Пособие к учебнику технического английского языка «Nuclear English. Language Skills for a Globalizing Industry»

MRI does not use ionizing radiation to produce images, like x-ray and computer tomography, so it is often the examination of choice for pediatric imaging and for imaging the male and female reproductive systems

Unit 10

SAFEGUARDS AND SECURITY

Vocabulary activator on the topic.

Match the term and its definition. Non-compliance, proliferation, safeguards, undeclared

International accounting and verification system designed to ensure that fissile materials is only used for peaceful purposes.

Increase in the number of states or groups having nuclear weapons.

Breaking of the rules e.g. when a State breaks its safeguards agreement with the IAEA (the International Atomic Energy Agency).

Of a nuclear facility or nuclear material, clandestine or not placed under safeguards.

Read the text and fill in the gaps with the appropriate word combinations from the list below:

a remotely operated tower crane; an emergency measure; extremely dangerous conditions; convection; heavily contaminated debris and soil; concrete segments

The 'Arch 'New Safe Confinement for Reactor 4 at Chernobyl

(available at www. chernobylgallery.com, accessed 03.2017)

The sarcophagus that currently encases Unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a giant metal concrete and structure quickly constructed as ____________ in 1986 to halt the release of radiation into the atmosphere following the explosion. The official Russian name is “Obyekt Ukrytiye” which means shelter or covering.

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It is estimated that within the shelter there are 200 tons of radioactive corium, 30 tons of contaminated dust and 16 tons of uranium and plutonium

In 1996 it was considered impossible to repair the sarcophagus as radiation levels within it were as high as 10,000 röntgens per hour (background radiation in cities is around 20-50 microröntgens per hour, a lethal dose being 500 röntgens over 5 hours). A decision to replace the sarcophagus with a “New Safe Containment” was taken and construction of the new structure is now well underway. Originally planned to be in place by 2005, the New Shelter is expected to be completed by the French consortium Novarka in 2017.

The sarcophagus was constructed under___________________, with very high levels of radiation, and severe time constraints. Design of the sarcophagus started on May 20 1986, a little over three weeks on from the disaster. The construction lasted for 206 days, from June to late November of the same year. It was first necessary to build a cooling slab under the reactor to prevent the hot nuclear fuel from burning through the foundations. Four hundred coal miners were called upon to dig the required tunnel below the reactor and by June 24 the necessary 168 metre long tunnel was in place.

More than 400,000 m3 of concrete and 7,300 tons of metal framework were used during construction with the building ultimately enclosing 740,000 m3 of ________________________ inside. The high levels of radiation made it immensely dangerous for humans to carry out work on the sarcophagus and robots were used for joining and welding where possible. The extreme conditions made it impossible to completely seal the seams of the sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus has over 60 bore holes to allow observation of the interior of the core. In places the structure incorporated ventilation shafts to allow for some _______________ inside. Filtration systems were put in place to prevent radioactive material escaping through these holes.

The construction process consisted of eight stages:

1. clearing and concreting the area surrounding reactor unit 4;

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2.erection of initial reinforced concrete protective walls around the perimeter;

3.construction of separation walls between units 3 and 4;

4.cascade wall construction;

5.covering of the turbine hall;

6.construction of a high-rise buttress wall;

7.erection of supports and installation of a reactor compartment covering;

8.installation of the ventilation system.

The existing Object Shelter is primarily supported by the damaged remains of the Unit 4 Reactor Building, which are largely considered to be structurally unsound as a result of explosive forces caused by the accident. Three major structural members support the roof of the Object Shelter. Two beams, usually referred to as B-1 and B-2, run in an eastwest direction and support the roof beams and panels. A third, more massive member, the “Mammoth Beam”, spans the largest distance across the roof from east to west and assists in supporting the roof beams and panels. The roof of the shelter itself consists of 1 metre diameter steel pipes laid horizontally north to south and steel panels that rest at an angle, also in the north-south direction.

The south wall of the Object Shelter is formed by the steel panels of the roof as they make an angle of approximately 15 degrees from vertical. The east wall of the shelter is formed by the reactor building itself, and the north wall by a combination of the reactor building and__________. The west wall is constructed of large concrete sections reinforced by buttresses. The complexity of the segments of the west wall necessitated their construction off-site; they were then lifted into place by __________________. It is these buttressed sections of the Object Shelter that are most often recognized in photographs of the sarcophagus.

Scan the rest of the text and find the answers to the following questions:

What risk has the deterioration of the Object Shelter increased?

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What are the characteristics of the Designed Stabilisation Steel Structure?

What constructions are called “Pyatachok” and “Elena’s hair”?

What incident happened in February 2013?

What were the reasons and consequences of this incident?

On December 22 1988, Soviet scientists announced that the sarcophagus would only last 20–30 years before requiring restorative maintenance work. The Object Shelter was never intended to be a permanent containment structure. Its continued deterioration has increased the risk of its radioactive contents leaking out. In 2010 it was revealed that water leaking through the sarcophagus roof was becoming radioactively contaminated before seeping through the reactor‟s floor into the soil.

The Designed Stabilisation Steel Structure (DSSS) is the yellow metal work that can be seen against the sarcophagus. It is 63 metres tall and has a series of cantilevers that extend through the western buttress wall, and is intended to stabilise the sarcophagus. This DSSS was put in place because if the wall of the reactor building or the roof of the shelter were to collapse, then large amounts of radioactive dust and particles would be thrown into the atmosphere. In December 2006 the “Designed Stabilisation Steel Structure” (DSSS) was extended to 50% of the roof load (about 400 tons).

A further threat is the concrete slab that formed the “Upper Biological Shield” (UBS), situated above the reactor prior to the accident. This concrete slab was thrown upwards by the explosion in the reactor core and now rests at approximately 15° from vertical. The position of the upper bioshield is considered inherently unsafe, the support goes only from debris in nearly upright position. If the bioshield were to move it would disturb the radioactive dust, resulting in a release of material, and could potentially damage the shelter itself. The UBS is a circle 15 meters in diameter, weighing 1000 tons and consisting of 2000 cubes, each located above a fuel channel. The shield, called

Pyatachok (“five kopek coin”) before the disaster, was afterwards named Component “E” and nicknamed “Elena”; the twisted fuel bundles still attached to it are called “Elena‟s hair.

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On Tuesday 12 February 2013 a 600 m2 section of the roof of the turbine-building, adjacent to the sarcophagus, collapsed. Initially it was assumed that the roof collapsed because of the weight of the snow on it. However the amount of snow was not exceptional, and the report of a Ukrainian fact-finding panel concluded that the part collapse of the turbine-building was the result of sloppy repair work and ageing of the structure. Experts such as Valentin Kupny, former deputy director of the nuclear plant, made a warning that the complex was on the verge of a collapse, leaving the building in an extremely dangerous condition. After the incident, radiation levels were up to 19 becquerels per cubic meter of air: 12 times normal. The report assumed radioactive materials from inside the structure spread to the surrounding area after the roof collapsed. All 225 workers employed by the Chernobyl complex and the French company, Novarka, that is building the new shelter, were evacuated shortly after the collapse. The managers of the complex stated that radiation levels around the plant were at normal levels (between 5 and 6 mS/h) and should not affect workers‟ health. According to Valentin Kupny the situation was underestimated by the Chernobyl nuclear complex managers and information was kept secret.

Unit 11

SAFETY Vocabulary activator on the topic.

Match the term and its definition. Hazard, dose, radiation, diversity, redundancy, safety culture.

Measure of energy deposited by radiation in a target.

In nuclear safety, having different systems in place to cope with a fault.

In nuclear safety, having back-up systems in place. Danger.

Attitude amongst staff towards safety.

Energy, in the form of waves or particles, emitted by radioactive material.

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by, such as the International Space Station, but long-distance and longduration space flights expose crew members to higher levels of radiation. Current radiation sensors must be returned to Earth for analysis, but dosimeters developed in the Radiation Environment Monitor experiment could provide dosage data more quickly.

Vocabulary: high-energy particles, radiation sensors, dosage data.

Earth Applications. The Radiation Environment Monitor uses Medipix technology with the expectations of creating the first personal space radiation dosimeter, a device used to detect radiation directly on crewmembers. This research descends from research conducted at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. This device is being tested for use in medical imaging on Earth in efforts to monitor radiation dosage in patients.

Operational Requirements and Protocols. The desired minimum data acquired should span all of the likely radiation environments seen during the ISS‟s orbit. At a minimum, an increment‟s worth of data should be obtained. Additionally, if any significant Solar Particle Events (SPEs) occur while the demonstration is ongoing, an effort should be made to take data throughout the duration of the SPE. Should additional operational time be available, variations in software settings can be exercised to validate the ground simulations through adjustments to the parameters via the software input/configuration files.

Continuous measurement (for the duration of the increment, with daily data downloads) is required in order to record data during all locations of interest, with daily data download.

The Radiation Environment Monitor is powered by the laptop and controlled by software uploaded to the SSCs. Once the Radiation Environment Monitor is plugged into the SCC, the software will only need to be launched by the crew. The software will display dose and dose rate information during data collection, but the data collected by the device will be stored in computer files and ultimately downloaded to the ground for detailed analysis. The software may be terminated and restarted at any time without impacting the hardware. A checkout activity will be required to evaluate the initial settings of the detector's parameters. The checkout activity will consist of the deployment of one Radiation Environment Monitor, followed by data collection and a downlink of the data to allow the ground team time to evaluate if any of the parameters require modification. A calibration activity will then be required to uplink the updated parameter files to the

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SSCs, if needed. This checkout sequence will be repeated until the ground team has determined the optimal settings for the parameters have been determined. At the conclusion of the checkout, the remaining detectors will be deployed. All deployed detectors will run continuously for the entire increment.

Vocabulary: ground simulations, daily data download, checkout activity, calibration activity, optimal settings.

Unit 12

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Vocabulary activator on the topic.

Match the term and its definition. Research, cushion, vibration, inherent, meltdown, helium.

Regular shaking. Investigation to discover facts.

Melting of nuclear fuel in a reactor.

Of nuclear safety, relying on physical principles like gravity rather than engineered design.

Very light nonreactive as used as a coolant. Pad or shock absorber.

Read the texts about the development in the field of other nuclear power applications.

Retell each peace of news in brief and in details. Use the vocabulary units in bold.

(available at www.rosatom.ru, accessed 05.2017)

1. The launching ceremony of the world’s largest nuclear icebreaker took place at the Baltijskiy Zavod in Saint-Petersburg

On the 16th of June 2016 the Baltijskiy Zavod – Sudostroenie (shipbuilding) (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) has launched the pilot nuclear icebreaker Arktika (Project 22220), which is built to the order of ROSATOM. The ceremony was attended by Chairwoman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of

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the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko; Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Russia in North-West District Vladimir Bulavin; Governor of Murmansk Region Marina Kovtun; CEO of ROSATOM Sergey Kirienko; General Director of FSUE Atomflot Vyacheslav Ruksha; and others. In the presence of several thousands of spectators, Valentina Matvienko smashed the traditional bottle of champagne on the board, launching the largest and most powerful nuclear icebreaker in the world. “Today, the nuclear industry of Russia has the important day. The world‟s largest and most powerful nuclear icebreaker Arktika has left the slipway. For many polar explorers, it is the meaning of life to develop the Arctic. I am certain the icebreaker Arktika will give the new impetus to the development of the Arctic,” she said in her welcoming speech.

In his welcoming speech, Sergey Kirienko noted: “The today‟s event is an enormous victory in all senses! Large work has been done; there are no analogues of the icebreaker such as the Arktika in the world. Thanks to the team of the Baltijskiy Zavod, everything has been done on schedule and the Arktika will come on-stream. This icebreaker is most up-to-date by its parameters; all technical capabilities which have never been used on other vessels are implemented here. The icebreaker

Arktika means real new opportunities for our country!” “The first seriesmade icebreaker is already on the slipway and in September this year the keel of the second series icebreaker will be laid,” General Director of FSUE Atomflot Vyacheslav Ruksha said. “We are facing the task o f commissioning the pilot nuclear icebreaker Arktika by the end of December 2017. This is due date laid down in the contract terms. We hope our partners will be reliable and fulfill their obligations,” he said.

The universal nuclear icebreaker of Project 22220 is on, FSUE

Atomflot‟s major task will be the support of all-year-round navigation along the entire Northern Sea Route: delivery of hydrocarbons to the Pacific Asia markets.

For information:The pilot nuclear icebreaker of Project 22220 is built to the class of the Russian Marine Register of Shipping (RS) at the Baltijskiy Zavod – Sudostroenie by order of ROSATOM (the keel was laid on November 5, 2013). The icebreaker is designed for independent steering of ships (including large tonnage ones) and leading caravans in the West Arctic all-year-round. The double-draft design of the ship makes possible to use her both in the Arctic and in estuaries of the Polar rivers (in particular, in shallow water of the Yenissei River (Dudinka)

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and the Gulf of Ob). The icebreaker can be also used for towing ships and other vessels in the ice and open water, rendering assistance to ships, and carrying out rescue operations in the ice and open water. The maximum thickness of solid even fast ice the icebreaker can overcome is 2.9 meters. It will be the largest and most powerful nuclear icebreaker in the world.

2. ROSATOM presents its cutting-edge technologies at the European Research Reactor Conference.

Representatives from ROSATOM took part in the European Research Reactor Conference (RRFM) on 14-18 May in the Netherlands. Organised by the European Nuclear Society, the Conference has been held annually under the auspices of the IAEA for 20 years, and serves as a recognised international platform for the discussion of major issues concerning the safe and efficient operation of research reactors.

As part of the session on new projects to develop research reactors, ROSATOM presented its multipurpose fast neutron research reactor project (MBIR), which is the most advanced project in the world of its kind, offering a vast array of opportunities, and which is also the world‟s most powerful fast neutron research facility. The project aims to reduce the international scientific community‟s shortage of the essential large research reactors needed to develop Generation IV reactor technologies, as well as extend the working life of existing operational reactors, increasing their efficiency.

Alexander Zagornov, ROSATOM‟s Innovation Management Division

Project Manager, described the unique characteristics of the MBIR project. It will allow for the accomplishment of a wide range of research tasks, leading to the creation of new, competitive, and safe nuclear power plants in the future. In his report, he noted that “successful implementation of the MBIR project and launching on its basis an International Research Centre will have a significant impact, promoting the development of Generation IV technologies. One of the key tasks at this stage is shaping a multilateral scientific program to engage as many participants as possible in future-oriented studies and create a global competence centre for fast neutron reactors on the basis of the IRC

MBIR”. International partners are invited to participate in creation of research infrastructure. Memorandums of understanding on participation in IRC MBIR have already been signed with representatives of four states; negotiations with three more potential

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