NEA Monthly News Bulletin – August-September 2018

New at the NEA

Nobuhiro Muroya, New NEA Deputy Director-General for Management and PlanningNew senior appointment: Mr Nobuhiro Muroya, NEA Deputy Director‑General for Management and Planning

Mr Nobuhiro Muroya will work closely with the NEA Director‑General and senior staff, providing leadership and oversight of the management of the Agency to ensure that it is working effectively and efficiently to meet the needs of its member countries. Prior to joining the NEA, Mr Muroya was the Minister's Secretariat at the Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. He previously supervised both the Secretariats of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), which directs the Japanese government's overall nuclear energy policy, and the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI), which establishes national strategy for the advancement of science and technology. Mr Muroya holds a Bachelor degree of Engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and a Master degree of Public Policy Management from the University of London.

NEA observes Japan's 2018 Nuclear Energy Disaster Prevention Drill, August 2018NEA observes Japan's 2018 Nuclear Energy Disaster Prevention Drill

NEA Deputy Director‑General and Chief Nuclear Officer Dr Daniel Iracane and staff visited Japan to observe the 2018 Nuclear Energy Disaster Prevention Drill, which was conducted on 25‑26 August 2018 at the Ohi and Takahama nuclear power plants. The annual exercise was the sixth in the series and was designed to prepare for serious simultaneous accidents at multiple plants. It involved officials from the national and local governments and nuclear operators, as well as residents in the Fukui Prefecture. During the visit, Dr Iracane met with Mr Tadahiko Ito, State Minister of the Cabinet Office and of the Environment, who also participated in the exercise. The NEA wishes to thank the Cabinet Office of Japan and the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) for the well-organised exercise observation tour, as well as for the fruitful exchanges that took place during the visit.

Bridging the gender gap:
NEA initiative to encourage girls to pursue STEM

Following its successful debut in July 2017, the NEA International Mentoring Workshop in Science and Engineering returned to Japan for the second year. Joshikai II for Future Scientists was held on 8‑9 August 2018 in Tokyo, in co‑operation with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), in order to motivate young female students to explore science and engineering careers, and to suggest ways to overcome any barriers they may face along the way. Read more

NEA meeting with the NSSC Chairman Kang Jungmin, August 2018NEA Director‑General visits Korea

NEA Director‑General Mr William D. Magwood, IV, and senior staff visited Korea in August for a series of meetings with various ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD). During his visit to the NSSC, he held his first meeting with the NSSC Chairman Kang Jungmin and discussed further enhancements in co‑operation between the NSSC and the NEA. While in Korea, Director‑General Magwood also participated in the World Nuclear University (WNU) Summer Institute as an invited leader and gave a presentation entitled "Looking Forward ‑ Nuclear Energy Issues and Opportunities". During his speech, he highlighted the need for nuclear innovation, the long‑term role of nuclear energy within the context of global climate change and the importance of attracting young people to study nuclear science and engineering. The NEA is one of the founding organisations of the World Nuclear University (WNU) Summer Institute.

NEA high-level visit to Russia, July 2018NEA high-level visit to Russia

NEA Director‑General Magwood and senior staff visited the Russian Federation on 26‑27 July for a series of meetings with the ROSATOM State Nuclear Energy Corporation and technical visits. Central to his visit were meetings with Mustafa Kashka, Rosatomflot Acting Director, and Vitally Trutnev, Director of ROSENERGOATOM Directorate for the Construction and Operation of Floating Nuclear Thermal Power Plants. The NEA delegation conducted a technical tour of Rosatomflot facilities and the Akademik Lomonosov, Russia's first floating nuclear power plant, which is currently being fuelled in Murmansk. A technical visit was also made to SevRAO, the northern centre of Rosatom subsidiary RosRAO which provides back‑end radioactive waste and decommissioning services for Russia's submarine fleet and commercial customers.

NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV, meets with the European Commission Director-General Dominique Ristori, July 2018The European Commission (EC) and NEA discuss areas of mutual interest

NEA Director‑General Magwood, accompanied by senior staff, met with the European Commission Director‑General Dominique Ristori on 24 July 2018 to discuss the current state of nuclear energy, ongoing collaboration between the two organisations, and plans for further strengthening co‑operation in the future. Discussions with European Commission officials also covered the importance of ensuring an effective and efficient nuclear supply chain and the importance of maintaining nuclear technology skills capacity. While in Brussels the NEA delegation met with Pierre Jean Coulon, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society.

Webinar on the Country-Specific Safety Culture Forum in Sweden

On 13 September 2018, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) will launch a report on the outcomes of the Country‑Specific Safety Culture Forum (CSSCF): Sweden. This first‑of‑its‑kind nuclear safety culture forum was organised in January 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden, in co‑operation with the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM). The new NEA report presents the results from the forum, based on views of representatives of the Swedish nuclear community, as expressed during focus group discussions and interviews held at the event. Find out more and register at oe.cd/nea-cssc-sweden-webinar-2018

New publications


Nuclear safety technology and regulation

Status of site-level probabilistic safety assessment developments

An area of growing interest for nuclear operators and regulators is the use of site‑level probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) to ensure that the risks posed by sites with more than one nuclear power reactor are properly characterised. To address this interest and to review the status of site‑level PSA developments, the NEA Working Group on Risk Assessment (WGRISK) organised a workshop on 18‑20 July 2018 in Munich, Germany, in co‑operation with Gesellschaft für Anlagen‑ und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS). The event was attended by nearly 50 participants representing international organisations, research laboratories, regulatory bodies, industry and academia. The participants discussed safety goals, risk metrics, risk aggregation and interactions or dependencies for sites with multiple units. They concluded that there has been good progress in developing site‑level PSAs. They also agreed that these PSAs provide useful insights into interdependencies or unit‑specific features that can influence overall risk.

NEA Preparatory Study on Fuel Debris Analysis (PreADES) Project meeting, July 2018Post-Fukushima safety research contributing to decommissioning strategy planning

The second meeting in support of the NEA Preparatory Study on Fuel Debris Analysis (PreADES) Project was held on 4‑6 July in Tokyo, Japan. The PreADES Project was proposed by the NRA and the JAEA as a follow‑up project of the NEA Senior Expert Group on Safety Research Opportunities Post‑Fukushima (SAREF), reflecting the recommendations in the SAREF report issued in 2017. At the second meeting, participating experts discussed their collective research on fuel debris characterisation and the needs for fuel debris sample analysis to support Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning strategy planning.

In tandem with this meeting, the PreADES Project also organised a one‑day workshop on the status of Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning and relevant NEA post‑Fukushima projects. The workshop was attended by experts involved in relevant NEA activities and experts from Japanese organisations engaged in the work, as well as by the PreADES Project meeting participants. Participants discussed updates on the decommissioning operations at the Fukushima Daiichi site, as well as the estimation and evaluation of accident progression scenario and fuel debris distribution. The workshop programme also included discussions of the Analysis of Information from Reactor Building and Containment Vessel and Water Sampling in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (ARC‑F) Project proposed by the NRA and the JAEA.

Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table: R&D Priorities for Loss-of-Cooling and Loss-of-Coolant Accidents in Spent Nuclear Fuel PoolsPhenomena Identification and Ranking Table

The NEA assists its members in their efforts to ensure high standards of nuclear safety. It does this by maintaining and advancing the scientific and technical knowledge base on the safety of nuclear installations through exchange of technical information and collaboration between experts from all member countries. Such efforts include programmes and activities on the safety and security of spent fuel pools. A new NEA report documents the results of an exercise conducted by the NEA to produce a Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table (PIRT) on spent fuel pools under loss‑of‑cooling and loss‑of‑coolant accident conditions. It recommends further support for existing experimental programmes and the establishment of a number of new programmes to focus, for example, on large‑scale thermal‑hydraulic experiments on the coolability of partly or completely uncovered spent‑fuel assemblies. Download the report at oe.cd/csni-r2017-18.


Human aspects of nuclear safety

Russian Delegation visits the NEA to discuss future co-operation in human aspects of nuclear safety, August 2018Russian Delegation visits the NEA to discuss future co-operation in human aspects of nuclear safety

A Russian delegation led by Mr Valery Karezin, Project Director of the Personnel Policy Department of ROSATOM, visited the NEA on 24 August 2018 for a bilateral meeting with Ms Yeonhee Hah, Head of the NEA Division of Radiological Protection and Human Aspects of Nuclear Safety, and NEA staff. Mr Karezin gave a presentation on ROSATOM's approach to human resource development, followed by presentations on ROSATOM programmes for leadership potential development and capacity building for co‑operation with international organisations. Participants then reviewed NEA projects targeted at human capital development. The two parties discussed future co-operation on safety culture, as well as on a number of NEA initiatives including the NEA International Mentoring Workshop in Science and Engineering, the International Radiological Protection School (IRPS) and the country-specific safety culture forum series.


Radiological protection

NEA International Radiological Protection School (IRPS) 2018First NEA International Radiological Protection School (IRPS)

For some time, NEA member country governmental and nuclear fuel cycle organisations have had difficulty recruiting sufficient numbers of appropriately qualified radiological protection professionals to replace those retiring. To address this, the NEA created the International Radiological Protection School (IRPS), in co‑operation with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) and the Centre for Radiation Protection Research (CRPR) of Stockholm University. The first IRPS session took place from 20 to 24 August 2018 at Stockholm University. It was attended by 40 participants from 26 countries, selected on the basis of their education, experience and potential as future radiological protection leaders. The five‑day training featured lectures and dialogues by renowned radiological protection experts on the history of the development and implementation of the international system of radiological protection, as promulgated by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The objective of the IRPS was to allow tomorrow's radiological protection leaders to appropriately apply the radiological protection system to address current and future radiological circumstances. Positive feedback from the participants of the first session suggests that the IRPS will be repeated.


Radioactive waste management

NEA high-level visit to the Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory, August 2018NEA high-level visit to the Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory

On 24 August 2018, NEA Director‑General Magwood and senior staff visited the Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory and Technological Exhibition Facility located in Bure, France. During this visit, Director‑General Magwood met with Pierre‑Marie Abadie, Chief Executive Officer of the French national radioactive waste management agency Andra, to discuss major activities in Andra's disposal sites for low‑ and intermediate‑level radioactive waste and the latest developments at the laboratory, as well as the achievements, challenges and plans relating to the Cigéo Project. Discussions underlined the need to resolve the issues regarding the management of radioactive graphite waste and bituminised radioactive waste in different countries. Andra is an active participant in several NEA bodies, including the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC), the Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC) and the Working Party on Management of Materials from Decommissioning and Dismantling (WPDD).


Nuclear development and economics

Impacts and benefits of uranium mining activities

The recently‑established NEA Expert Group on Uranium Mining and Economic Development (UMED) held its second meeting on 3‑5 July 2018. Participants discussed case studies from various countries to understand the impacts and benefits of uranium mining on employment, education and training, local business and infrastructure development, tax revenues, and the environment. They also exchanged key facts and figures on the contribution of uranium mining to social and economic development at both the local and national level.

Insights into the global uranium market

Uranium market prices are moderated based on both supply-demand fundamentals that capture the production cost curve and on the availability of secondary uranium sources. An article in the latest issue of NEA News provides insights into the global uranium market. Read the article here at oe.cd/NEA-36-1.

Insights into the global uranium
market, NEA News 36.1

Nuclear law

NEA International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL) 2018NEA International School of Nuclear Law wraps up another successful session

The 18th session of the NEA International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL) was held from 27 August to 7 September 2018 in Montpellier, France, bringing together a diverse group of graduate students and professionals from across the world to learn more about the legal framework and major issues affecting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Organised by the NEA and the University of Montpellier, the ISNL is a unique educational programme that offers participants from the academic, private and governmental sectors an in-depth look at international nuclear law, focusing on areas such as nuclear safety, environmental law, security, safeguards and nuclear liability. This year's session was attended by 61 participants from 39 countries, including numerous non‑NEA member countries, many of whom received support to attend the ISNL from the IAEA, which also provided several lecturers. The ISNL has attracted since 2001 more than 1000 participants worldwide from an increasingly diverse range of countries, many of whom are now experts in the nuclear law field.

Save the date: NEA International Nuclear Law Essentials (INLE)

The next session of the NEA International Nuclear Law Essentials (INLE) will take place in Paris, France, on 18‑22 February 2019. The five‑day INLE course is designed to provide participants with a practical and comprehensive understanding of the various interrelated legal issues relating to the safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy. This intensive course in international nuclear law addresses the needs and interests of lawyers working in either the public or the private sector, but will also be of interest to scientists, engineers, policymakers, managers and other professionals working in the nuclear field. For more information on the course, see oe.cd/INLE.

Nuclear Law Bulletin No. 100NLB marks 100 issues

The NEA Nuclear Law Bulletin is a unique international publication for both professionals and academics in the field of nuclear law that has been providing readers with authoritative and comprehensive information on nuclear law developments for the past 50 years. Feature articles in this issue include: "Legal challenges to the operation of nuclear reactors in Japan"; "Inside nuclear baseball: Reflections on the development of the safety conventions"; and "The Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program in the United Arab Emirates: Background and history". Download the 100th issue at oe.cd/nea-nlb-100.


Nuclear science and data

Thermochemical Data Base (TDB) Project workshop on Thermodynamic Data Collection and Assessment, August 2018Thermodynamic data collection and assessment

The NEA Data Bank organised a one‑day course on thermodynamic data collection and assessment on 18 August 2018, in conjunction with the 256th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in Boston, MA, United States. Organised in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal (INE), the course was attended mainly by doctoral students, as well as by professors, postdoctoral researchers and experts representing waste management organisations and regulatory bodies. It was designed to familiarise scientists in the field with current NEA Thermochemical Database (TDB) Project activities, guidelines and standards, to provide an overview of data collection and analysis techniques, and to work through some real system examples to demonstrate the critical evaluation and data assessment process. Retaining high scientific standards for the collection, interpretation, critical review and application of thermodynamic data is a key goal of the NEA TDB Project, in order to help ensure that a strong scientific basis for the safety case is maintained to support international nuclear waste management options.

The Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility:
A new era in fuel safety research

An article in the latest issue of NEA News sheds the spotlight on the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility, an air‑cooled, graphite‑moderated, heterogeneous test facility designed to evaluate reactor fuels and structural materials under conditions simulating various types of transient overpower and undercooling situations. The TREAT, which was recently refurbished and restarted after nearly 25 years on stand‑by, generated several thousand reactor transients during its operation between 1959 and 1994, and hundreds of experiments have been performed for a wide variety of reactor development programmes. Find out more in the latest issue of NEA News at oe.cd/NEA-36-1.

Insights into the global uranium
market, NEA News 36.1

Computer program services

Training courses


3-AUG-18 NEA-1833 FLUKA2011.2x.3, Monte Carlo general purpose tool for calculations of particle transport and interactions with matter
(Arrived)
31-JUL-18 CSNI2036 BIP-2, Behaviour of Iodine Project Phase 2
(Arrived)
11-JUL-18 CSNI2033 STEM, Source Term Evaluation and Mitigation (STEM) Project
(Arrived)
10-JUL-18 PSR-0618 VISUAL EDITOR 61, MCNPX/6 Visual Editor Computer Code
(Arrived)
10-JUL-18 CCC-0841 MMS3D, Method of Manufactured Solutions for 3D one-group SN Equations with escalating order of non-smoothness
(Arrived)
9-JUL-18 IAEA1435 ZZ EPICS2017, Electron Photon Interaction Cross Sections
(Tested)

An online archive of previous editions is available here.

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