. The length of 132 KV line of whole transmission network has been increased to 5754 circuit kilometre. Also, the length of 230 KV line of whole transmission network in the financial year 2010 is 2647.30 circuit kilometre and the length of route kilometre is 1324.40.

The total length of distribution lines of 33 KV was 3827 Km, 11 KV was 9659 Km and 0.4 KV was 16,103 Km i.e. total distribution line was about 29,589 Km in the end of the financial year 2010. Distribution loss in BPDB’s own distribution zones has decreased to 13.06% from 13.57% in 2010. In the financial year 2009-10, the total capacity of 230/132 KV grid sub-station was 6850 MVA and a total of 225 MVA of new capacity of transformer was added. In this fiscal year, Gallamari 132/33 KV,

2×25/41 MVA,

Niamatpur 2×35/50 MVA & Savar 2×50/75 MVA sub-stations have been commissioned.

Therefore, the total capacity of 132/33 KV sub-station was increased from 9529 to 9899 MVA. In this fiscal year, the total duration of grid failure was 32 hours 30 minuets which was about 57.44% lower than the interruption in the financial year 2009.

90

TABLE 4.5: ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION AND INSTALLED CAPACITY Average 1980 1990 2001 Capacity

of

2006

2008

2010

annual

growth rate (%) 2001 to 2010

electrical

plants (GWe)

- Thermal

0.91 2.29 3.48

5.039 4.972

5.593

- Hydro

0.08 0.23 0.23

0.23

0.23

0.23

- Nuclear

0.00 0.00 0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

- Wind

0.00

- Geothermal

0.00 0.00 0.00

0.00

0.00

- other renewable - Total

0.00 0.00

0.99 2.35 3.711

5.269 5.202

5.823

6.65

Electricity production (TW.h) - Thermal

2.07 7.17 14.48 22.802 23.361 26.742

- Hydro

0.58 0.88 1.08

0.935 0.949

0.728

- Nuclear

0.00 0.00 0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

- Wind

0.00

- Geothermal

0.00 0.00 0.00

0.00

- other renewable - Total (1) Total

0.00

0.00 0.00

2.65 7.73 15.56 23.737 24.311 27.475

8.46

4.704 14.002 20.954 22.622 26.627

9.62

Electricity

consumption

(TW.h) (1) Electricity transmission losses are not eructed. * Year 2010

Consumption: The per capita consumption of electricity is very low. The per capita consumption of electricity is increasing almost steady over the years. At present only 49% of the people 91

have access to electricity. The consumption patterns in different end-user categories were as follows: Domestic (47.21%), Industry (36.56%), Commercial (9.49%), Agriculture (4.99%) and others (1.75%). In this financial year 2010, the utility wise bulk sales of electricity were as follows: REB/PBS (35.77%), BPDB (25.33%), DPDC (21.59%), DESCO (11.02%) and WZPDCO (6.28%).

TABLE 4.6: ENERGY RELATED RATIOS 1980 1990 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 Energy

2

consumption

3.8

4.1

4.64

4.83

6.61

10.5

2010 10.44

per

capita (GJ/capita) Electricity

3

2008

22.07 44.04 106.08 113.80 122.43 133.11 149.97 176.87

200

9.55 12.11 14.21 12.73 14.7

15

8.64

8.68

8.42

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.0

44

29

25

25

28

27.97

16.76 14.41 15.94

72

64.7

66.17

72.89 69.91 70.54

per

capita (kW·h/capita) Electricity Production/Energy production

(%)

Nuclear/Total electricity (%) Ratio of / Total external (1) Net import energy consumption.

(1) dependency (%) 31

72

51

Load factor of electricity plants

- Total (%)

- Thermal

- Hydro 92 -

Nuclear

Applicable)

(Not

4.2 Nuclear power situation

The proposal for building a nuclear power plant in the western zone of the country was first mooted in 1961. Since then a number of feasibility reports had been prepared which established that the plant was technically and economically feasible. The Rooppur site was selected in 1963 and 292 acres (118.3 hectare) of land (105.3 hectare for plant and 13 hectare for residential purposes) was acquired for the project. Physical infrastructures like residential quarters, site office, rest house, internal road, electric sub station, pump house etc. were established in the project area. The then Pakistan government gave formal approval for 70 MW, 140 MW and 200 MW Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in 1963, 1966 and 1969, respectively. Following liberation the ECNEC had approved the pp for a 125 MW nuclear power plant in 1980. A number of suppliers had submitted proposals for the project both before and after liberation. However, the project could not be implemented due to several problems with financing as the main obstacle.

Considering the changed circumstances in national and international level the government of Bangladesh expressed its firm commitment to implement the Rooppur nuclear power project (RNPP). It may be mentioned that the inordinate delay in project implementation has brought about a number of changes in the planning process. For example since grid size is growing, it will eventually grow to a size where accommodation of a larger plant of 600 mw with advantage of economy of scale would be required. The growth of the grid to such a size incidentally matches the time needed for implementation of such a plant.

Such changes would necessitate updating data, information and some of the past studies.

93

Some of the key milestones of Bangladesh national Nuclear Power program:

1

1963:

Rooppur site selected

2

1971-78,

Feasibility Studies for site and first NPP conducted.

1987-88: 3

1996:

National Energy Policy identifies nuclear power as an option

4

2000:

BANPAP approved by the government

5

2010:

National Parliament approves first NPP project and new structure for NP program development (equivalent NEPIO) were formed (National Committees, Technical Committee, Working Group).

6

2011:

IGA with Russia signed for the first NPP with two VVER units, each of 1000 MWe.

Nuclear power projects are very complicated and any decision on it, unless taken at an appropriate level of the government, might be rendered ineffective. Continuity of decision over a long time is also an important requirement. In the case of Bangladesh, The Government has recognized the need for a proper institutional framework with adequate financial and administrative power, accountability and transparency that can either itself and/or through a joint venture with others, build and operate nuclear power plants. In 2000 a Nuclear Power Action Plan (BANPAP) was approved by the government. The BANPAP proposed a Nuclear Power Authority of Bangladesh (NPAB), which at the national level shall be responsible to an apex body named National Nuclear Power Council (NNPC) Headed by the Honourable Prime Minister. This NPAB should be the nuclear power operating organization (Licensee). NNPC will be served by the Governing Body of the NPAB. There shall be a Governing Body of the NPAB, headed by the Minister in charge of the Ministry dealing with nuclear power as its Chairman. Until creation of the NNPC and the NPAB, BAEC is appointed authority by the BANPAP and the 1973 Presidential Order to deal with all activities for implementation of RNPP and the Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST) will work as the focal Ministry.

73

Before establishment of the formal institutional framework of NNPC and NPAB, the government has decided to execute the responsibility of those institutions by high level national committees. Recently, the Government of Bangladesh has formed a Cabinet Committee on implementation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (RNPP) Headed by the Honourable Prime Minister (Bangladesh Gazette, June 13, 2010). The Ministers and Secretaries of relevant ministries are the members of the Cabinet Committee. The Cabinet Committee will review the implementation progress of the project, determine the ownership and project execution approach of the RNPP, finalize the financing and purchase of the RNPP and finalize the contractual agreement(s) with supplier.

The

Cabinet Committee will also identify the barriers in implementing RNPP and

provide recommendations/directions for overcoming the barriers. The Cabinet is presently working to define ownership of the RNPP, arranging fund for RNPP, finalization of project execution methodology and mode and conclusion of the contract(s) with supplier. Basically, the Cabinet Committee has been assigned with the Functional responsibilities of the NNPC. The government has formed a Technical Committee on the RNPP headed by the Honourable Minister of the Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST). The secretaries, head of the relevant organizations, academicians, chairman and representatives of BAEC are the members of the Technical Committee.

This committee will take necessary

steps to establish organizational structure of the project implementation phase of RNPP. The committee will take initiatives to prepare comprehensive documents for consideration of the Cabinet Committee on RNPP taking into accounts of various issues namely the project implementation mode, technology transfer, project implementation period, financing mechanism, regulatory issues.

Basically, the Technical Committee is

taking the responsibilities of the proposed NPAB. Presently, this committee is executing various activities related to project decision making phase activities of the IAEA Milestone Documents.

During the 2008 National Parliament elections, a declaration to implement the nuclear power project was made by all major parties, and a decision for immediate implementation of the NPP was taken by the national parliament in 2010.

A National Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister was established in 2010. A Technical Committee was established chaired by the State Minister of Ministry of 74

Science & Technology (MOST). Under the technical committee, there is a working group convened by the Secretary of Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST). Also under this working group, there are eight (8) working sub groups which are given below.

1. Heavy equipment transportation planning 2. Grid system, 3. Nuclear fuel cycle, waste management and environmental monitoring 4. National participation 5. Funding and financing 6. Development of Human Resources 7. Ownership, project execution and project management 8. Legal and regulatory aspects, international obligations.

The Government has also formed a Working Group for accomplishment of various activities to take preparation for RNPP construction. The Working -Group is responsible for identifying various activities for materializing the government decision on implementation of the RNPP. The Working Group will identify the required areas of cooperation from the supplier source(s) for the project.

To accelerate the activities for starting construction of RNPP, the Government has formed eight Working Sub-Groups each of which consists of the representatives from the relevant ministries, organizations (namely Bangladesh Power Development Board, Power Grid Company of Bangladesh), academic institutions and the representatives of BAEC. The names of the Working Sub-Groups are as follows: (1) Legal and Regulatory Aspects as well as International Obligations, (2) Ownership, Project execution and Project Management, (3) Funding and Financing, (4) Development of Human Resources, (5) Grid System Development, (6) Nuclear Fuel Cycle and waste management and (7) National Participation. These Working Sub-Groups are responsible for assessing the Nuclear Infrastructure of the country in the respective areas and identify the gaps of nineteen infrastructure items of Phase II (Decision Making Phase). The Groups will take 75

initiatives in addressing the gaps of the nineteen items of the IAEA Milestone Document in order to take final preparation of the construction of RNPP. A road map is formulated to carry out the responsibility of the NEPIO through formation of the above-mentioned Cabinet Committee, Technical Committee and Working Group and Sub-Groups for implementation of RNPP. The Committees on RNPP and Working Group have build-in-mechanism for linkages with relevant ministries and government agencies for R&D support, HRD, regulatory aspects, nuclear safety, security, safeguard, T & D and integrate RNPP into the overall electricity generation planning and Power purchase.

4.2.1 Present status of nuclear power program of Bangladesh The nuclear power generation has become an inevitable option for Bangladesh which has already been reflected in the government policy documents. The updated National Energy Policy projected nuclear power as an important option of meeting the ever-growing energy demand. The policy outlined the programme to be taken to implement two units of nuclear power plants by 2020 and to meet about 10% of electricity demand by 2025 and 25% of total electricity generation beyond 2025 by implementation of nuclear power projects. The revised policy also recommended for implementation of two units of medium size nuclear power plants by 2020 in order to improve the supply situation of electricity in the country. Additional two or three more units of larger size above 1000 MW(e) by 2025 will contribute about 10% of the total energy mix for power generation. However, continued efforts will be made to achieve 25% of total electricity generation from nuclear power beyond 2025. The Perspective Plan of the Planning Commission of the government of Bangladesh for the period 2010 – 2021 has recommended the following energy mix to achieve the generation of 20,000 MW by 2021 in which the share of nuclear power is assumed about 10% in overall generation.

4.2.2 Present Status of Rooppur Nuclear Power Project The present government is working on selection of suitable technology, financing, selection of ownership, human resource development, grid system development etc. for 76

implementation of NPP by 2020. A government supported Annual Development Project for the 2008 – 2011 cycle has been approved in 2008 to accomplish essential activities to Implement Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant which is now under execution. Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) under supervision of the Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST) is presently conducting/reviewing some site specific studies as well as updating data to complete the Site Safety Report and to make the site suitable for heavy construction as per IAEA recommendations/guidelines. The application for the site license of RNPP has been put forward to Nuclear Safety & Radiation Control Division (NSRCD), BAEC in order to take appropriate actions.

On 2 November 2011, Bangladesh signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with Russia for a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) with two units, each of 1,000 MWe. Under the IGA, Russia will also provide financial support for the first NPP in Bangladesh, supply the nuclear fuel and take back the spent nuclear fuel. The target for commissioning the first NPP and starting commercial operation is 2020-2021.

The IGA covers the following main aspect: a) Design, construction and commissioning of the first NPP with two VVER units, each with 1000 MWe; b) Development of necessary infrastructure in Bangladesh for NPP operation; c) Development of the legal basis and regulation for nuclear safety and emergency response; d) NPP technical design including the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) and other documentation; e)

Planning and monitoring of the first NPP construction activities and services

performed by the contractor, quality management, training of personnel; f)

Long-term supply of nuclear fuel and take back of spent fuel;

g) Cooperation in the management of radioactive waste and decommissioning of NPP units.

Subsidiary agreements or contracts will be negotiated in the above mentioned areas, with specific terms and financial arrangements.

77

4.2.3 INIR Mission Prior to the mission, the INIR mission team reviewed the self-evaluation report and supporting materials. Input was sought from IAEA staff members with relevant experience.

Several INIR mission team meetings were conducted prior to the mission, including full team meetings in Vienna on 04 November 2011 and Dhaka on 08 November 2011, to discuss the team’s initial views on the infrastructure status.

The mission was conducted from 09-15 November 2011. Given the long history of the Bangladesh nuclear power programme planning and the conclusion of IGA for the NPP, the team reviewed conditions for both Phases 1 and 2.

The mission was coordinated on the Bangladesh side by the Secretary for the Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST). The meetings was held at BAEC offices.

The interviews were conducted over five days. The preliminary draft report was prepared and discussed with the counterparts. The preliminary mission results were presented on 13 November 2011 to the Minister of SC. A more detailed presentation of the preliminary mission results was presented to senior officials in an exit meeting on 15 November 2011.

The INIR Mission was conducted in a cooperative and open atmosphere. The mission team recognized that the Bangladesh nuclear power program and associated infrastructure is progressing. From the time the self-evaluation report was submitted until the time the INIR mission was conducted in November 2011, a few notable developments had taken place, including the signing of the IGA on 2 November 2011 and preparation of the organizational framework of the new Regulatory Body.

The INIR mission team concluded that the Government has made a clear commitment to a nuclear power programme, which is important to sustaining the planning process and to implementing the project. The mission team noted, however, that in the last decade several draft policies and action plans that have not been fully updated or approved. The mission team observed that once the project is initiated, sustained policies, and sustained leadership will be necessary to complete the negotiations and implem ent the project.

78

The INIR mission team concluded that the Bangladesh mostly reached Milestone 1, having “made a knowledgeable decision” regarding its nuclear power program.

There are two open issues that still require attention from Phase 1 managemen t and funding/financing. The INIR mission team concluded that the Bangladesh nuclear power program in general has progressed into Phase 2, being in the stage of preparation to negotiate the agreement(s)/contract(s) with selected NPP Vendor.

The main conclusions were in several areas as summarized below. To assist Bangladesh in making progress in its infrastructure development, the Mission team made 50 recommendations. The key recommendations are summarized as follows: Preparations for contract negotiations should be made.

To become a

“knowledgeable customer” and to be ready to negotiate with the vendor, the BAEC will need to develop specifications for the contract which cover technical, economic, commercial and training aspects for the fuel supply, the reactor units, supporting infrastructure and spent fuel take-back and waste disposal. Bangladesh should have a clear understanding of the two options—Government ownership (turnkey) or BOOT and prepare analysis of options for decision-makers (including risk analysis), as well as have the capabilities within BAEC to negotiate and prepare the contract. The coordination among the Government committees overseeing the programme and with the implementing organizations (the future owner and the regulatory body) will need to be strengthened to allow for timely decisions to be taken and implementation to be facilitated.

The regulatory body should be strengthened. The draft Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulations Act of 2011 should be promulgated as soon as possible to establish an independent regulatory body. The regulatory body should be prepared to issue the site license. An agreement with the Russian regulator for training and technical support during the licensing of the first NPP in Bangladesh is in process and should be finalized. Eighteen needed regulations identified during the mission, eight of which have already been drafted, should be finalized and issued.

Management of the nuclear infrastructure development should be strengthened. As the programme progresses into the next stage after the IGA and prepares to negotiate with the vendor, BAEC is undergoing significant changes. BAEC should be prepared to carefully manage these changes: NPED, as the future owner, should become a knowledgeable customer for the Russian vendor and its organization inside BAEC 79

should grow accordingly. The NSRCD will become an independent organization and move to a separate building which has already been constructed. Bangladesh should commit to ensure appointment of leaders (especially in future owner

and

regulatory

body) with appropriate training and experience for leadership and management of safety. Integrated management systems (including quality management) should be planned and implemented in both BAEC and the regulatory body which define the organizational goals and key processes in sufficient detail. A unique coordinator should be identified as the project manager responsible and accountable for the NPP development.

A national project plan should be developed. The project plan should include the relevant actions from other national authorities responsible for infrastructure activities necessary for the NPP.

The project plan should include timeframes and financial

evaluations. The BANPAP should be updated, which could serve as an outline for such a project plan.

On-going activities should be completed. Siting studies should be completed as soon as possible in conjunction with the NPP vendor. Roles and responsibilities for nuclear power infrastructure should be clarified with other national authorities (e.g.

Ministry of the Environment). A national level human resource plan should be developed covering the regulatory body, the future owner-operator and the future waste management organization. Where appropriate, integrated training should be provided. A strategic plan for stakeholder management and public information should be implemented. A policy for the fuel cycle including take-back of spent fuel should be developed. A policy for longterm management of Low and Medium level radioactive waste (RW) that will not be sent back should be developed which would include a financing scheme.

In addition to these recommendations, the INIR mission team made 20 specific suggestions to support continued improvement and strengthening of Bangladesh program.

The INIR mission team further recognized 2 good practices, which are worthy of the attention as a model in the drive for excellence in infrastructure development: the preparation of a safeguards policy paper and the ranking of the nuclear facility as a key protected infrastructure for the purposes of physical protection.

80

4.3 Future development of nuclear power In Bangladesh, the medium to long-term and short-term (annual) macro planning are conducted under term plans (Five Year Plan) and Annual Development Programmes, respectively. The Term Plan is divided into various sectoral plans. Development targets of electricity generation, transmission and distribution over a plan period are set under the energy sector. Thus, any decision on nuclear power programme is taken by considering the overall programme for the sector. Various studies are conducted to assess energy demand during the plan period and on the supply side the technologies for generation are identified by considering the relevant factors such as economics, fuel option, environmental dimension, project gestation period, availability of finance, etc. The National Energy Policy, with a perspective period of 25 years is also consulted for the purpose. In the case of Bangladesh, the need for introducing nuclear power is identified in all these macro-level plans and policy documents. The existing executive framework for the project, which is discussed in a later paragraph, has been proved use ful in establishing the linkage with the macro level planning.

It is also equally important to assess the economic aspects of nuclear power as a component of a least cost generation plan. The environmental impact of various options should also be assessed properly as one of the tools for decision-making.

In many developing countries, the new trend is to deregulate the electricity sector.

Private entrepreneurs are attracted to invest in the entire range of activities, including generation. Of late, entrepreneurs have established generating plants in Bangladesh under Power Purchase Agreements. In the transitional phase, extreme care has to be taken in choosing the technology and fuel options for evolving the optimum generation plan. In particular, the conditions of power purchase agreement for the private sector generation

may

upset overall optimization of the system. Other factors deserving

attention include the administered price of indigenous fuels and energy tariff.

Centralized planning for generation may thus need some structural changes and review of strategies by considering the above changes.

81

4.3.1 The need for an integrated approach to planning The macro-micro linkage is an important pre-requisite for the integrated approach to nuclear power project planning. However, the other important facet is the need for integration among various elements of micro planning of nuclear power programme. The two broad strings of activities that have to be addressed with equal earnestness and seriousness right from the inception of a nuclear power programme are: (a) Technical, economic and financial management of the nuclear power programme; and (b) Safety and regulatory aspects.

Since the above two categories of functions are to be ultimately conducted independent of each other, the planning for nuclear power, including capacity building and human resource development activities as well as the necessary legal frameworks for each of these, need to be addressed properly. Issues like management of radioactive waste including a policy on ultimate disposal of high level wastes also require attention at the early stage. Other issues, like capacity building in quality management, identification of codes, guides and standards, project management, etc., also deserve due consideration. In particular, the human resource development programme should be developed in such a way that the core manpower acquires at least working knowledge in the above mentioned key areas of the nuclear power programme.

4.3.2 Bangladesh Nuclear Power Action Plan A blanket administrative provision is essential to ensure efficient implementation of a government decision on the national nuclear power programme. Its overwhelming role is evident from the wide range of national as well as international agencies, whose concerted participation is essential for the success in realizing the decision effectively. Such a provision is best served through a National Nuclear Action Plan, adopted at the appropriate level of the government. The main purpose of this document is to identify: 

Various activities needed for implementation of the nuclear power programme; 82



The agencies responsible for each of these activities;



Enabling measures like funding, for conducting the activities.

The government of Bangladesh adopted the National Nuclear Action Plan (BNPAP) for meeting the above-mentioned purposes for early implementation of the nuclear power project in the country in 2000.

The Table of Contents the BANPAP are as follows: 1. Preamble 2. Scope and Objectives of the Action Plan 3. The General Action Plan 3.1. Legal aspects and provisions of Bangladesh on Nuclear 3.2. Safety and Radiation Control and their enforcement 3.3. Safety Culture 3.4. Institutional Framework 3.4. Management of Radioactive Waste and Decommissioning 3.5. Nuclear Fuel Cycle 3.6. Development of Human Resources 3.7. Public Acceptance, Public Information and Education 3.8. National Participation 3.9. Financing 4. Specific Action Plan for the Short-term 4.1. Objective of the Short Term Plan 4.2. Site Evaluation 4.3. The Feasibility Study Report 4.4. Bid Invitation Document 83

4.5. Bid Invitation 4.6. Bid Evaluation 4.7. Financing 4.8. Supplementary project 4.9. Technical Co-operation of the IAEA Presently, Bangladesh is revising and updating the Bangladesh Nuclear Power Action Plan according to national and International aspects of nuclear power programme.

4.4 Project Management In the 1st meeting of the National Committee headed by the honourable Prime Minister dated 2 nd March 2011 on the subject related to direction and monitoring for the implementation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project, it has been decided that Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project will be implemented under the ownership of th e Government of Bangladesh. In that meeting, the process of BOOT and Turnkey has also been considered.

In the light of the National Committee, an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) was signed on the construction of the nuclear power plant between the Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Russian Federation on 2 nd November 2011 in order to implement Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project. According to the section -2 of IGA, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) have been considered as customer and competent authority of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project respectively. On the other way, Atomstroyexport on behalf of Russian federation and Rosatom have been identified as the contractor and competent authority respectively.

In this continuation, the different aspects of the project implementation have been discussed on the meeting held in the Prime Minister’s office on the last 25 th January 2012 convened by the economic advisor of the honorable Prime Minister. In that meeting, 84

a detailed discussion of the pros and cons of BOOT and Turnkey process was held considering the present progress of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project.

Under the auspices of the Russian Federation Government, there is provision to implement the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project through the establishment of a joint venture company under

the

BOOT

operator.

If

this

project

is

implemented

under this process, the Government of Bangladesh will not have direct responsibilities on the process of implementation as well as funding of the project. Moreover, the involvement of the local experts for the different phases of the project implementation and operation of the plant is not mandatory. Depending on the consideration that the overall risks rendered on the BOOT operators in case of the implementation and operation of the project, the cost of the electricity generated from Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will be relatively high. On the other hand, because of the supply of the electricity in an affordable price mostly depends on the BOOT operator, there will be uncertainty in the energy security of the country in long term future. In addition, the provision in the human resource development for the nuclear technology including technology acquirement will be narrower and hence there will be perplexity on the handover of the plant to Bangladesh.

Moreover, if initiatives are taken to implement the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project in cooperation of Russian Federation following BOOT process, there will be necessity to change, re-correct the conditions of the signed Inter-Governmental Agreement between two countries. As a result, bilateral discussions will be needed between the two governments in order to re-construct the already completed agreement following BOOT process and it will be completed in a long process. By the approval of both governments on the corrected agreement following BOOT process, it will be signed again. In this case, there can be procrastination in the implementation of the project.

On the other hand, Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project can be implemented under the ownership of Bangladesh Government following Turnkey process in cooperation with Russian Federation depending on the signed IGA with Russi an Federation. In this case, Bangladesh has to take responsibilities of collecting funds including all management systems of the implementation of the project. Still, the maximum probable risks can be rendered on the supplier country in the phase of design, construction and commission of the nuclear plant through completing a proper Turnkey Contract with the supplier country. Considering the nuclear infrastructure, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project can be implemented through completing a Turnkey Contract with 85

the supplier country following the international rules under the local jurisdiction.

A

proper institution can be given responsibilities under the auspices of Bangladesh Government in the completion of the design, construction, commissioning and overall implementation of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project.

4.4.1 Project funding It is necessary to prepare a financing plan including necessary infrastructure, all site studies and the construction of the plant in the light of the signed agre ement with Russian Federation in order to estimate the actual cost of the implementation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project. The financing plan shall include the construction of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in a safe and cost-effective manner, site characterization of the Rooppur site area, pre-design and design documentation drafting, construction of the two units each of 1000 MW and their related physical infrastructure as for example waste disposal facility, interim spent fuel facility, grid facilities, calibration laboratory facilities, safeguard equipment and facilities, emergency response facilities and organization, communication system development, transport access, human resource development, training facilities, public information center etc. The terms and condition of the financial contract shall be drafted for the State Credit from the supplier’s country.

In this case, interest rate should be kept minimum. Apart from the State Credit, the part which Bangladesh Government will carry, shall be explored from different sources as for example Annual Development Project (ADP), soft loan etc.

4.4.2 Electric grid development RNPP is located almost in the load center of the western zone and is just about 5 km from Ishurdi sub-station The RNPP will be fed into the Ishwardi Sub-station where the high voltage 230 KV East-West inter-connector, Khulna– Ishurdi; Ishurdi- BaghabariSirajgang-Bogra Transmission lines tie in. In addition, construction of Ishurdi - Rajshahi transmission line is under consideration .Steps are taken to make an agreement with Russian Federation to carryout necessary study related to modification/improvements of 86

the grid system have been taken _ Joint consultation for conclusion an agreement between relevant Bangladesh organizations and vendor sources is under way.

The power generated at different power stations are evacuated through a national grid system comprising 230 kV & 132 kV network operated and maintained by the government owned company named Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Ltd. (PGCB), which is the first utility in the power sector of Bangladesh having ISO9001:2000 certification. The responsibilities of the PGCB include (1) Operation and maintenance of grid substations and transmission line, (2) Load dispatching (overall operation of the grid network), (3) Operation and maintenance of communication system including Optical fiber network, (4) Protection, relay coordination and (5) Transmission network Planning & Design. The PGCB carries out its activities so as to achieve the following goals: 

Economic upliftment of the country by reaching electricity to all through reliable transmission,



Efficient and effective management of national power grid for reliable and quality transmission of electricity as well as economic dispatch throughout the country.

At present, the national grid system has the capability to handle a maximum load of about 7000 MW. The transmission lines of the grid system and grid substations that are under the control of PGCB are as follows: A. Existing Transmission line (a) 230 kV: 2644.5 Circuit km (b) 132 kV: 5741 Circuit km B. Existing Substations (a) 230/132 kV: 12 (6300 MVA) + 1 No. Switching Station (b) 132/33 kV : 75 (7844 MVA) Besides these, the Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) and Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO) maintain about 77 circuit km of 230/132 kV transmission line. Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has two 230/132 kV substations with a total capacity of 550 MVA, while the BPDB, DPDC and DESCO have eighteen 132/33 kV substations having a total capacity of about 2055 MVA. 87

The grid system of Bangladesh has a National Load Dispatching Center (NLDC) located in Aftabnagar, Rampura, and Dhaka. According to the plan, 400 kV transmission lines are going to be hooked up with the grid system in neat future. The 400 kV lines will mainly be used to import electric power from India. Some of the key parameters of the above grid system are given below: A) As per Grid Code (a) Variation of voltage: ± 5% (normal), ± 10% (For Emergency) (b) Variation of frequency: ± 1% (normal), ± 2% (Abnormal) (c) Fault clearing time: Within 100 ms B) As per Present Condition (a) Variation of voltage: ± 10% (normal), ± 20% (For Emergency) (b) Variation of frequency: ± 1% (normal), ± 2% (Abnormal) (c) Fault clearing time: Within 150 ms As per the present power system expansion plan the dependable generation capacity of the country will be about 12000 MW against maximum demand about 11000 MW in 2017.

The install capacity is projected to increase to about 33000MW by 2030. It is expected that by 2020 the contribution from nuclear generation will be about 2000 MW and by 2030 it will be increased to about 5000MW. Keeping all the above in mind the PGCB needs to take up measures to upgrade the national grid so as to make it compatible with the generation capacity of the country and in particular, make the grid ready for accommodating the upcoming nuclear power plant having a capacity of 1000MW by 2017 a second unit of same capacity by 2020. For this purpose detailed power system studies including Load flow studies, Transient stability studies, Long duration system dynamics studies involving loss of generation, etc. are to be conducted as soon as possible.

88

4.4.3 Site selection Bangladesh prepared a draft site safety report on Rooppur Nuclear Power Project in the year of 2000. Recently, the government of Bangladesh has taken steps to carry out several site specific new studies and also review/update the previous studies/data to finalize the site safety report. BAEC has conducted the following site specific studies of the proposed Rooppur Nuclear Power Project to estimate the specific safety parameters required for designing and constructing the nuclear power plant at Rooppur. (i) Site Specific Geological, Geophysical and Geotechnical Study of Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (a) Review of geology and fault information; Compilation of earthquake database; Analysis of seismic source and seismicity characteristics; Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (200, 475, 975, 2475 years); (b) 1D Site response analysis (Site specific) study; Development of site specific response spectrum; (c) Determination of liquefaction resistance by cyclic triaxial test; (d) Assessment of liquefaction potential of the site; (e) Supervision of Geophysical Investigation by P-S logging and (f) Analyses of Soil Stabilization and Slope Stability.

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission had made agreements with Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation (BRTC), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh and Ground Water Hydrology Division (GWH), Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), Dhaka, Bangladesh to perform services in respect of above-mentioned “Site Specific Geological, Geophysical and Geotechnical study of Rooppur Nuclear Power Project”.

Summary of the Study: 

Tectonically Bangladesh is divided broadly into three (3) divisions :



Stable Shelf (in the northwest), 89



Bengal Foredeep (in the centre), and



Chittagong-Tripura Belt in the east).



In addition there is a SW-NE trending 25 km wide Hinge Zone separating the Bengal Foredeep from the Stable Shelf. The proposed Nuclear Power Plant site at Rooppur is located near this Hinge Zone in the Stable Shelf part.



During the last decade, the occurrence and damage caused by a number of earthquakes (magnitude between 4 and 6) inside the country or near the country’s border, has raised the awareness among the general people and the government.

These earthquakes are located far away from the Rooppur site.



There is no indication of surface faulting around the site;

(ii) Study on Site related hydrological and morphological characteristics of Ganges River in the vicinity of site,

and flooding effect due to global climate c hange impact and

man-made major interventions Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission has taken steps to finalize a report on hydrological and morphological characteristics of the site area in collaboration with Institute of Water Modelling IWM), Bangladesh through an agreement. IWM has already conducted the requisites of the site study whose summary is given below. 

Global climatic change has significant impact at the project area from hydrology and hydraulic points of view (depth & extent of flood).



There is no impact of tsunami at the power plant site.



Due to construction of proposed Ganges Barrage, the water level will be up to 17m PWD. The crest level of existing embankment and pakshey bridge guide bund is 16.5 m PWD and 16.7mPWD respectively.



There is no hydraulic impact at the RNPP site due to Gorai river restoration project.



With global warming scenario, it is found that computed water level is over



18mPWD in the vicinity of RNPP site while the existing embankment height is



16.5mPWD.



Possibility of left bank erosion of Ganges River at RNPP site is insignificant.



The recommended location for the intake point is 401177.95m easting and 90



659569.00m northing.



The recommended location for the outfall point is 403952.90 m easting and 659543.00m northing.

(iii) Updating/Reviewing the previously prepared Site Safety related study/data The site related demographic, meteorology data, transport planning and emergency response planning have been updated.

4.4.4 Organizations involved in construction of NPPs It is planned that a core group will be formed long before-hand the construction of the plant and that group will be involved with the construction of the plant with the main contractor.

In case of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project, the scope of the participation of the national industry in the project will be limited to items that do not have safety implications and such works, if undertaken by local parties, will be coordinated under the supervision and total responsibility of the prime contractor from supplier side. However, the local participation should be maximized. It is desirable that about 30% of total investment mostly for site preparation, site development and development of local infrastructure such as workers’ township, roads and also building of some non-nuclear safety related structures in the project site can be undertaken locally.

Bangladesh believes a step by step increase of national participation for subsequent units.

On the other hand, the national policy to widen the participation of national industries is not analyzed yet.

Organizations involved in operation of NPPs: While signing the main contract, a separate contact will be signed about training a group of core operators group within BAEC who will be skilled enough to obtain a licence from the main contractor’s country. This core group will work under the main contractor’s operator for a substantial amount of time.

Organizations involved in decommissioning of NPPs: 91

Alike construction and operator core group, a separate group will also be formed for decommissioning who will obtain training and skill from the main contractor’s country.

4.5 Fuel cycle including waste management Bangladesh will not seek to be involved in any front-end and back-end nuclear fuel cycle activity except that would be required for the management of spent fuel and disposal of radioactive waste. Bangladesh would seek to conclude with reliable and responsible governments and contractors for the secure supply of nuclear fuel, as well as the safe and secure transportation and, take back of spent fuel via fuel leasing. Bangladesh shall develop on-site/off-site safe interim storages (both wet and dry).It may acquire the technology of fabrication of fuel elements based on imported raw materials and enrichment services from internationally reliable sources.

Bangladesh will not be involved in the areas of fuel cycle activities relating to uranium production, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication and reprocessing of spent fuels. Its participation in the nuclear fuel cycle is limited to procurement of fresh fuel from a fuel leasing country or company, storage of fresh fuels, using the fresh fuels in the reactor, interim storage of spent fuels until they are returned to the suppl ying country.Bangladesh is not operating any NPP. The country has a research reactor and there is a facility for isotope production. Program on waste management is focused to that related to research reactor and industrial uses of radiation/nuclear source s.

BAEC has established the Central Radioactive Waste Processing and Storage Facility (CWPS) in the campus of AERE, Savar under the Govt. Annual Development Project and the IAEA Technical Co-operation Project (BGD/4/022, 2001-2004). The functions of this facility are: collection, segregation, packaging, conditioning, treatment, and storage of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes from different nuclear facilities.

The design of the facility was based on the IAEA generic reference design. The main building is a single storey building (total area 1163 m2; size: 40 m x 35 m), divided internally into a number of rooms and areas for different purposes. The main building 92

consists of a suitable combination of mainly two areas: one for receiving and processi ng waste from the generators, includes the necessary equipment, machinery and support services for treating and conditioning the waste, the second one for storing radioactive wastes.

Main operating area is divided into three parts: (1) an enclosure for solid wastes sorting, compaction (9m x 10.98m x 4.88m h); (2) Conditioning (cementation) enclosure

sub- divided into cementation area 6.6m x 6.0m (active room); grout

preparation room: 3.65m x 6.0m (non-active) & pulverization room: 3.65m x 6.00m; and (3) liquid effluents treatment (LET) enclosure (6m x 7.3m) having provisions for treatment of aqueous liquid wastes by combined technique (Ion-exchange + ultrafiltration).

The following major equipments are available in the CWPSF for segregation, tr eatment, conditioning storage and transportation of low and intermediate level liquid and solid wastes within the facility: (1) Aqua-Express (liquid waste treatment plant): For treatment of low and intermediate level liquid radioactive waste.

(2) In drum-mixer: The electrically driven mixer unit for the cementation of small volume of liquid wastes, sludges, an ion-exchange resin, etc.

(3) Solid waste sorting box: The sorting cabinet has been set-up to segregate the different types mixed solid low level wastes.

(4) In drum compactor: An in-drum compactor operates on the compactable waste drum to give compacted waste drum (expected volume reduction factors are in the range between 2 to 5).

Radioactive wastes are being generated through the operation and maintenance of 3MW (t) TRIGA MARK-II Research Reactor, Radioisotope production labs, 14 MeV Neutron Generator, research and commercial irradiators; and from different industries, research labs (such as INST, AECD, IFRB, ICDDRB, etc), universities, agricultural applications etc.

There are eighteen Nuclear Medicine Centres (NMC) including two private and one Nuclear Medicine Institute (NMI) in Bangladesh. Nuclear Medicine Facilities 93

(NMF’s) are using radioisotopes such as: I-131, Tl-201, P-32, Cr-52 and I-125. Most of the NMFs use Sr-90 for eye applicator. In addition, there are ten industrial radiotherapy facilities and three gamma irradiator facilities are using Co-60, Cs-137 and Ir-192 radioisotopes for a variety of purposes in research, industry and other fields. There are ten radiotherapy installations with ten Co-60 Teletherapy units, one linear accelerator, and 3HDR and 2LDR brachytherapy units.

The radioactive wastes arising are generally spent ion-exchange resins, graphite, lead and polythene plugs, resistance temperature device, solid trashes, contaminated vials, hand gloves, plastic syringes, tissue papers, shoe-covers, protective cloths, plastic and metallic wares, contaminated apparatus/equipment, aqueous and organic liquids, spent and disused SRS, activated carbon, gaseous discharges, etc. The radio nuclides involved are e.g., Co-60, Cs-134, CS-137, Sr-90, Ir-192, Tc-99m, I-131, I-125, C14, H-3, Ra-226, Am-Be neutron sources, Cm-244, Am-241, Cr-51, Mn-54, Zn-65, P32, Sc-46, etc. Moreover, if the proposed nuclear power plant is established in the country, more anthropogenic radionuclides will be involved in these wastes in future.

Approximately 6.61m3 of LILW have been collected and safely stored at CWPSF. For the storage of these wastes the facility has earned approximately Taka 16 , 72,299 in the last financial year. For improvement and strengthening in terms of operational capability, safety and security of RW including spent radioactive sources and ov erall security of the facility. CWPSF is expected to serve waste management need in the country and, in the course of time, it may be turned into an International level training centre in the field of radioactive waste management. It is essential for safe conduction and culture of research and application in nuclear science and technology maintaining the relevant safety of man and environment and future generations to come. The facility is expected to be helpful in piloting waste management tasks in large scale in the near future. The Safety Analysis Report (SAR) of the facility has recently been prepared in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and it is expected that the facility will be licensed very soon.

Bangladesh believes that a healthy market exists at the front end of the fuel cycle.

Currently, all reprocessing plants are state owned and any guarantee from a supplier would have the implicit or explicit agreement with the corresponding governmen t. Based upon the existing nature of the nuclear business worldwide, Bangladesh is considering a 94

long-term contract and transparent suppliers' arrangements with supplier(s) through backing of the respective government in order to ensure availability of fuel for the nuclear power reactor of the country. Examples would be: fuel leasing and fuel take-back offers, commercial offers to store and dispose of spent fuel, as well as commercial fuel banks.

On the other hand, at present there is no international market for spent fuel disposal services. Storage facilities for spent fuel are in operation and are being built in several countries. There is no international market for service in this area, except readiness of Russian federation to receive Russian supply fuel.

Bangladesh is considering accessing detailed technical descriptions of the nuclear fuel assemblies offered from the supplier side, including physical, thermo -hydraulic, thermodynamic and mechanical data as well as calculations for batch planning (short term and long term). This technical description should refer to the following items: General NSSS, Core, Fuel pellets, Fuel cladding and Fuel rods, Fuel assembly, Fuel performance, In-core inventories, burnable

Reactivity

budget

and

control

characteristi cs,

Use

of

poison, Reactivity coefficients, Neutron fluxes, Core thermo -hydraulic

characteristics, Manufacturing methods, References for the offered fuel assemblies, Evolution of burn-up, Safety design aspects. The supplier shall provide the QA programme, Handling and inspection methods for new and spent fuel and Tools for fuel and control rod manipulation and the scope of supply and services.

The first core as well as the first reload should be included in the scope of supply for the plant. The Bidders should include the supply of further reloads as an option. Please note that in case of technologies with provisions for on-line fueling, each reload means the full replacement of all in-core fuel elements.

Bangladesh is considering that the supplier should (i) make their commitment to deliver within their scope of supply all relevant data and information on the fuel elements so that if situation demands Bangladesh can have the option to procure subsequent reloads through competitive Bids from qualified fuel manufacturer; (ii) provide the technical specifications for the yellowcake and the enriched uranium; which may be required for ordering and manufacturing the fuel and also (iii) provide a complete technical description of each part of the supplies, in accordance with the requirements made by Bangladesh. The major concerns of Bangladesh about the nuclear fuel cycle are as follows.

95

1. The owner/operator of the nuclear plant in Bangladesh needs to ensure availability of fuel for the nuclear power plant covering its entire life cycle from supplier(s).

2. The above life cycle assurance of supply shall include all services related to the front end of the fuel cycle. Fuel leasing-fuel take-back” model or partial ‘fuel-leasing-fuel takeback’ model is conceivable for Bangladesh.

3.

Alternate sources of services and supply of the front end of fuel cycle should be

identified to accommodate any unforeseen circumstances.

4. Depending on the size of the nuclear power programme, efforts will be made to acquire the technology of fabrication of fuel elements based on imported raw materials and enrichment services in order to ensure security of fuel supply.

5. Pending a final decision on the back-end of the fuel cycle, the nuclear power plants will have provision for on/ off -site spent fuel storage, size of which shall be sufficient to store the spent fuel generated over their respective life cycles.

6. Sufficient security and physical protection and safety of the fuel storage at site will be provided in accordance with the relevant provisions of the non-proliferation regime as well as national law and regulations on nuclear safety and radiation control.

Bangladesh will consider any suitable model of nuclear fuel cycle under responsibility of the IAEA as the guarantor of service and supplies, e.g.

as

administrator of a fuel bank. Bangladesh is committed to introduce Nuclear Power plant for electricity generation. Presently, the country is considering the assurance s of fuel supply and services not involving ownership of facilities. The country has a full commitment on peaceful uses of atomic energy and strongly recognizing the importance of the assessments of multilateral nuclear approaches, namely “Assurance of non-proliferation " and " Assurance of supply and services". Thus, based upon current international practices in nuclear business, a suitable approach to nuclear fuel cycle with stronger bilateral arrangements with the supplier’s country is an important option to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh opines that as far as assurances of supply are concerned, the proposed multilateral approaches to nuclear fuel cycle could provide the benefits of cost effectiveness for developing countries with limited resources. Bangladesh is strongly 96

supporting the Agency’s approach of developing and implementing international supply guarantees with IAEA participation. Bangladesh is supporting the proposals of themultiple approaches to nuclear fuel cycle proposed IAEA brokered deal or w ith stronger bilateral or multilateral arrangements by countries/region/continent. The country is also supporting the international initiatives of creating, through voluntary agreements and contracts, multinational, and in particular regional, multinational nuclear approaches for new facilities based on joint ownership, drawing rights or co-management for frontend and back-end nuclear facilities, such as uranium enrichment; fuel reprocessing; disposal and storage of spent fuel.

4.6 Research and development 4.6.1. R&D organizations BAEC has been engaged in research and development in various fields of peaceful applications of nuclear techniques since early sixties. Introduction of nuclear power in the country has always been a priority area. Development of human resources for the programmes was initiated in the sixties with the assistance of the International Atomic Energy agency, which is still continuing. However, since it was not possible to implement the nuclear power project for different reasons, activities of the organisation were diversified to make them responsive to the development needs of different sectors of national economy. Activities now encompass following areas. (a) Medicine One Institute and nine Nuclear medicine Centres have been established in different parts of the country. Nuclear and other state-of-the art techniques are used in such Centres and the Institute in providing diagnosis and other health care services to the people. This may be considered to be a major breakthrough both in terms of level and quality of services, type of techniques used, acceptability and dissemination of the techniques and crosssection ofpeople and area covered. A number of additional medical centres are planned to be built in near future.

97

(b) Agriculture The Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture is involved in R&D in radiation genetics, fertilizer uptake, plant-soil relations and other related areas. It has been possible to evolve a few varieties of crops having higher yields, disease resistance and early maturing characteristics. Some of the varieties have successfully passed field level trial production tests and are considered to have positive response from the growers. At present, activities in this field, including other programmes of the Institute, are being coordinated by the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council. (c) Food and Medical Products R&D on radiation preservation of food, sterilization of medical products, radiation induced sterilization of insects, study on pesticide residues in post-harvest agricultural products, etc., are being conducted. A commercial food irradiator, a joint venture with a private sector enterprise has been set up. (d) Industry BAEC is rendering non-destructive testing (NDT) services to different private and public sector organisations of the country. It is also imparting training to the personnel and is involved in their certification with IAEA/RCA assistance. (e) Radio-tracer techniques Radio-tracer techniques are being used in industries for detecting certain materials such as mercury in chemical industries and minute impurities in different samples. Such techniques are also used for measuring flow in natural gas network, in locating leaks in pipelines, for studying silt/sediment movement in the harbour, etc. (f) Radiation Processing Technology Radiation processing technology is being developed to improve quality of materials like wood, electric cable, etc. (g) Vulcanization of Rubber Latex Vulcanization of rubber latex using gamma radiation is being studied, especially to ascertain its application in producing hand gloves, family planning materials, etc.

98

(h) Radioisotope Production The basic infrastructure for a radioisotope production laboratory has been built. When the envisaged Animal house for clinical tests is built, this facility would be equipped to conduct tests before products produced here are marketed for use. Production cells for isotopes like.

125I, 131I and 99mTc have been installed and the isotope kit preparation programme has been

under-taken.

Trial

production

of

sample

isotopes

has

already

been

accomplished. When the radioisotope production unit is ready, it will be possible to produce isotopes as substitution to import. (i) Development of nuclear analytical science The Analytical laboratory for physical and chemical analysis of materials including the development of related nuclear techniques has been established to conduct research and to provide related services. (j) Research reactor A 3 MW research reactor has been installed for conducting research, training of personnel and production of short-lived radioisotopes for medical uses. It may be mentioned that in spite of its being the first major nuclear facility in the country, the local participation in its implementation was significant. Appropriate research laboratories based on the reactor facilities, such as radioisotope production, neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography, neutron spectrometry for elemental and structural analysis of materials are being developed. (k) Exploration of nuclear and other related minerals Prospecting of nuclear and related minerals is included in the overall programme of the BAEC. Surveys were conducted in the past in various regions of the country to ascertain the possibilities of finding Uranium and Thorium. This survey helped identify some areas where such materials are available at various levels of concentration. Extensive surveys, including drilling, are needed to ascertain the extent of reserves and the prospects of the ir mining on a commercial scale.

99

4.6.2. International co-operation and initiatives MEMBERSHIPS IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Bangladesh became a Member State of the Agency in 1972.

INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS Bangladesh is a party to a whole range of commitments to the international nuclear non- proliferation and verification regime, such as NPT, Bilateral Safeguard Agreement with the IAEA, the Protocol Additional to Safeguards Agreement, and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Please see Appendix 1.

PAST TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION WITH IAEA BAEC

operates

under

the

Ministry

of

Science

and

Information

&

Communication Technology (MOSICT), and is thus an integral part of the scientific network of the country. BAEC has been the national focal point for the IAEA including its Technical Cooperation (TC) program and the Technical cooperation program with the Agency has, so far, covered almost the entire range of BAEC activities, especially those, which have direct relevance to the national development agenda. The total assistance provided during the last 10 years (1991-2000) amounted to approximately US$6.885 million.

More

than

half

of

this assistance (53.87%) was devoted to the human

resources development areas, namely Experts, Fellowships, Training Courses, and Scientific Visits. The reminder was provided in the form of equipment and subcontracts.

Area-of-activity wise, 88% of the assistance was provided in five areas, namely, agriculture (24.2%), application of isotopes and radiation in medicine (21.2%), nuclear engineering and technology (20.3%), nuclear safety (13.1%), and industry and hydrology.

Ongoing technical co-operation with IAEA: The list of ongoing IAEA TC Projects is as follows: 2009-2011

SI. NO.

Project Code

Project Title

01

BGD/4/024

Establishing Nuclear power 100

2005-2006

SI.

Project

NO. Code

Project Title

02

BGD/4/023 Rehabilitation

and

Refurbishment

03

Accelerator of the Safety of the Research Reactor BGD/9/011 Strengthening Body Composition Assessment

and

of

Van

de

Graff

Impact on Fetal

04

BGD/6/019 Development

05

BGD/6/018 Strengthening and Expansion of Nuclear Cardiology

06

BGD/5/025 Feasibility Study of Using Sterile Insect Techniques (SIT) in

07

Sun-dried Fish Industry.

BGD/5/024 Phytosanitation Treatment for Insect Pests Infesting Fresh Fruits and Vegetables IAEA TC Project for the year 2005-2006(Cycle)

08

2003-2004

SI.

Project

NO.

Code

09

BGD/2/010 Upgrading the Technetium Generator Production facilities.

Project Title

Establishment of a Central Radioactive Waste Processing & 10

BGD/4/022 Storage Facility Isotope Technique, for Mitigating Arsenic Contamination in

11

BGD/8/018 Groundwater

101

2001-2002

SI.

Project

NO.

Code

Project Title Establishment of Central Radioactive Waste Processing and

12

BGD/4/022 Storage Facilities Isotope Techniques for Mitigating Arsenic Contamination on

13

BGD/8/018 Groundwater

4.6.3 Human resources development A number of 1660 personnel has primarily been selected in different phases for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project. It is necessary to chalk out the framework of the training for the efficient manpower to implement the project, operate and properly maintain the plant. It is to be noted that according to the signed bilateral cooperation agreement between Russian Federation and Bangladesh, there are ample opportunities to develop human resource with the help of Russian Federation. Necessary infrastructures for the higher education and training on nuclear science and engineering need to be established in order to operate Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant safely and in a cost effective manner as well as implement nuclear power project of the government. The national universities can be requested to encompass the curriculum of nuclear science and technology in the graduation and post-graduation levels as well as develop necessary education and research infrastructure. During the visit of Bangladesh delegation leaded by the honorable state minister of the ministry of Science and Technology to Russian Federation in the last 25-29th February, 2012, the Russian Federation has agreed to conduct a survey to evaluate the present education system and its different facets of Bangladesh in order to draft a framework of the human resource development for the project. If this survey is conducted, it is easier to finalize the necessary human resource infrastructure of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project and draft the framework of the necessary training program. In this regard, an initiative has been taken to draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the related organization of Russian Federation.

102

4.6.4. Stakeholder communication Planning for nuclear power at the Roopur site has been on-going for nearly 50 years with no public opposition and with support of the local community. A recent newspaper poll showed 65% of the public in favour, and a poll of students in Dhaka and around the site showed 60% in favour. The BAEC website has information on the RNPP project, including the national justification.

The Ministry of Information will develop a plan for public communication on behalf of the government once the contract is signed. Bangladesh informed the team that the draft BAER 2011 contains provisions for the responsibilities of the regulat ory body for stakeholder involvement. BAEC’s scientific information office responds to questions and inquiries regarding the RNPP. Outreach to neighboring countries has been done in a variety of contexts, including through cooperation agreements, consultations and assistance in the area of regulatory development. The National Parliament and local officials are involved and consulted in the planning. For example, representatives from the local community participated in the ceremony for the IGA signing.

At the local site, BAEC maintains an office. The local residents were resettled long ago from the land, which has been preserved for the RNPP use. IAEA and FNCA training has been provided to the BAEC and Ministry technical officials. While many elements of a public information programme in different organizations exist, an interagency plan and strategy for each organization was not evident. Stakeholder management systems in the future owner and the regulatory body should be developed in order to track inquiries and follow-up. Now that the IGA has been signed, additional information regarding the national criteria and technology selected should be developed.

4.6.5 Information to the public Public information and public acceptance may be considered as one of the key determinants for success of a nuclear power programme. Dialogues with the public, the people's representatives at various levels and the decision makers are considered to be important determinants in ensuring transparency and public acceptance. In the case of 103

Bangladesh, the acceptance of nuclear power is in general favourable, especially in and around the site. This is evident from the fact that, in spite of the inordinate delay and land being a precious commodity for the villagers, it has been possible to retain the land for the project for about four decades. The general perception is that construction of a nuclear power plant would create job opportunities and have other spin-off benefits for the residents. Moreover, way back in the 1960's the families affected by eviction were offered attractive compensation packages. Nevertheless, it is apprehended that opposition groups may be encountered as soon as construction work starts. An effective public acceptance programme has to be designed and implemented in order to enhance public acceptance.

An initiative has been taken to establish a Public Information Center in Bangladesh with the help of Russian Federation. The information center will help enhance the public awareness on nuclear science & technology in different phases of public. Thus, it will be easier to inspire the students of school and college to be involved with the knowledge gain and research on nuclear science and technology. An Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed on the establishment of the afore-mentioned information center between Rosatom, Russian Federation and Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Bangladesh. A proper site is to be selected in order to establish the Nuclear Information Center. But, the establishment of this center can be primarily be placed in Bangabandhu Sheikh Muzibar rahman novo-theater or Atomic Energy Center, Dhaka.

104

Chapter 5: Conclusion

This research is completely a theoretical framework. From this, the result is obtained that it is high time that Bangladesh should use alternative source of energy. In addition, nuclear Power is the best way. The initial cost of the plant is high but it will sustain for long time. Moreover, the total amount of electricity production is high than renewable sources. Bangladesh is mainly using natural gas for electricity production, and natural gas is using for other purposes. By using this way the natural gas will finish one day, so nuclear power should be introduced in Bangladesh. Moreover, Nuclear Power has an exclusively important advantage of no creating carbon dioxide and, therefore, no consuming oxygen. Therefore, it does not disturb the equilibrium of the echo-system of our planet. Nuclear power possess considerable potential possibilities, far to be exhausted till now, which will be set in motion as the necessary results of investigation in the field of applied nuclear physics, radiation material physics and radiation chemistry are accumulated. Nevertheless it is now almost certain that the future nuclear arrangements based on splitting nuclear reactions will be in the form of systems of fast reactors operating in deeply subcritical regime fuelling and driven by spallation neutrons produced in heavy extended targets by relativistic proton beams from accelerator (ADS). Such arrangements are able to burn up practically all-natural uranium in the closed nuclear cycle and, in addition, to transmute and incinerate the radioactive waste from other sources used in medicine, industry, scientific research and military applications. The main problem of thinking Nuclear power was radioactive disposal but now it can be used and dangerous to people.

As Bangladesh is a poor country, it is very important to reduce the cost of electricity.

In this country, the demand of electricity is increasing, and most of power plants are now depending on natural gas, furnace oil and diesel. Using this kind of fuels, the rate of electricity is also increasing, and the resources are now decreasing. Taking into account of knowledge of Nuclear Power and the experience gained during about fifty years of functioning of nuclear power stations, the current and future needs in energy from the viewpoint of energy sustainable development, one can conclude that even the present state-of-the-art technology in this important branch of economy is quite competitive as 105

compared to other ways of energy production on the large scale. So, it is necessary to use alternative sources of electricity like nuclear power. If radioactive fuel and wastages are taken proper care along with other technical issues, the nuclear power will be most economical energy source for Bangladesh.

106

Appendix I Acronyms ADB

Asian Development Bank

BAPEX

Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration & Production Co. Ltd

BANPAP

Bangladesh Nuclear Power Action Plan

BAEC

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission

BCSIR

Bangladesh Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

BERC

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission

BOO

Build-Own-Operate

BPC

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation

BPDB

Bangladesh Power Development Board

CCGT

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine

CDM

Clean Development Mechanism

CFL

Compact Fluorescent Lamp

CNG

Compressed Natural Gas

DESA

Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority

DESCO

Dhaka Electric Supply Company

DPDC

Dhaka Power Distribution Company

107

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116

List of Figures

Figure: 1.1 First nuclear power plants in the world Figure 1.2: Worldwide nuclear generating capacity and number of operating reactors (1965-2011) Figure 1.3: Share of nuclear power in total electricity (2011) Figure 1.4: World primary energy demand (2009) Figure 1.5: World electricity generation (2009) Figure 1.6: Worldwide nuclear power plant energy availability factor (1990 -2010) Figure 2.1: A typical fission reaction Figure 2.2: Fission product yield for thermal fission of 235U Fig 2.3: The first nuclear bomb and the Trinity explosion, 16 ms after detonation Fig 2.4: Simplified cross-section sketch of a typical light water, boiling water reactors Fig 2.5: A model of the Chernobyl reactor after the lid of the reactor chamber blew off.

Fig 2.6: Simplified schematic diagram of the TMI-2 plant Fig 3.1: An induced fission reaction Fig 3.2: The stages of binary fission in a liquid drop model Fig3.3: Fusion of deuterium with tritium creating helium-4 Fig3.5: The Evolution of Nuclear Reactors Fig: 3.6 WWER-1000 a 1000 MWe Russian nuclear power reactor of PWR type.

Fig 3.7: Cut-away view of a Gen III GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy reactor design Fig 3.8: Generation III Nuclear ractor safety features Fig3.9: GE Hitachi Gen III+ Reactor Fig3.10: Gen IV reactor systems Fig 3.11: Nuclear Fuel Cycle Fig 3.12: A Uranium Mine Fig 3.13: Technicians working in a uranium conversion facility Fig 3.14: Uranium enrichment process 117

Fig 3.15: Nuclear waste removal Fig3.16: Nuclear waste disposal pool Fig 3.17: Virtification process Fig 3.18: Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository of US Figure 4.1: Three scenarios for power demand forecast Figure 4.2: Structure of Electric Power Sector of Bangladesh

118

List of Tables

Table 1.1: Nuclear generating capacity in operation and under Construction (end 2011) Table2.1: Areas of Europe contaminated Table 3.1: Global Nuclear Power Plant Construction TABLE 4.1: Energy Statistics (All energy values are in Exa-Joule) Table 4.2: PSMP 2006 demand forecast scenarios Table 4.3: Economic Growth Scenarios Table 4.4: Energy mix of the Perspective Plan 2010 – 2025 for power generation TABLE 4.5: ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION AND INSTALLED CAPACITY TABLE 4.6: ENERGY RELATED RATIOS

119