Gorleben pilot conditioning plant
The pilot conditioning plant (PKA) in Gorleben is a multi-purpose plant that is primarily used to condition spent fuel elements with a view to their final disposal . In the PKA, the packaging processes for fuel elements and radioactive waste are to be developed and optimized. It is therefore an essential component of the disposal route of direct final disposal . This disposal route, in which there is no reprocessing of the fuel elements, should be the only permitted route from 2005 according to the Atomic Energy Act .
history
The construction of the plant goes back to political decisions from the end of the 1970s to the mid-1980s, in which the direct disposal of spent fuel elements without reprocessing was to be examined for its feasibility and safety assessment. The first concrete statements on the feasibility of the technical implementation were expected in the mid-1980s; the production facilities and the federal facilities for securing and final storage of radioactive waste should be operational by the end of the 1990s at the latest.
In 1985 the Federal Government confirmed the priority of reprocessing over direct disposal, but considered it appropriate that the direct disposal of fuel elements should also be further developed.
In 1994, direct disposal was recognized as an equivalent disposal route.
With the amendment of the Atomic Energy Act 2002, the sale of nuclear fuels for reprocessing abroad was prohibited from July 2005.
Approval process
In 1986 the application was made to build and operate a pilot conditioning plant for radioactive residues at the Gorleben site.
The first partial license under nuclear law was granted in January 1990. It essentially comprised the shell of the conditioning building and the fence and earth wall surrounding the system, as well as the preliminary positive overall assessment of the system concept. The construction was accompanied by actions by opponents of nuclear power, u. a. by occupying the building site, building a hut village and a large demonstration in February.
With the 2nd partial license on July 21, 1994, the machine, process, electrical and control systems and their pre-operational testing were approved.
With the 3rd partial license, which includes the operating license, the conditioning of LWR fuel elements with a maximum throughput of 35 tons of heavy metal per year was approved in December 2000 , although a significantly larger amount is technically possible.
Until a repository site has been designated by the federal government, operations are limited to the repair of defective transport and storage casks in the event that repairs are necessary to one of the transport and storage casks stored in the Gorleben transport cask facility.
All three partial permits are final, but currently only those systems are operated that are required for the repair of a cask (restoration of the primary cover sealing system of transport and storage casks for irradiated fuel assemblies and highly radioactive vitrified waste from reprocessing) as well as the maintenance of the facility including periodic inspections and the Qualifications of the staff are required.
The pure construction costs amounted to 400 million euros, the annual maintenance costs, according to the operating company, are around five million euros (maintenance, nuclear tests and experts).
Duties of the PCA
The tasks of the PCA are:
- the conditioning of fuel assemblies
- reloading of fuel assemblies and waste packages
- the conditioning of radioactive waste
- the implementation of service work on transport and storage containers and waste containers.
The conditioning of fuel assemblies here is to be understood as the packaging in containers that can be disposed of. Two variants are being considered:
- Conditioning of fuel elements in POLLUX casks (reference concept)
- Conditioning of fuel elements in fuel rod canisters (option)
In both variants, the head and foot pieces of the fuel assemblies are first cut off and the fuel rods pulled out of the fuel assemblies.
POLLUX container concept
With the POLLUX concept, the drawn fuel rods are then placed in cans. The container can POLLUX the fuel rods of up to 10 DWR - or up to 30 SWR accommodate fuel elements. It consists of an inner container that holds the cans with the fuel rods and is closed with a screwed primary and a welded secondary lid. An external shielding container made of cast iron causes an additional reduction in the gamma and neutron dose rates .
Concept fuel rod mold
The concept of the fuel rod mold is a more recent development as an alternative to the POLLUX container. A fuel rod mold can accommodate the fuel rods of up to 3 PWR or up to 9 BWR fuel elements. The fuel rod canisters have the same outside diameter as the HAW glass canisters . This facilitates the handling and storage techniques in the repository. Another advantage is that molds with different heat outputs can be mixed in a repository borehole so that the heat distribution can be controlled accordingly.
Status of the plant
The PKA currently consists of a conditioning building, a power supply building, a supply building for the supply of media and associated infrastructure facilities. Due to the delays in the exploration of the repository, the actual operation of the approved and not yet functional conditioning plant should only be tested when the federal government responsible for the repository has decided on a definitive repository site. Therefore, the use of the system is initially limited to the repair of damaged containers. “The entire system of the PKA is kept up to date with science and technology by a maintenance management (aging management). Only the systems that are required to receive a defective container are fully operational. The other systems are logged off for active operation. "
After a change of operator, BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH has been the new operator of the facility since August 1, 2017.
See also
Coordinates: 53 ° 2 ′ 3 ″ N , 11 ° 20 ′ 20 ″ E
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Status report on the use of nuclear energy in the Federal Republic of Germany 2016. Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management, Salzgitter, August 2017, accessed on July 14, 2019 .
- ↑ To the point: The PCA (6). In: Citizens' Initiative Lüchow-Dannenberg eV Accessed December 7, 2018 (German).
- ↑ PKA Gorleben. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .
- ↑ Pilot conditioning plant (PKA). In: Citizens' Initiative Lüchow-Dannenberg eV Accessed December 7, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Reactor Safety Commission / Disposal Commission: ESK stress test for systems and facilities for supply and disposal in Germany . Ed .: Federal Office for Radiation Protection. Part 1: Fuel supply systems, interim storage facilities for irradiated fuel elements and heat-generating radioactive waste, systems for treating irradiated fuel elements, March 14, 2013 ( entsorgungskommission.de [PDF]).