NEA Monthly News Bulletin - May 2011

OECD/NEA to co-host G8-G20 meeting on nuclear safety
The OECD/NEA will co-host a G8-G20 meeting on nuclear energy issues on 7 June as part of international efforts to learn from the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant and to help prevent similar disasters in the future. Co-organised with the French Presidency of the G8-G20, the meeting will be held in conjunction with the NEA Forum on the Fukushima Accident: Insights and Approaches which will take place at the OECD Conference Centre the next day. Click here for more information.

Governments and industry must change practices to ensure security of supply of medical radioisotopes
On 28 April, the OECD/NEA Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy adopted a statement calling on governments and industry to work together to implement fundamental changes in the molybdenum-99 supply chain to ensure long-term reliability of supply. The committee formally endorsed a policy approach to restructure aspects of the market that are currently functioning unsustainably and to promote an internationally consistent approach to ensure the long-term, secure supply of medical radioisotopes. Disruptions in the global supply chain over the past two years have had significant impacts on patients, who have had important diagnostic tests cancelled or delayed. Read the full statement here.

Biannual meeting of the OECD/NEA Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy
On 28-29 April, the OECD/NEA Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy discussed the main issues facing the Agency and decided on forthcoming activities and approaches to be adopted in line with budget constraints. After hearing about the latest IAEA activities from IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano, the Committee discussed inter alia the NEA programme of work, in particular in relation to the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident in Japan, the request by Slovenia to join the NEA and its Data Bank, new joint projects in the nuclear safety area and small- and medium-sized reactors. Read more here.


New publications

Free publications are available at this link. Paper copies may be requested by sending an e-mail.

Experimental Facilities for Sodium Fast Reactor Safety Studies
ISBN: 978-92-64-99155-2, 144 pages.

NEA Annual Report 2010
ISBN: 978-92-64-99159-0, 52 pages.

Disponible également en français :
AEN Rapport annuel 2010
ISBN : 978-92-64-99160-6, 52 pages.

 

Nuclear safety and regulation

New senior-level task group on the implications of the Fukushima accident
As a result of the Fukushima accident, regulatory bodies around the world have been called upon to affirm the safety of nuclear power plants regardless of type. As such, the NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) has established a senior-level task group to co-ordinate the exchange of information on national activities and to look at generic implications of the Fukushima accident. The senior-level task group will identify issues that could require in-depth evaluation by existing or new nuclear safety working groups. The first meeting will be held on 4-6 May at the NEA. Find out more about nuclear safety.

Forum on the Fukushima Accident: Insights and Approaches
In response to requests from member countries, the NEA will host an international Forum on the Fukushima Accident: Insights and Approaches on 8 June at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France. This forum will provide an opportunity to exchange information on the implications for safe operation of nuclear power plants and the approaches taken by countries around the world following the Fukushima accident. It replaces the Forum on Long-Term Operation previously scheduled for the same date. Click here for more information on the forum.


Radioactive waste management

Lessons learnt in reversibility and retrievability
The NEA project on Reversibility and Retrievability (R&R) in geological disposal held its closing meeting on 6-7 April 2011. Participants were briefed on the Conference on Reversibility and Retrievability held on 14-17 December 2010 in Reims. Key lessons learnt from the conference were the importance of opening discussions to a broad range of viewpoints; the importance of reversibility as a means of ensuring continued participation in ongoing decision-making, rather than simply as a means of reconsidering or changing past decisions; and the importance of having shared terminology and definitions for communicating clearly. Participants commented on the draft "NEA Perspective" on the conference. Project members also discussed the final report and the four-page brochure on the international understanding, which includes a graphical depiction of the development phases of a repository and demonstrates the evolution of the ease of retrieval, elements of passive safety and elements of active control. This scale has proven to be a useful communications tool when applied to national programmes.  Participants also reflected on future work and the possibility of a follow-on project. More on reversibility and retrievability.


Nuclear science

New reports issued by the Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation
The NEA Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) provides a worldwide framework for co-operative activities between major nuclear data evaluation projects. WPEC Subgroup 32 assessed the methodologies used in the unresolved resonance region for cross-section and covariance representation. The final report issued by the subgroup describes investigations made on the use of the single-level Breit-Wigner formalism in this energy region and recommends improving the cross-section and covariance representation in the ENDF format. WPEC Subgroup 33 studies methods and issues in the combined use of integral experiments and covariance data with the objective of recommending a set of best and consistent practices in order to improve evaluated nuclear data files. In its first intermediate report, the subgroup reviews and assesses the existing nuclear data adjustment methodologies. These reports and more information on the WPEC are available on the WPEC page of the NEA website.


Data Bank

NEA Data Bank newsletter

Computer program services

New computer programs available

15-APR-11

PSR-0563

FEAST-METAL-V.1.0, Fuel Engineering and Structural analysis Tool
(Arrived)

13-APR-11

CCC-0777

COG 11, Multiparticle Monte Carlo Code System for Shielding and Criticality Use
(Arrived)

 

The monthly bulletin only lists new and updated material. It is distributed by e-mail to registered users of the Nuclear Energy Agency's Online Services.
Registration is free; please use this link.

An online archive of previous editions is available here.