Chernobyl and Nuclear Power in the USSR

by David R. Marples

Book Overview

Chernobyl and Nuclear Power in the USSR provided the first detailed account of the Soviet nuclear power industry and of the nature, impact and consequences of the Chernobyl (Chornobyl) disaster of 28... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312004575
• ISBN13: 9780312004576
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

38,000 MW

At the end of 1985, according to the IAEA nuclear power reported by the CMEA countries as follows: Bulgaria 31.6, Czechoslovakia 14.6, East Germany 12, Hungary 23.6, Yugoslavia 5.1, and USSR 10.3. Bulgaria in the 90s was expected an electric capacity of 6,000 megawatts; Bulgaria is one of the heaviest users of nuclear energy per head of population; Czechoslovakia in the 80s move to nuclear power was expected to reduce 10 million metric tones of coal per year: projected to need 5,000 MW by the end of the 90s and 10,000 MW by the turn of the century; Czechoslovakia electricity needs by the year 2020 will need to be 70 percent nuclear; Hungry's nuclear capacity reached 1,760 MW in the 1986-90 with the construction of two reactors; Hungry's planned capacity of 5,760 MW provided by 6 reactors in the 90s; Hungry's electric energy production will rise 40 percent by the end of the century; Romania produced 70 billion kilowatt/hours of electricity in 1985. Electricity was the most important energy of the twentieth century even more important than oil discovery and extraction. Planners schedules represented tight timelines, MW potential to capacity realization, and an undeviating focus to achieve 38,000 MW before the turn of the century. Chernobyl nuclear disaster marks a watershed in the history of world nuclear power. Chernobyl as a location for a nuclear reactor was attractive because Chernobyl was in a remote rural region of the Ukraine. Another factor was its distance from major cities and the natural river system render Chernobyl a suitable location. In 77 a graphite moderated 1000 MW reactor came online and by 1986, Chernobyl hit 3000 MW capacity and provided 10% of USSR total electricity generation. Boris Tokarasky sounded an alarm of dangerously deficient technical standards. Tokarasky said the turbines and piping were identical to coal fire plants. Boris Semenov implicated a big problem, experiments taking place at the time of the accident. Experimental tapering may have caused part of the reactor water too turn into steam. Zirconium has an affinity to oxygen. Zirconium does not interact with graphite. The steam combined with the Zirconium alloy protecting the fuel rods and at high temperatures Zirconium reacted to form Zirconium oxide and hydrogen. The hydrogen exploded and destroyed the top of the reactor and exploded through part of the roof. The graphite began to burn and threatened to destroy the building and other four reactors increase the potential collateral damage. A hydrogen explosion occurred. Soon after the hydrogen explosion, a crane fell onto the core reactor causing pressure that sucked water out of the core leading to a dramatic spike in power from 6 to 50 percent increase in capacity. The damaging factors were the graphite caught fire, the absence of water caused by the leak prevented radioactivity containment, and lack of adequate containment. Fire breaks out at about 1,000 degree Celsius. The normal o