Nuclear reactor coolantA nuclear reactor coolant is a coolant in a nuclear reactor used to remove heat from the nuclear reactor core and transfer it to electrical generators and the environment. Frequently, a chain of two coolant loops are used because the primary coolant loop takes on short-term radioactivity from the reactor. Almost all currently operating nuclear power plants are light water reactors using ordinary water under high pressure as coolant and neutron moderator.
Steam generator (nuclear power)A steam generator (aka nuclear steam raising plant ('NSRP')) is a heat exchanger used to convert water into steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. They are used in pressurized water reactor between the primary and secondary coolant loops. In typical PWR designs, the primary coolant is high-purity water, kept under high pressure so it cannot boil. This primary coolant is pumped through the reactor core where it absorbs heat from the fuel rods.
SuperphénixSuperphénix (Superphoenix) or SPX was a nuclear power station prototype on the Rhône river at Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. Superphénix was a 1,242 MWe fast breeder reactor with the twin goals of reprocessing nuclear fuel from France's line of conventional nuclear reactors, while also being an economical generator of power on its own. Construction began in 1976, the reactor went critical in 1985 and was connected to the grid in 1986. The project suffered cost overruns, delays and enormous public protests.
Deep geological repositoryA deep geological repository is a way of storing hazardous or radioactive waste within a stable geologic environment (typically 200–1000 m deep). It entails a combination of waste form, waste package, engineered seals and geology that is suited to provide a high level of long-term isolation and containment without future maintenance. This will prevent any radioactive dangers.
GorlebenGorleben is a small municipality (Gemeinde) in the Gartow region of the Lüchow-Dannenberg district in the far north-east of Lower Saxony, Germany, a region also known as the Wendland. Gorleben was first recorded as a town by the rulers of Dannenberg in 1360; there was a fort on the site. The name "Gorleben" probably comes from Goor ("silt"; in Slavic, however, Gor means "mountain") and leben ("heritage").
Economics of nuclear power plantsNuclear power construction costs have varied significantly across the world and in time. Large and rapid increases in cost occurred during the 1970s, especially in the United States. Recent cost trends in countries such as Japan and Korea have been very different, including periods of stability and decline in costs. New nuclear power plants typically have high capital expenditure for building plants. Fuel, operational, and maintenance costs are relatively small components of the total cost.
RosatomRosatom (), also known as Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation, the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, or Rosatom State Corporation, is a Russian state corporation headquartered in Moscow that specializes in nuclear energy, nuclear non-energy goods and high-tech products. Established in 2007, the nonprofit organization comprises more than 350 enterprises, including scientific research organizations, a nuclear weapons complex, and the world's only nuclear icebreaker fleet.
EurajokiEurajoki (ˈeu̯rɑˌjoki; Euraåminne) is a municipality of Finland located in the region of Satakunta in the province of Western Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Three of Finland's five nuclear reactors are on the island of Olkiluoto in Eurajoki, and a fourth one is planned since 2008. The two other operating reactors are at the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant.
Criticality (status)In the operation of a nuclear reactor, criticality is the state in which a nuclear chain reaction is self-sustaining—that is, when reactivity is zero. In supercritical states, reactivity is greater than zero. Criticality is the normal operating condition of a nuclear reactor, in which nuclear fuel sustains a fission chain reaction. A reactor achieves criticality (and is said to be critical) when each fission releases a sufficient number of neutrons to sustain an ongoing series of nuclear reactions.
PripyatPripyat (ˈpriːpjət,_ˈprɪp- ; При́пять), also known as Prypiat (При́пʼять, ˈprɪpjɐtj), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1970 as the ninth atomgrad (a type of closed town in the Soviet Union) to serve the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which is located in the adjacent ghost city of Chernobyl. Pripyat was officially proclaimed a city in 1979 and had grown to a population of 49,360 by the time it was evacuated on the afternoon of 27 April 1986, one day after the Chernobyl disaster.
