Infrastruktura - Środowisko - Energia
Dodatek lobbingowy do "RZECZPOSPOLITEJ".
10 marca 2009 r.

po polsku

What are the advantages of nuclear power?

Clean air, water and soil, safety and cheap energy... During our visit in France we found out that this answer is really true.

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) do not emit particulates, sulfur and nitrogen oxides, heavy metals and other air pollutants, and - of course - no CO₂ , as they burn no coal. And the radioactive emissions are so low that the additional radiation dose from an average French NPP is 200 times LOWER than the natural radiation background. It is on the average 0,01 mSv/year, while people in Poland get from the natural background on the average 2,5 mSv/y, and in Finland 7 mSv/y. And the Finns live on the average 4 years longer than Poles, longer - and healthier. Even within Poland the differences in radiation level among various regions are many times larger than this miniscule additional dose from the nuclear installation- for example the difference in natural gamma radiation level between Cracow and Bialystok is 30 times LARGER than the dose from an average French NPP.

We have met the local information committee constituted from inhabitants of neighboring communities at Nogent NPP - such committees exist in France next to each NPP - and they have confirmed that the radiation doses are too small to measure, and of course there have been no accidents.

There have been no accidents… French NPPs are safe, similarly as the NPPs in many other countries. In Poland we have also our own positive experience- for 50 years the nuclear research reactors in the Institute of Atomic Energy in Swierk have been in operation and there has never been any danger to people or environment. The inhabitants of the small village Swierk, situated just beyond the fence of the Institute, are not afraid of the reactors - they consider them to be good neighbors, which do not pollute air nor water. Health physics service of the Institute conducts permanently measurements of radioactivity in the air, water and soil- there is no contamination, similarly are there is none around French NPPs. There are no accidents, neither.

"What has been the gravest crisis in the NPP Nogent?" asked the Polish minister Adam Szejnfeld. The chairman of the local committee answered - "There have been no crises" The case when the committee intervened occurred when the local press published an article saying that there had been a flooding in the turbine hall of the NPP so that the water level in the hall is 3 meter high. The press suggested that a catastrophe is imminent. "We have required an immediate access to the plant - said the committee chairman - our wish was granted, and it turned out that there was just a small spillage of water on the floor. We published our finding - and the panic was over."

Although the spillage of water was small and did not result in any radioactive contamination, it must have been reported to the French nuclear safety authority. Similarly all over the world, and also in Poland, even very small incidents in NPPs are reported to the nuclear safety authorities, and in each case the NPP conducts an analysis to clarify why the incident occurred and to prevent such incidents in the future. In this way the root causes are identified and the reliability of NPP operation gets higher and higher. The EPR reactors which will be proposed for Poland offer load factors above 90% - much higher than the load factors for coal power plants.

The drive for operational excellence goes hand in glove with improvements in reactor design. Chernobyl accident apart, (it occurred in a reactor designed on the basis of military reactors used for weapon-grade plutonium production, completely different from civil reactors in France, other EU countries or the US), there has never been any radiological accident in a nuclear power plant which would result in loss of life - or health - of anyone from the workers or from the population. The reactors of the III generation, and EPR is the best representative of this class, ensure even higher safety than the reactors built before. Even in the case of the most dangerous accident with reactor core damage, the radioactive materials would remain within the containment and the radiation hazards would not exceed allowable levels beyond 800 meter radius. Thus, the population would not be in any danger.

The cost of this clean and safe electric energy is lower than the costs for other energy sources. According to the actual French data, unit investment costs for Flammanville 3 EPR are 2420 euro/kW, and thanks to low fuel costs the cost of electric energy is calculated to be 54 euro/MWh. This cost includes all relevant components - not only the investment costs with capital costs, costs of fuel, maintenance, personnel, but also the costs of radwaste management and storage, NPP decommissioning and dismantling, local taxes, costs of nuclear safety inspectorate activities and even the contribution for personnel education and scientific research.

The education and training of French nuclear operators is a long process - it takes 5 to 7 years. In Poland the reactor operators are similarly trained, and the results both in France and the Polish Institute of Atomic Energy are excellent - the reactors are operated safely and reliably. We have also positive experience with radwaste and spent fuel handling. In France the spent fuel after removal from the reactor and cooling is transported to fuel processing centre at La Hague, which uses uranium and plutonium contained in the spent fuel to produce new fuel elements for power reactors, while small quantities of medium lived fission products are sent away for permanent storage. In Poland the Institute of Atomic Energy has mastered the technology needed for encapsulating spent fuel elements, and hundreds of fuel assemblies form EWA and MARIA reactors have been prepared for safe storage over hundreds of years. The national repository of radioactive waste in Rożan has been in operation for half a century and keeps the stored radwaste in perfect safety, wkothjout any contamination of the air, water or soil.

Poland has an excellent record in the design, construction and operation of research reactors. We have also decommissioned the first Polish research reactor EWA after 37 years of most successful operation - and we have decommissioned it completely, so that people can work today in all compartments that had been used by the reactor. The work done by Polish reactor engineers in EWA decommissioning is regarded by then International Atomic Energy Agency as the example of good practice to be followed in other countries. Nuclear power plants can be also dismantled "to the green field"as has been done in the US, Japan , Germany - and is presently being done in France.

The tasks set for Poland by the government decision on preparation of nuclear power program are very difficult and require full mobilization of our forces. We need to introduce urgently new legislation needed for NPP construction, to strengthen nuclear regulatory body, to prepare feasibility study with the analysis of costs and advantages due to nuclear power development, to prepare and conduct public discussion, to educate and train nuclear personnel, to choose and secure grounds for NPP siting and prepare conditions for the future bidding of NPPs for Poland. This is a large effort. However, we are entitled to believe in our ability to fulfill these tasks. Foreign partners, such as France, will be willing to help us, but it is time to go from words to actions. n

Instytut Energii Atomowej
05-400 Otwock-Świerk
tel. 022 718-00-01
fax 022 779-38-88
www.iea.cyf.gov.pl