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Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
V. F. Baston, K. J. Hofstetter, Richard F. Karuhn
Nuclear Technology | Volume 83 | Number 2 | November 1988 | Pages 216-227
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT88-A34164
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Defueling operations at Three Mile Island Unit 2 involve underwater plasma arc cutting of reactor vessel stainless steel components. Sampling and analysis of released off-gases and aerosols during steady-state plasma arc cutting tests established a conversion fraction of nitrogen-to-nitrogen oxides, off-gas composition, and aerosol concentrations for engineering evaluations of potential health and safety and corrosion issues. The sample results indicate that (a) <1 vol% of nitrogen is converted to nitrogen oxides, (b) the airborne particulate concentrations for the major steel components (chromium, iron, nickel, etc.) could exceed the threshold limit values without off-gas capability, (c) the volume percent hydrogen could exceed its lower flammability limit without off-gas capability, and (d) there is low corrosion potential for off-gas system components for the given torch operations.