NEA Monthly News Bulletin - December 2010

Poland joins the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)

On 18 November 2010, Poland became the 29th NEA member country. As an OECD member country since 1996, Poland has participated in a selection of NEA activities since 1993 and significantly increased its involvement in 2007. In 2009, Poland's Council of Ministers adopted the "Energy Policy of Poland until 2030" which maps out a long-term plan to meet rising energy demands by diversifying power generation sources and including nuclear power in its national energy strategy. As a result, the country is currently developing a nuclear energy programme and plans to build two nuclear power reactors, the first of which is scheduled for completion in 2022. Poland is party to the main treaties and agreements on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and on co-operation with regard to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Poland has a significant history of scientific research and contributions in the area of nuclear energy. Poland's research reactor MARIA – named after Polish-French physicist, chemist and two-time Nobel Prize winner Marie Sklodowska-Curie – began producing medical radioisotopes this year to help address shortages in their global supply chain. More...

New NEA website address

Please note that the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency has moved to its new website address: www.oecd-nea.org. Remember to update your links and bookmarks!


New publications

Free publications are available at this link.

Nuclear Energy and Addressing Climate Change
8 pages.


Nuclear safety and regulation

Melt Coolability and Concrete Interaction (MCCI) Project concluding seminar

The concluding seminar on phase 1 (2002-2005) and phase 2 (2006-2010) of the MCCI project was held on 15-17 November 2010 in Caderache, France. Hosted by l'Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), the seminar attracted 65 experts from 14 countries representing 29 organisations. The seminar drew a larger attendance than the initial one held in 2007, scheduling 37 presentations during 8 sessions. Among the issues raised was corium mitigation and its transposition to existing plants. Opposing views exist on this subject between countries suggesting investigation into backfitting possibilities for Generation II nuclear power reactors and countries where there is no regulatory need for backfitting. Both phases of the MCCI project provided valuable new data and insights into MCCI phenomena, particularly for 2D and melt quenching. It was recommended that information gathered on MCCI over the past decades should be consolidated for future use. Visit the NEA website for more information on the MCCI project.


Radioactive waste management

 

New activities for the Working Party on Decommissioning and Dismantling

The 11th meeting of the NEA Working Party on Decommissioning and Dismantling (WPDD) took place on 16-18 October in Washington DC, co-hosted by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the US Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM). Meeting participants reviewed the current programme of work, including task group activities on the management of large components, R&D needs for decommissioning and cost estimation.  During the meeting, a new task group was established to work on radiological characterisation and a new project was approved to develop guidelines on methods for cost and progress control on decommissioning projects. One day of the meeting was devoted to a topical session on R&D and innovation needs for decommissioning. A further full day was devoted to a workshop on decommissioning issues in the United States. The meeting was followed by a site visit to the DOE-EM site at Savannah River, South Carolina. Click here for more information on the WPDD.


Nuclear development

Nuclear Development Committee looks ahead to 2011-12

The NEA Nuclear Development Committee (NDC) met on 24-25 November for its second meeting in 2010. The Committee reviewed progress on activities for 2009-10 and the programme of work for 2011-12. In attendance were 31 participants from 16 countries, the European Commission (EC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), with the Russian Federation participating as an observer. Major agenda items for the NDC included a special session on financing nuclear power and a strategic discussion of the priorities, ways of working and communication approaches to be used for the next programme of work and beyond. Click here for more information on the NDC.

 

Nuclear science

Information exchange on actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation

The 11th Information Exchange Meeting on Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T) was held on 1-4 November 2010 in San Francisco, USA and was hosted by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The meeting included 102 presentations by 131 participants from 17 countries and three international organisations. The meeting programme covered fuel cycle strategies and transition scenarios, waste forms and geological disposal, transmutation fuels and targets, pyro and aqueous separation processes, transmutation physics and materials, and design, performance and safety of transmutation systems. A special session at the beginning of the meeting was devoted to national programmes on P&T. The twelfth information exchange meeting will be held in the second half of 2012 in the Czech Republic. More information on P&T is available on the NEA website.


Data Bank

Thermochemical Database (TDB) project

The Management Board of Phase IV of the Thermochemical Database (TDB) project met on 16-17 November 2010. The Board discussed the current programme of work comprising the completion of reviews of chemical thermodynamic data for iron (part 1) and tin, as well as the initiation of reviews for iron (part 2) and molybdenum. An effort to re-assess ancillary data, used within the project, will also be undertaken. Considering the delays and difficulties in establishing the new review teams, the Management Board proposed to extend the mandate of the project by one year until the end of 2012. The NEA Secretariat will investigate the possibility of re-issuing some of the old TDB publications, e.g. the volumes on chemical thermodynamics of technetium, and of neptunium and plutonium. More information on the TDB project is available on the NEA website.

NEA Data Bank newsletter

Computer program services

New computer programs available

17-NOV-10

CSNI0073

ROSA-IV/SB-CL-27, Large Scale Test Facility, Gravity-Driven Safety Injection
(Arrived)

17-NOV-10

CSNI0046

ROSA-IV/SB-CL-18, Large Scale Test Facility, 5% Cold-Leg Break Test
(Arrived)


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