NEA Monthly News Bulletin - November 2010

New at the NEA

NEA webssite is movingThe Nuclear Energy Agency's website is moving

Please note that on 1 December 2010, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency will move to its new website address: www.oecd-nea.org. This new address will better reflect the international nature of the NEA's mandate while highlighting the NEA's contribution to the overall mission of the OECD.  Please update your links and bookmarks to the new NEA website address: www.oecd-nea.org.

Follow the NEA on Facebook

In addition to our new website address, the NEA has created a Facebook page where you will be able to browse photos, view video clips and keep up-to-date on all the latest news from the NEA. Follow us on Facebook here.


New publications

Boiling Water Reactor Turbine Trip (TT) Benchmark - Vol. IV
Volume IV: Summary Results of Exercise 3
ISBN: 978-92-64-99137-8, 276 pages. Free: paper or web.

Strategic Aspects of Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Management
Planning for Effective Decision Making; Consequence Management and Transition to Recovery
ISBN: 978-92-64-99146-0, 72 pages. Free: paper or web.

VVER-1000 Coolant Transient Benchmark
Phase 2 (V1000CT-2) Summary Results of Exercise 1 on Vessel Mixing Simulation
ISBN: 978-92-64-99152-1, 144 pages. Free: paper or web.


Nuclear safety and regulation

Next steps for the Behaviour of Iodine Project
The Programme Review Group of the Behaviour of Iodine Project (BIP) met on 4 October 2010. During the meeting, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) proposed a second phase of the BIP to study the behaviour of iodine in case of a severe accident in a nuclear reactor. The objective of phase two is to develop a unified theory to explain all research results (BIP, EPICURE, PHEBUS, etc.), to determine how much iodine is absorbed on the various surfaces and to formulate an understanding to support modelling assumptions and strategy. Proposed experiments will deal with iodine sinks and organic iodine formation. Participating organisations have reviewed the AECL's proposal and have expressed interest in participating. A draft agreement will be prepared with the AECL for the official statement of interest by countries. Phase two could start as early as April 2011 when the current BIP project is scheduled to end. More information on the BIP project is available on the NEA website.

Expert Meeting on the Source Term Evaluation and Mitigation (STEM) Project
Held on 5 October 2010, the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) expert meeting attracted 28 experts from 12 countries representing 17 organisations. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss the Source Term Evaluation and Mitigation (STEM) Project proposed by the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN). The STEM project aims to provide better information and data to emergency teams in order to make more robust assessments of the progression of an accident and a better evaluation of potential release of radioactive material. The project will also explore the lifetime extension of existing nuclear power plants to bring safety levels closer to those of GEN-III reactors. Finally, it will investigate phenomena involved in possible complementary mitigation measures. Participants reviewed the technical fundamentals of the proposal, provided recommendations and indicated interest on behalf of their respective organisations. Based on the outcome of this meeting a draft Agreement will be prepared with the IRSN for official statement of interest by countries for a possible start in autumn 2011. More information on the CSNI is available here.

Concluding Seminar on the Thermal-hydraulics, Hydrogen, Aerosols, Iodine (THAI) Project
The concluding seminar on the THAI project (2007-2009), which was held on 6-7 October 2010, attracted 30 experts from 12 countries representing 16 organisations. Participants benefited from the use of a large number of results gained from the THAI project through improved code models, close validation gaps (e.g. light gas stratification break-up; passive autocatalytic recombiner (PAR) performance and ignition; combustion of lean hydrogen-air mixture) and reduced scaling uncertainties. All of these outcomes are important for ongoing and future reactor applications. It was recommended that summary of lessons learnt from the THAI project regarding code validation, gaps identified and reactor application be included in the CSNI containment validation matrix. Outstanding issues, such as hydrogen combustion under spray and low oxygen PAR behaviour, will be addressed during the THAI-2 project expected to start in early 2011. Visit the NEA website for more information on the THAI project.

Workshop on Soil Structure Interaction
The NEA/IAEA Workshop on Soil Structure Interaction (SSI) Knowledge and Effect on the Seismic Assessment of Nuclear Power Plant Structures and Components was hosted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on 6-8 October 2010. The workshop was attended by 77 experts from 13 member countries and 2 international organisations. The main objectives of the workshop were to review and disseminate recent findings and issues in SSI; to share state-of-the-art engineering practices in different member countries regarding SSI analysis; to address non-linear behaviour of soil/backfill material; and to compare SSI approaches, in particular, frequency domain versus time domain. Thirty two papers, including five invited keynote lectures, provided the basis for lively discussions that lead to a series of recommendations and conclusions that will be documented in the workshop proceedings. Find out more about SSI on the NEA website.


Radioactive waste management

Register for Reversibility and Retrievability: An International Conference and Dialogue
The NEA is organising an International Conference and Dialogue on Reversibility and Retrievability with the co-operation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy (EC DG-ENER), and the International Association for Environmentally Safe Disposal of Radioactive Materials (EDRAM). To be hosted in Reims, France, by the Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs (ANDRA), the conference will bring together a wide array of policy-makers, civil society stakeholders and experts to discuss reversibility and retrievability (R&R) in the context of planning for geological repositories. Visit the conference website at www.r-r-reims2010.com. The deadline for poster submissions and conference registration is 15 November 2010. An advanced draft of the R&R report is available here. Find out more about NEA work on reversibility and retrievability.

Co-operative Programme for the Exchange of Scientific and Technical Information Concerning Nuclear Installation Decommissioning Projects (CPD)
The 29th Management Board of the CPD took place on 14-15 October. The Board accepted the applications of the Chubu Electric Power Company (Japan) to join the CPD and added the decommissioning of Units 1 and 2 of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant as participating projects. With the recent addition of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre at Ispra and the US Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management, the number of organisations participating in the CPD has risen to 24. The CPD will shortly consider accepting the Kurchatov Institute (Russia) to the programme and will announce a decision at next year's meeting.  The meeting also included a number of presentations on soil characterisation and declassification of structures and buildings. The CPD has decided to investigate whether a special task group should be established to work on this issue. For more information on the CPD, please visit the NEA website.

IGSC-12 meeting
The 12th meeting of the Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC) took place from 19 to 21 October 2010 with 37 attendees from 14 countries and the European Commission. Delegates reviewed achievements of IGSC activities and decided on the future programme of work. The final report on the Methods of Safety Assessment (MeSA) project on safety case development was tabled and a key topical session explored the benefits of optimisation over the life cycle of repository development. The IGSC approved an extension of the working group's mandate up to 2013 and appointed a new chairperson. The IGSC is the main technical advisory body to the NEA Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RMWC) on deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. Please visit the NEA website for more information.


Medical radioisotopes

The NEA releases key findings on security of supply of medical radioisotopes
The NEA and its High-level Group on Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR) have released key findings through two new reports under the new Supply of Medical Radioisotopes series. The Interim Report of the OECD/NEA High-level Group on Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes presents the findings of the HLG-MR work to date, including the main issues that affect reliable supply, such as reactor and processing capacity constraints. Progress made in encouraging more reliable supply is also presented, including developing communication protocols, assessing transportation barriers, and understanding the economic situation of the supply chain. The Review of Potential Molybdenum-99 / Technetium-99m Production Technologies discusses potential methods of producing 99Mo/99mTc, including uranium fission in research reactors and solution reactors, neutron activation of 98Mo and various accelerator-based routes. The report provides a set of criteria for assessment of 99Mo/99mTc production routes, a technological review and economic estimates of the methods, based mainly on published sources of information. Both reports and more information on the HLG-MR, can be found on the NEA website.


Data Bank

NEA Data Bank newsletter

Computer program services

New computer programs available

30-SEP-10

CCC-0684

NRCDOSE 2.3.16, Evaluation of Routine Radioactive Effluents from Nuclear Power Plants
(Arrived)


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