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For the spent nuclear fuel this isn't really a problem as this is over 20 year old spent fuel. Yes over weeks or months the water might evaporate but spent fuel

by doikor 5y ago

For the spent nuclear fuel this isn't really a problem as this is over 20 year old spent fuel. Yes over weeks or months the water might evaporate but spent fuel that old is stored outside with letting it cool passively to the air all over the world (usually after around 5 years or so) Here is a post about this by IEAA from March 3rd. https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-8-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-8-iaea-... "Due to time elapsed since the 1986 Chornobyl accident, the heat load of the spent fuel storage pool and the volume of cooling water contained in the pool is sufficient to maintain effective heat removal without the need for electrical supply."

baremetal 5y ago
zirconium clad rods exposed to air generate hydrogen gas. not a good thing.
- ben_w 5y ago
  Zirconium can split hydrogen from H2O, but only if exposed to H2O while between about 1000 and 1500 C. You can tell by looking if the rods are this hot, because they will be emitting orange light: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1000%20Celsius%20black%20body http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1000%20Celsius%20black%... If the fuel rods are stored indoors, that building will already be on fire before the rods get that hot. If the rods aren’t in an enclosed volume, any hydrogen would rapidly diffuse. Eventually it would either oxidise (too spread out for “burn” to feel like the right word) or escape into space. If they’re in a building which is on fire and while it’s on fire someone sprays water on them, then they’ll produce hydrogen. IDK if that hydrogen would burn away fast enough to not be an explosion hazard or build up enough that it is, but it shouldn’t come up anyway because any firefighters on site ought to know not to use water in that situation.
- korantu 5y ago
  Only if heated above 1000C, and if there is enough steam. 20 y.o. spent fuel will not heat this much
tiku 5y ago
Why do we need to safely discard of the waste if it can just be "stored outside". Are other countries overly cautious or is it a different type of fuel rod? Why can't we just reuse 1 rod for example if it stays hot for a long time?
- armada651 5y ago
  It still needs to be protected from the elements and from nefarious actors. Which is why the US wanted to store the spent fuel in Yucca Mountain. However it turns out no one wants to have a repository of spent nuclear fuel in their state.
  - ClumsyPilot 5y ago
    So instead of being securely stored in one, its is insecurely stored in all
- madeofpalk 5y ago
  Where it should be "stored outside" is the contentious bit.
- colechristensen 5y ago
  Because the waste ultimately needs to be stored effectively forever, going through stages of being very hot for a short time to containing substances we never want released into the environment long term.
stickfigure 5y ago
That quote is strange. Reactor #2 was shut down in 1991, reactor #1 was shut down in 1996, and reactor #3 was shut down in late 2000. So some of the spent fuel is a little over 21 years old, not 36 as the quote implies. Still a long time, but I wouldn't expect such a sloppy comment from the IAEA.
- Thiez 5y ago
  The reactor was operational since the late 1970s, so could it not be possible that they still had spent fuel from before any reactors were shut down?

by doikor 5y ago

baremetal 5y ago

zirconium clad rods exposed to air generate hydrogen gas. not a good thing.

ben_w 5y ago
Zirconium can split hydrogen from H2O, but only if exposed to H2O while between about 1000 and 1500 C. You can tell by looking if the rods are this hot, because they will be emitting orange light: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1000%20Celsius%20black%20body http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=1000%20Celsius%20black%... If the fuel rods are stored indoors, that building will already be on fire before the rods get that hot. If the rods aren’t in an enclosed volume, any hydrogen would rapidly diffuse. Eventually it would either oxidise (too spread out for “burn” to feel like the right word) or escape into space. If they’re in a building which is on fire and while it’s on fire someone sprays water on them, then they’ll produce hydrogen. IDK if that hydrogen would burn away fast enough to not be an explosion hazard or build up enough that it is, but it shouldn’t come up anyway because any firefighters on site ought to know not to use water in that situation.
korantu 5y ago
Only if heated above 1000C, and if there is enough steam. 20 y.o. spent fuel will not heat this much

tiku 5y ago

Why do we need to safely discard of the waste if it can just be "stored outside". Are other countries overly cautious or is it a different type of fuel rod? Why can't we just reuse 1 rod for example if it stays hot for a long time?

armada651 5y ago
It still needs to be protected from the elements and from nefarious actors. Which is why the US wanted to store the spent fuel in Yucca Mountain. However it turns out no one wants to have a repository of spent nuclear fuel in their state.
- ClumsyPilot 5y ago
  So instead of being securely stored in one, its is insecurely stored in all
madeofpalk 5y ago
Where it should be "stored outside" is the contentious bit.
colechristensen 5y ago
Because the waste ultimately needs to be stored effectively forever, going through stages of being very hot for a short time to containing substances we never want released into the environment long term.

stickfigure 5y ago

That quote is strange. Reactor #2 was shut down in 1991, reactor #1 was shut down in 1996, and reactor #3 was shut down in late 2000. So some of the spent fuel is a little over 21 years old, not 36 as the quote implies. Still a long time, but I wouldn't expect such a sloppy comment from the IAEA.

Thiez 5y ago
The reactor was operational since the late 1970s, so could it not be possible that they still had spent fuel from before any reactors were shut down?