The Chernobyl Accident and its Implications for the United Kingdom: Watt Committee: report no 19 (Watt Committee Report No 19)

159 Pages·1990·5.42 MB·English

by  N. Worley

The Chernobyl Accident and its
Implications for the United Kingdom

Watt Committee Report Number 19
Members of The Watt Committee on Energy
Working Group on the Chernobyl Accident and
its Implications for the United Kingdom
This report has been compiled by the Working Group on the Chernobyl
Accident and its Implications for the United Kingdom.
The members of the Working Group were:
N.G.Worley (Chairman) G.Lewis
Dr F.R.Allen Dr. G.K.C.Pardoe
F.J.L.Bindon P.D.Potter
R.Bulloch Dr F.B.Smith
Prof. A.Charlesby Prof. G.N.Walton
Dr D.R.Cope J.G.Mordue (Secretary)
Prof. P.M.S.Jones G.F.Oliver (Information Officer)
Dr J.D.Lewins
The Chernobyl Accident
and its Implications
for the United Kingdom
Edited by
NORMAN WORLEY
C Eng, BSc (Eng) (Chem Eng) Lond, ACGI, M Inst of Energy
Deputy Chairman of The Watt Committee on Energy
Chairman of the Working Group on the Chernobyl Accident and its Implications
for the United Kingdom appointed by The Watt Committee on Energy
and
JEFFERY LEWINS
MA, MSc, PhD, DSc (Lond), C Eng, PPINucE, F Am Nuc S
Lecturer in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Cambridge
Report Number 19

Published on behalf of
THE WATT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY
by
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WITH 14 TABLES AND 35 ILLUSTRATIONS
© 1988 THE WATT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY
Savoy Hill House, Savoy Hill, London WC2R 0BU
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
The Chernobyl accident and its implications
for the United Kingdom.—(Watt Committee report; no. 19).
1. Ukraine. Chernobyl. Nuclear power
stations. Accidents, 1986
I. Worley, Norman G. II. Lewins, Jeffery D.
1930– III. Watt Committee on Energy
IV. Series
363.1’79
ISBN 0-203-21644-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-27264-1 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 1-85166-219-7 (Print Edition)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DatA
The Chernobyl accident and its implications for the United Kingdom/
edited by Norman G.Worley and Jeffery D.Lewins.
p. cm.—(Watt Committee report; no. 19)
“This report has been compiled by the Working Group on the
Chernobyl Accident and its Implications for the United Kingdom”—
P.
“Published on behalf of the Watt Committee on Energy by Elsevier
Applied Science Publishers.”
ISBN 1-85166-219-7
1. Nuclear power plants—Government policy—Great Britain.
2. Nuclear power plants—Accidents—Environmental aspects.
3. Chernobyl Nuclear Accident. Chernobyl. Ukraine, 1986.
I. Worley, Norman G. II. Lewins, Jeffery D. III. Working Group on
the Chernobyl Accident and its Implications for the United Kingdom.
IV. Series.
HD9698.G72C47 1988
363.1’79–dc19 88–7286
CIP
The views expressed in this Report are those of the authors of the papers and contributors
to the discussion individually and not necessarily those of their institutions or companies or
of The Watt Committee on Energy.
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Foreword
There can have been few occasions when an accident that Report, explained how I had been made Chairman
to a major work of engineering of any kind was of of the Working Group that produced it. Briefly
such immediate concern to governments and peoples paraphrased, our hope was that we had succinctly
throughout the world as was the nuclear power-plant described the technology and stated the main issues in
accident at Chernobyl. The collapse of a bridge or a such a way that the reader, whether he supported or
fire in a coal mine, for example, may win headlines in opposed nuclear power when he began to read, would
many countries and cause more immediate casualties, have a better understanding when he finished. We were
but neither civil accidents like these nor natural therefore in a good position, two years later, to take
disasters like earthquakes and famines are likely to be part in the reassessment of nuclear power that was
major stories everywhere for so long. For the ordinary bound to result from the Chernobyl accident.
man and woman, nuclear power is incomprehensible This did not mean, of course, that we wished to
and horrifying, even if it is possible to distinguish it start from scratch in reconsidering every aspect of civil
from the nuclear weapons issue; even for professionally nuclear power, even if our resources had been
qualified readers, some half million of whom, in the sufficient. We appointed a new working group,
United Kingdom, are represented by the professional including some members of the previous group, and
institutions constituting The Watt Committee on our instructions to it, narrow in scope but requiring
Energy, understanding is often difficult and opinions thorough investigation, were to consider the
range right through the spectrum from enthusiasm for implications of the Chernobyl accident for the United
nuclear power to outright opposition. Kingdom. Two years later, a huge volume of
The Watt Committee Executive, when it met soon information has been made available (some vital, some
after the accident occurred in April 1986, saw at once marginally relevant) and the arguments have been
that the implications of what had happened, both exhaustively ventilated. Our qualification for adding
immediately and over a period of perhaps years to to the mountains of paper (not to mention other media
come, would be far-reaching: perhaps more so because coverage) is that the members of our group, and of
the possible benefits and dangers of nuclear power the Watt Committee as a whole, include both those
were already a matter of fierce public controversy, in who are expert in the many relevant specialist
the United Kingdom as in many other advanced disciplines and those who, having no previous
countries, and it was appreciated that important connections with the nuclear industry, are familiar with
national decisions were being made and could be the needs of public debate. The principal objective of
affected. The importance of these decisions was not the Watt Committee is to promote the discussion of
limited to the few thousands who would construct a questions concerning energy for the benefit of the
nuclear power station, work in it and live near it; they public at large, bringing together, in an impartial
would have an impact on the technological base, and forum, those with professional knowledge from a wide
therefore on the economic prosperity, of the whole variety of backgrounds; and the Chernobyl accident
country, and on the consumers of energy—specifically and its implications, considered as a subject for study
of electric power which, in the United Kingdom, means by one of our specialist groups, presents the need for
virtually everybody; and these effects will be with us this approach particularly acutely.
for as long as anyone can foresee. The members of the Working Group are listed
The attitude of The Watt Committee on Energy to elsewhere in this Report. On behalf of The Watt
the civil nuclear power question was stated in a Report Committee on Energy, I am grateful to them all, and
entitled Nuclear Energy: a Professional Assessment, can only mention here the outstanding importance of
published in March 1984. The then Chairman of the Norman Worley’s role as its Chairman. The study could
Watt Committee, Dr Jack Chesters, in his foreword to not have been undertaken (or not on anything like this
v
vi Foreword
scale) without the financial support of the Central The complexity of life in a modern trading nation is
Electricity Generating Board, the South of Scotland beyond the appreciation of most of its citizens, and the
Electricity Board, British Nuclear Fuels plc, the United specific individual effects of even such a major event are
Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and the National small by the time they have ramified into every home
Nuclear Corporation, which was given on the condition, and work place in the land. Nevertheless, there are
clearly understood, that the Watt Committee was free comparatively small numbers of people, mainly in limited
to conduct the study as it wished and reach whatever areas, for whom the direct effects of Chernobyl are still
conclusions seemed appropriate. I must also important, and the long-run indirect effects are important
acknowledge the willingness of these and other for almost everyone. What these effects are, and what
organisations to provide us with any information that decisions are required, is clarified, I hope, in this Report.
we asked for, including the opportunity of visiting
nuclear establishments. Our thanks are due to the many G.K.C.PARDOE
individuals in these organisations who helped us. Chairman, The Watt Committee on Energy
Contents

List of the Chernobyl accident Working Group members ii
Foreword
G.K.C.PARDOE v
Background
NORMAN WORLEY ix
Section 1 Introduction
NORMAN WORLEY 1
1.1 General description of a nuclear power system 1
1.2 Fuel meltdown incidents 4
1.3 Energy in the Soviet Union 6
Section 2 The design of the Chernobyl Unit 4 reactor
PETER POTTER 9
Section 3 Description of the Chernobyl accident
FRANK ALLEN 19
Section 4 The radioactive release from Chernobyl and
its effects
BARRY SMITH and ARTHUR CHARLESBY 25
Section 5 Accident management in the USSR and the
United Kingdom
GLYNNE LEWIS 35
Section 6 United Kingdom and USSR reactor types
JEFFERY LEWINS 47
Section 7 Reactor operation and operator training in the
United Kingdom
JOHN BINDON 61
Section 8 International dimensions of the implications
of the Chernobyl accident for the United
Kingdom
DAVID COPE 71
Section 9 Comments, recommendations and
conclusions 89
Appendices 1. Glossary of terms 101
2. Units of measurement 104
3. Summary of significant dates and timing
relevant to the Chernobyl accident 105
vii
viii Contents
4. Nuclear safety in the Soviet Union
From ‘Nuclear Power in the Soviet Union’
by B.A.Semenov—June 1983 International
Atomic Energy Agency Bulletin
(Vol. 25, No. 2) 110
5. Chemical reaction aspects of the Chernobyl
accident—Gilbert Walton, Jeffery Lewins
and Norman Worley 112
6. The Chernobyl accident trial
An article published in The Independent on
30 July 1987—Anthony Barber of Reuters 114
7. Continuing radiation leakage from
Chernobyl
An article released by Reuters, Moscow,
4 December 1987 116
8. International aspects—
Norman Worley 117
including:
Learned societies
European organisations
Organisations for economic
co-operation and development
The International Atomic Energy
Agency
Recommendations for the IAEA
9. The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate 121
10. Energy casualties 123
11. Presentations to the Working Group on the
Chernobyl accident
A. Presentation on Inherently Safe
Reactors 124
Given on 11 February 1987 by
Michael Hayns, Head of Nuclear
Safety, Technology Branch, Safety
and Reliability Directorate, UK
Atomic Energy Authority
B. Presentation on The Chernobyl
Accident and its Consequences’ 125
Given on 1 April 1987 by
John Gittus, Director, Safety and
Reliability Directorate, UK Atomic
Energy Authority
12. Visits made by the Watt Committee
Working Group on the Chernobyl accident
A. Visit to Dungeness ‘A’ Magnox station
—David Cope 126
B. Visit to the CEGB’s Oldbury-on-Severn
Nuclear Power Training Centre—John
Bindon 127
C. Visit to Hinkley Point ‘B’ AGR station
—Glynne Lewis 130
Contents ix
D. Visit to the Atomic Energy Establish-
ment Winfrith SGHWR station—
Frank Allen 133
E. Visit to Hunterston ‘A’ nuclear power
station to attend an emergency
exercise—Glynne Lewis 135
The Watt Committee on Energy: Objectives, Histori-
cal Background and Current Programme 139
Member Institutions of The Watt Committee on
Energy 141
Watt Committee Reports 142
Index 143