Putting Water at the Centre of Nuclear Energy History

Project Information

NUCLEARWATERS

Grant agreement ID: 771928

DOI

10.3030/771928

Project closed

EC signature date 6 February 2018

Start date 1 May 2018

End date 30 April 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 991 008,00

EU contribution

€ 1 991 008,00

Coordinated by

KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - NUCLEARWATERS (Putting Water at the Centre of Nuclear Energy History)

Reporting period: 2022-11-01 to 2024-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

NUCLEARWATERS developed a groundbreaking new approach to studying the history of nuclear energy. Rather than interpreting nuclear energy history as a history of nuclear physics and radiochemistry, it analysed it as a history of water. The project developed the argument that nuclear energy is in essence a hydraulic form of technology, and that, as such, it builds on centuries and even millennia of earlier hydraulic engineering efforts worldwide – and, culturally speaking, on earlier ‘hydraulic civilizations’, from ancient Egypt to the modern Netherlands. The project investigated how historical water-manipulating technologies and wet and dry risk conceptions from a deeper past were carried on into the nuclear age. These risk conceptions brought with them a complex set of social and professional practices that displayed considerable inertia and were difficult to change – sometimes paving the way for disaster. By studying these processes, the project set out to resolve several key riddles in nuclear energy history, seeking to grasp the deeper historical logic behind nuclear accidents worldwide. The project was structured along six sub-projects that problematized the centrality – and dilemma – of water in nuclear energy history from different thematic and geographical angles. These included in-depth studies of the transnational nuclear-hydraulic engineering community, of the Soviet Union’s pivotal nuclear waters, of the Rhine Valley as a transnational and heavily nuclearized river basin, of Japan’s atomic coastscapes and of the ecologically and politically fragile Baltic Sea region. The ultimate ambition was to significantly revise nuclear energy history as we know it – with implications both for the history of science and technology as an academic field (and its relationship with environmental history) and for the public debate about nuclear energy’s future in Europe and beyond.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The sub-project “Nuclear-hydraulic pioneers” relied on research in the archives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and EURATOM as well as in the national archives in the United States, France and Sweden. The sub-project developed the notion of ‘ambi-nuclearity’ as a theoretical tool in the analysis of nuclear-hydraulic engineering communities and their expertise, delineating the close historical affinities between older thermal hydraulic traditions and nuclear technology.

The sub-project on the Soviet Union’s nuclear waters relied on archival research in Russia and Ukraine (until the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War) as well as in Lithuania, Estonia, and Germany. Themes covered included the historical geography of nuclear energy in the Soviet Union, the phenomenon of “energy complexes”, and two Soviet nuclear projects that were initiated but then cancelled in the context of environmental concerns related to water.

The sub-project on the “Nuclear Rhine” made use archival sources from Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. Several Rhine-related nuclear themes were researched, including the basic phenomenon of nuclearized river basins, the problem of drinking water supply near Rhine-based nuclear facilities, the history of nuclear-thermal pollution in the Rhine and the Aare, and the question of (un)sustainability of riverine nuclear power in an age of global warming.

The sub-project on “Japan’s atomic coastscapes” used Japanese- and English-language sources to trace the complex history of coastal nuclear power in Japan. Key themes included the relationship between nuclear power and fisheries, the threat of flooding of coastal nuclear sites and the influence of the Fukushima disaster on the Chinese anti-nuclear movement.

The sub-project on the “Nuclear Baltic” explored the coasts of the Baltic Sea as a transnational nuclear territory, outlining how multiple countries made use of the same brackish cooling water for large-scale nuclear facilities while also examining the historical evolution of environmental effects of such plants.

Finally, the synthetic sub-project explored the links between the different subprojects while developing a global history of nuclear energy through the lens of water.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project led to multiple publications that highlight the main finds of the projects. Three PhD dissertations were produced as part of the project. Targeting the first three subprojects, they were all publicly defended in spring 2024. Seven peer-reviewed journal articles were also produced. In addition, the project resulted in one special issue comprising nine articles, written by project members together with external colleagues. In the same vein, the project resulted in a major edited volume, comprising 20 chapters written by a diverse team of authors including four chapters by project members and the rest by external colleagues. Finally, a synthetic monograph is being finalized. Collectively, these publications contribute to a new narrative of nuclear energy in world history.

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