Kudankulam Power project: issues

Kudankulam Power project-Indo Russian Project:

The proposed Kudankulam project is presently India's pride and joy, a signal to the world that India still has its supporters in the international community. But what is this Indo-Russian project, initiated by Rajiv Gandhi and then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev 10 years ago. The site of the proposed nuclear power station is at Kudankulam, which is about 25 km from Kanyakumari, in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district.

The VVER(Water cooled Water moderated Energy Reactor) 1000 MWe reactor is meant to serve the Southern Regional Grid. According to a 1997 survey, India at present produces 84,000 MWe power, largely from coal and hydro-energy. By the turn of the century, power requirements are estimated to touch three lakh MWe.

Kudankulam was selected for the project by the Department of Atomic Energyafter evaluating 13 coastal sites and five inland sites in Tamil Nadu. Since the region had a hard rock terrain and low seismic activity, it was considered the ideal site. Besides, there are no major dams and lakes nearby to cause induced seismicity. The most important consideration that weighed in its favor, however, was the fact that the area is not densely populated or industrialized.

Land, about two km in radius, has been acquired for the project. This will be the exclusive zone of the project. A further area with a radius ranging from two km to five km will form the sterilization zone, although land acquisition for this has yet to take place.

How safe is it?

Safety, of course, is of paramount concern. The project, based on a pressurised water reactor (PWR), is expected to abide by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. In a deviation from existing systems which use the boiling water reactor, the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) went in for the WWER/VVER (the acronym for watercooled, water moderated energy reactor the Russian word for water is voda) technology, expecting it to subsidise the country's indigenous thorium based three-stage nuclear programme.

There are at present 19 VVER 1000 plants in operation in different parts of the erstwhile Soviet Union and Bulgaria. India will be getting VVER-392, the most advanced version, which is quite different from the Chernobyl reactor which became internationally expelled after the nuclear disaster of April 1986.

Scientists at the Nuclear Power Corporation, Chennai, stress that the Koodankulam project is a `vast improvement' on the Chernobyl reactor with double containment ensured with two double walls measuring two feet each. Also, while the Chernobyl reactor used graphite as moderator and boiling light water as coolant, the Koodankulam reactor will use enriched uranium as fuel and light water as moderator.

In fact, according to the scientists, the VVER-1000 type reactor chosen for Koodankulam is an `extremely safe' reactorunder normal as well as abnormal conditions. The most important inherent safety feature is the so-called `negative power coefficient', wherein any increase in reactor power is self-terminating.

There are also provisions to reprocess spent fuel for the recovery of residual uranium and plutonium for use in the second phase. Liquid waste will be evaporated and the condensed vapours and water thus formed, recycled. An environmental survey laboratory, managed by Health Physics Division of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, will monitor radioactivity within a 30-km radius of the plant throughout its life.

Local misgivings

The other fear is that the release of water from the plant into the sea could cause its temperature to rise, destroying phyto-planktons and sea life in the process. As Dhas puts it, ``Any accident at the plant will destroy life within a 200-km radius. Remember Chernobyl. India cannot afford to face such a situation.''

Scientists dismiss the fears of fishermen on Marine life. According to them, the project would in no way affect marine life or fishing activity as the temperature gradient of the cooling water at the discharge point near the confluence with the sea will not exceed the five degrees centigrade prescribed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Hence there will not be any thermal pollution which could adversely affect the fish in the region. In fact, a slight increase in temperature is favorably for fish, they say.

Another fear is that the plant could aggravate the incidence of cancers.

But as per a study conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, radiation in the nuclear plant vicinity is much less than many other factors like radiation from cosmic rays (45mrem per year); soil ( 15mrem per year); water, food and air (25 mrem per year); air travel (4 mrerm per year) and X-rays (20 mrem per year). According to it, nuclear plant vicinity radiation is only 1 mrem per year.

People also express their worry about spent fuel disposal and safety of dismantled reactor .as a reactor can function only for30 years and maintaining it after that to avoid radiation spills will cost much more than the cost of the reactor.

Nuclear 123 agreement:

George W Bush signed the 123 agreement into law on October 9^th 2008 and made it clear that US will fulfill all its fuel assurance commitments in the agreement. He also specified that the agreement recognises India’s right to reprocess spent fuel.

India had raised certain concerns in the Bill passed by the US Congress. These related to certain aspects in the introductory section of the Bill, where it was specified that India's safeguarded fuel reserve should be “commensurate with reasonable reactor requirements”.

This was contrary to the 123 agreement where US had agreed to let India store lifetime supplies of fuel for its reactors.

Understanding Terms used in Energy

Terms U should know!

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absolute zero: 0 Kelvin (-273^o C); the temperature at which all molecular movement ceases.

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active solar: energy generated by a photovoltaic cell.

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alpha particle: helium nucleus emitted from a heavy radioactive element.

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anthracite coal: coal with 90% carbon, very high heating value and very low impurities.

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atomic number: the number of protons in the nucleus.

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atomic mass: the sum of the protons and neutrons in the nucleus.

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atomic mass unit (amu): the weight of one proton or neutron.

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background radiation: naturally occurring (i.e. non-enriched) radiation in the world around us to which humans are exposed constantly, including radiation from the sun, bricks, the earth, and naturally occurring radioactive isotopes in food.

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beta particle: a negatively charged electron emitted during a nuclear reaction.

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binding energy: energy contained in holding the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus of an atom or holding the atoms together in a molecule.

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biomass: organic material such as wood, grain, etc. that is a source of renewable energy.

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bituminous coal: the most abundant type of coal, which has a high heating value and usually a high sulfur content. Illinois coal is bituminous coal.

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breeder reactor: a nuclear reactor in which a fissile fuel is produced from a non-fissile fuel by absorption of a fast neutron.

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British thermal unit (BTU): energy required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.

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boiling water reactor (BWR): nuclear reactor in which the water that moderates and cools the reactor also is used to drive the turbines.

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calorie: the amount of heat needed to raise one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

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chemical energy: energy stored on the chemical bonds of molecules.

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coal: a fossil fuel comprised primarily of carbon formed by the decomposition of plant matter in non-marine environments billions of years ago; a fossil fuel.

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coal gasification: process by which coal is converted into synthetic natural gas.

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coal liquefaction: the process of converting coal into syncrude, or synthetic crude oil.

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containment structure: reinforced enclosure around a nuclear reactor designed to keep all the radioactivity inside and filter it out of the inside atmosphere in the event of an accident; they are tested for susceptibility to tornadoes, earthquakes, airplanes flying into them (really), and explosives.

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control rod: rods of cadmium or boron which can be placed in or removed from the core of a nuclear reactor to control the number of neutrons causing a chain reaction by absorbing neutrons.

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control system: heat regulation devices in passive solar systems such as insulation, fans, and vents.

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crude oil: the form in which oil is initially extracted which is a mixture of hydrocarbons with some oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur impurities; a fossil fuel.

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deep mining: coal mining in which shafts and tunnels are used to extract coal from a seam.

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diffuse radiation: solar radiation which can not be focused easily because it passes through cloudy skies.

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electrical energy: the energy associated with movement of electrons through a wire or circuit.

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electromagnetic radiation: radiation that is emitted in the form of photons, i.e. light.

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endothermic: a reaction that takes heat in from the environment, that is, heat is absorbed by the system.

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energy: the ability to do work. The source of energy is the rearrangement of chemical and nuclear bonds into a more stable state.

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energy efficiency: the amount of energy extracted from a system divided by the amount of energy put into the system in order to recover the energy.

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enrichment: the process by which the amount of uranium-235 in a mixture of uranium isotopes is increased from 7% to 2-3%.

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exothermic: a chemical reaction which gives off heat to the environment, that is, heat is released from the system.

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first law of thermodynamics: the total amount of energy and mass in the universe is constant; energy and mass can be neither created nor destroyed.

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fissile material: nuclei that undergoes fission when a neutron is absorbed.

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fission: bombarding a radioactive isotope with a neutron in order to split the nucleus into smaller parts, releasing energy.

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fission products: isotopes produced when fissile material is split after colliding with a neutron.

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flow: the total amount of water moving in a hydropower system per unit time.

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fossil fuels: general term referring to fuels that have been generated by "fossilized" plant and animal matter over millions of years, i.e. coal, oil, and natural gas.

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fractional distillation: method by which crude petroleum is refined into usable products.

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fusion: the process of bringing two light nuclei together to form a heavier nucleus, thereby releasing energy from the loss of mass.

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gamma particle: a high-energy electromagnetic photon released during radioactive decay.

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gasohol: fuel made by distilling grain, wood, or other plant products into ethyl alcohol and mixing the alcohol with gasoline.

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generator: a device consisting of a magnet and a coil of wire that changes the mechanical energy of the turbine into electrical energy.

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geothermal energy: energy from the inner core of the earth; specifically from hot, molten rock pushing through to near the surface of the earth heating the water.

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greenhouse effect: phenomenon in which oxides of nitrogen and carbon trap the energy radiated from the earth.

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greenhouse gases: oxides of nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon as well as CFC compounds which absorb infrared radiation from the earth, causing global warming.

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head: term used to describe the height of falling water in a hydropower system.

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heat: movement of molecules or atoms.

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heat of formation: a measure of the binding energy of a molecule, set such that the heat of formation of O₂ is 0 kcal/mol.

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heating value: a measure of the useful energy content of different fuels.

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high-level radioactive waste: fission products of a nuclear reaction.

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hydropower: energy from flowing water used for mechanical purposes or for electricity production.

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insulation: process in which a material slows heat loss or gain.

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isotope: nuclei of the same element that have the same atomic number but different atomic mass and neutrons.

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joule: one Newton-meter; a unit of work equivalent to 0.239 calories.

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kinetic energy: energy of motion, (1/2)mv².

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lignite: "young" coal with high water content, low heating values, and typically many impurities

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low-level radioactive waste: other waste products which result from working with radioactivity, such as gloves, mops, and filters.

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mechanical energy: energy that can be used directly to do work, either potential or kinetic.

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meltdown: a possible situation that may occur when a nuclear reactor core gets so hot (accidentally) that the fuel rods melt and release the radioactive fission products trapped inside.

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methanogens: methane-producing bacteria.

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MBPD: million barrels of oil per day.

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moderator: substance used in nuclear reactors to slow down neutrons so that they can split a nucleus more easily.

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multiple barrier containment system: a method of containing high-level radioactive waste in several layers, or barriers, to protect the environment. These include agents to absorb any incident ground water.

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natural gas: methane with ~1% other light hydrocarbons; a fossil fuel.

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neutron: a nuclear particle with a charge of zero and a mass number of one amu.

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nuclear bombardment: hitting a nucleus with subatomic particles like protons, neutrons, or alpha particles.

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nuclear energy: the energy stored in the nucleus of an atom which can be released upon fission.

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nuclear waste: radioactive active waste resulting from the byproducts of nuclear reactions.

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nucleus: the center of the atom where most of the mass is located in the form of protons and neutrons.

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oil: a mixture of hydrocarbons formed by the deposition of dead plant, animal, and marine microorganism matter in or near marine sedentary basins.

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oil shale: sedimentary rock containing solid organic material that can be converted to crude oil which is called shale oil.

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OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

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passive solar heating: using a material to collect and store thermal energy from the sun.

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photon: a massless particle of electromagnetic energy (light).

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photosynthesis: the production of glucose in a plant from water and carbon dioxide using solar radiation.

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pH: a measure of how acidic or basic a substance is by the amount of H⁺ ions are in solution.

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positron: a positive electron emitted from the nucleus during a nuclear reaction.

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positron emission: a type of radioactive decay due to the emission of a positive electron.

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potential energy: stored energy in a system which is a function of position or chemicalbonds.

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Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR): a nuclear power reactor in which the cooling water is kept under high pressure and not allowed to boil until the water passes into the turbine units.

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primary oil recovery: a method of oil recovery whereby the oil flows from the well by its own pressure or is pumped out. This method recovers about 30% of the oil in the well.

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proton bombardment: the bombardment of a nucleus with a proton in order to effect nuclear decay.

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QUAD: an amount of energy equal to 10¹⁵ BTU.

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radiant energy: energy coming to earth from the sun.

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radioactive: an unstable nuclei which will decay to a different nuclei and emit radioactivity (an alpha, beta, or gamma) in the process.

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rem: a unit of nuclear radiation (dose) equivalent, (radiation equivalent for mammals). An average person is exposed to 300 mrem/year.

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renewable resource: an energy resource in the environment which can be renewed if proper care is taken. Examples include hydropower, wind power, biomass, solar power, and geothermal energy.

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reserve: the amount of a resource that is recoverable.

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reservoirs: large deposits of natural gas.

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second law of thermodynamics: the disorder in the universe always increases.

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secondary oil recovery: method of oil recovery whereby the well is flooded with high-pressure water or gas, such as CO₂ to push the oil out. Recovers about 10% of the oil in the well after primary recovery.

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short ton: 2,000 lbs of coal, which can provide about 26 x 106 BTU.

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smog: smoky fog that hangs in the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels with impurities, which can originate from the exhaust pipe of your car.

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solar pond: a large pond with a salt gradient which traps heat from the sun and may be used to directly heat buildings.

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subbituminous coal: coal with 40% carbon and less sulfur than lignite.

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surface mining: type of coal mining (also called strip mining) in which layers of land are removed, leaving an open "pit."

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syncrude: synthetic crude oil.

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temperature: the average speed of all the molecules within a certain area.

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tertiary oil recovery: method of oil recovery in which the oil is heated by burning it underground, adding steam, or adding a detergent to scrub it out. Typically recovers only an additional 10% of the oil in the well after primary and secondary recovery.

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THERM: a measure of heat energy equal to 100,000 BTU.

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thermal mass: a heat storage material, such as water or masonry, used in passive solar heating systems, which radiates heat to the surroundings after the sun goes down.

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thermal energy: energy in the form of heat.

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thermal neutrons: neutrons in a reactor that have the necessary energy (1/40 of an electron volt) needed to induce fission.

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thermodynamics: study of energy relationships involving, heat, mechanics, work, and other aspects of energy and energy transfer.

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third law of thermodynamics: all molecular movement stops at absolute zero.

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transmutation: radioactive decay induced by particle bombardment.

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waste heat: an unusable form of energy which inevitably results from energy transformation.

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wind power: energy from the moving air which turns large windmills for electricity generation.

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work: a force applied to an object over a certain distance.

Bioremediation, an overview

Lecture -1

Bio-remediation. An overview*

INTRODUCTION

The quality of life on Earth is linked to the overall quality of the environment. In olden days , we believed that we had an unlimited abundance of resources; today, however, the resources are plenty but not in utilizable form, because of , our carelessness and greediness in using them. The problems associated with contaminated sites now assume increasing prominence in many countries. Contaminated lands generally result from past industrial activities when awareness of the health and environmental effects connected with the production, use, and disposal of hazardous substances were less well recognized than today. The problem is worldwide, and the estimated number of contaminated sites is significant. It is now widely recognized that contaminated land is a potential threat to human health, and its continual discovery over recent years has led to international efforts to remedy many of these sites, either as a response to the risk of adverse health or environmental effects caused by contamination or to enable the site to be redeveloped for use.

The conventional techniques used for remediation have been to dig up contaminated soil and remove it to a landfill, or to cap and contain the contaminated areas of a site. The methods have some drawbacks. It simply moves the contamination somewhere else and may create significant risks in the excavation, handling, and transport of hazardous material. Additionally, it is very difficult and increasingly expensive to find new landfill sites for the final disposal of the material. The cap and contain method is only a temporary solution since the contamination remains on site, requiring monitoring and maintenance of the isolation barriers long into the future, with all the associated costs and potential liability.

A better approach than these traditional methods is to completely destroy the pollutants if possible, or at least to transform them to harmless/toxic free forms. Some technologies that have been used are high-temperature incineration and various types of chemical decomposition. They can be very effective at reducing levels of a range of contaminants, but have several drawbacks, principally their technological complexity, the cost for small-scale application, and the lack of public acceptance, especially for incineration that may increase the exposure to contaminants for both the workers at the site and nearby residents.

Bioremediation is an option that offers the possibility to destroy various contaminants using natural biological activity. As such, it uses relatively low-cost, low-technology techniques, which generally have a high public acceptance and can often be carried out on site. It will not always be suitable, however, as the range of contaminants on which it is effective is limited, the time scales involved are relatively long, and the residual contaminant levels achievable may not always be suitable. Although the methodologies employed are not technically complex, considerable experience and skill may be required to design and implement a successful bioremediation program, due to the need to thoroughly assess a site for suitability and to optimize conditions to achieve a satisfactory result. Because bioremediation seems to be a good alternative to conventional clean-up technologies.Research in this field, is rapidly increasing.

Some of the popular areas in which Bioremediation is being applied are:

1. Oil Spills
2. Wastewater Treatment Plants
3. Septic Systems
4. Oil Wells
5. Ground Water
6. Restaurant Grease Traps and Drains
7. Manure and Farm Waste
8. Preventive / Protective Barriers
9. Industrial and Agricultural Odor Control
10. Brownfields
11. Storage Tanks
12. Manufacturing Plants