A complicated way of boiling water: nuclear safety in water history

Abstract

Water and nuclear reactors are much closer intertwined than usually perceived. First, water is the source of the steam that drives the turbines of most nuclear power plants around the world. Next to generating electricity, water is the key to preventing accidents in nuclear plants. As uranium keeps on generating heat when the power plant is turned off, its core needs to be cooled continuously. This crucial connection between water and nuclear is focus of the paper. Nuclear safety will appear as relying heavily on earlier knowledge, institutions, and regulatory frameworks, which were related to water. The three parts of this article discuss technologies, actors and risks of nuclear power. Studying water as a resource in a much broader sense than being boiled for steam shows how determining water is to make nuclear power function. As this paper is part of a special issue, Water History in the time of COVID-19, it has undergone modified peer review.

Out of sight � out of regulation? Underground space governance in the UK

“…Nuclear technology introduced a new kind of legacy, one read into the body and carried there through time, she writes. Evens (2020) discusses the intricate relationship of nuclear reactors and water. In the past, protests at the proposed German deep-storage site for high-level radioactive waste in Gorleben have caused widespread protests as the site is already used for interim storage.…”

Palladium catalysts supported on carbonized porous silicon for H2/O2 recombination

“…Catalysis improves engineering processes, enhances safety, and minimizes waste discharges, involving greenhouse gas emissions. Catalytic technologies are crucial for dependable manufacturing, particularly in the hydrogen (H 2 ) energy sphere and nuclear reactors, where water is exploited for cooling and power generation in industrial settings [1][2][3][4]. Modern safety measures are widely implemented by companies in this industry to guarantee the safe handling and utilization of H 2 , following ISO/TR [3] and findings from [5] research.…”

“…PARs are suitable for scenarios where hydrogen accumulates slowly during a coolant loss incident. Installing PARs with catalytic properties at the power plant can lower the chances of an H 2 explosion should a hypothetical core meltdown occur [1,8].…”

Developing ergonomic practices: From companies to territories

“…A nuclear power plant relies on access to sufficiently cold water to cool its reactors. And nuclear safety is in reality largely dependent on water management institutions and the regulatory frameworks that govern the use of water [3]. In other words, the company is not the only space where the conditions under which work is performed are prescribed, defined and negotiated.…”

“…It initially stemmed from geography and anthropology, and is now mobilized in many scientific fields (political science, economics and sociology). While this has given rise to very rich debates 3 , questions relating to human work have nevertheless not been addressed. The aim of this special section is therefore to contribute to delimiting this concept within the field of ergonomics.…”