Recent Publications

As all safety systems in the majority of existing nuclear power plants use the preferred power supply, any voltage surges in these systems could lead to common-cause failures. In the event of an unusual electrical system transient, it is essential that safety-related equipment be isolated or protected from the fault in order to ensure its ability to safely shut down the reactor and remove decay heat.
Based on the analysis of the voltage surges observed at Forsmark-1 in 2006 and Olkiluoto-1 in 2008, this technical opinion paper summarises the current state of knowledge of in-plant and external grid-related challenges to nuclear power plant safety-related electrical equipment. It will be of particular interest to nuclear safety regulators, nuclear power plant operators and grid system regulators and operators.

The International Reactor Physics Experiments Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was launched in 1999 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Science Committee (NSC). While co-ordination and administration of the IRPhEP is managed at the international level by the NEA, each participating country is responsible for the administration, technical direction and priorities of the project within their respective countries. The information and data included in this handbook are available to NEA member countries, to all contributing countries and to others on a case-by-case basis.
This handbook contains reactor physics benchmark specifications that have been derived from experiments performed at various nuclear facilities around the world. The benchmark specifications are intended for use by reactor designers, safety analysts and nuclear data evaluators to validate calculation techniques and data. Example calculations are presented; they do not, however, constitute validation or endorsement of the codes or cross-section data.
The 2013 edition of the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments contains data from 130 experimental series performed at 47 reactor facilities. One hundred twenty-six of the 130 evaluations are published as approved benchmarks; the remaining four are published as draft documents only.
New to the handbook are benchmark specifications for selected measurements on the very-high-temperature reactor critical assembly (VHTRC) which were performed at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) Tokai Research Establishment in Japan between 1985 and 1996.

As manifested by an increasingly globalised media, a nuclear accident anywhere quickly becomes a potential concern for people everywhere. It is therefore of prime importance that nuclear regulators’ communication strategies take into consideration the expectations and concerns of the public and provide sound information not only for the people of the affected country, but also for citizens worldwide. Public trust is a key element in being able to do so effectively and of particular importance when there are consequences for people or the environment. International co-operation can play a fundamental role in helping to improve crisis communication on national and global scales in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency. These proceedings contain the papers, recommendations and conclusions of the workshop, which was attended by over 180 experts from 27 countries and 6 international organisations.

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) Annotated Glossary is a review of concepts central to societal decision making about radioactive waste management. It records the evolution in understanding that has taken place in the group as the FSC has worked with these concepts over time. This should be a useful resource not only for new FSC participants but also for others: this annotated glossary forms a good reference handbook for future texts regarding societal aspects of radioactive waste management and its governance.

The Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion (JEFF) Project is a collaborative effort among OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Data Bank member countries to develop a reference nuclear data library for use in different energy applications. These data can be used to help improve the safety and economy of existing installations, as well as to design advanced nuclear reactors and their associated fuel cycles, including radioactive waste management. The JEFF-3.1 library contains several different data types, including neutron and proton interaction data, neutron activation data, radioactive decay data, fission yield data and thermal scattering data. This report describes the initial validation of the complete JEFF-3.1 library for thermal reactors, fuel cycle, storage and reprocessing, fusion technology and intermediate energy applications. It will be useful for scientists and engineers in national laboratories, universities and industry who use basic nuclear data, and is particularly suitable for those who work with application libraries based on JEFF-3.1.

The JEF/DOC and EFFDOC working documents cited in the report are available online at www.oecd-nea.org/dbdata/nds_jefreports/jefreport-23/.

Le Bulletin de droit nucléaire est une publication internationale unique en son genre destinée aux juristes et aux universitaires en droit nucléaire. Ses abonnés bénéficient d’informations exhaustives qui font autorité dans ce domaine. Publié deux fois par an en anglais et en français, il propose des articles thématiques rédigés par des experts juridiques renommés, rend compte du développement des législations à travers le monde et présente la jurisprudence et les accords bilatéraux et multilatéraux pertinents ainsi que les activités réglementaires des organisations internationales.
Les principaux articles de ce numéro sont : « À la recherche de l’excellence : présentation et analyse du code de bonne conduite des exportateurs d’équipement de centrales nucléaires », « La réponse du Canada à l’incident du MCP Altona : cadre réglementaire relatif à l’exportation d’uranium », « Conflits de droit découlant de la participation de la Suisse au régime de responsabilité civile de la Convention de Paris » et « L’impact des protocoles additionnels et des garanties renforcées sur l’Agence internationale de l’énergie atomique et les États ».

The Nuclear Law Bulletin is a unique international publication for both professionals and academics in the field of nuclear law. It provides subscribers with authoritative and comprehensive information on nuclear law developments. Published twice a year in both English and French, it features topical articles written by renowned legal experts, covers legislative developments worldwide and reports on relevant case law, bilateral and international agreements as well as regulatory activities of international organisations.
Feature articles in this issue include: "A common high standard for nuclear power plant exports: overview and analysis of the Nuclear Power Plant Exporters’ Principles of Conduct"; "The MCP Altona incident: the Canadian regulatory response and framework for the export of uranium"; "Conflict of law issues related to Switzerland’s participation in the Paris Nuclear Third Party Liability Regime"; and "The impact of the Additional Protocol and Strengthened Safeguards: effects on the International Atomic Energy Agency and on states".

L'intérêt porté au développement de l'énergie nucléaire pour satisfaire une demande croissante d'énergie et faire face au changement climatique conduit à s'intéresser de plus près au cycle du combustible nucléaire et aux initiatives prises pour assurer la durabilité de cette énergie à long terme. Les décisions concernant les futurs programmes électronucléaires ne pourront plus se passer d'une analyse stratégique de l'intégralité du cycle du combustible, comme le font déjà les projets internationaux consacrés aux réacteurs de quatrième génération. À l'heure actuelle, 90 % des réacteurs installés dans le monde fonctionnent avec de l'oxyde d'uranium et en cycle ouvert. Or, si la fermeture du cycle est un objectif général recherché depuis des décennies, les progrès dans cette direction sont lents. Ce rapport fait état des évolutions intervenues dans le cycle du combustible au cours des dix dernières années, de celles auxquelles on pourrait s’attendre dans les dix ans et des perspectives ultérieures. Il analyse les progrès technologiques et les mesures prises par les pouvoirs publics (aux niveaux national et international), et les examine par rapport à des critères de durabilité afin de dégager des tendances et de recommander des voies à suivre.

Dans le domaine de la gestion des déchets radioactifs, les dernières années ont vu émerger l’autorité de sûreté comme un acteur central aux yeux de la société civile. Cette étude montre comment les autorités de sûreté ont développé leurs interactions avec la société civile tout en conservant – voire en renforçant – leur indépendance et comment elles jouent leur rôle au sein du processus d’autorisation et de prise de décision par étapes adopté aujourd’hui dans la plupart des pays. La sûreté est assurée par un « système réglementaire », dans lequel tout un ensemble d’acteurs, dont les parties prenantes locales, ont un rôle essentiel à jouer. L’autorité de sûreté est de plus en plus souvent considérée comme « l’expert du public », car elle réunit des connaissances utiles pour les communes qui envisagent d’accueillir une installation de stockage ou d’entreposage de déchets.
Cette étude offre une mise à jour opportune sur l’évolution du rôle de l’autorité de sûreté, et les éclairages apportés pourront aider les nombreux pays qui envisagent ou préparent l’entreposage ou le stockage des déchets radioactifs dans des installations en subsurface ou plus grande profondeur. Alors que l’étude est centrée sur les avancées relatives à la gestion et au stockage des déchets, les tendances décrites sont probablement pertinentes dans le domaine nucléaire au sens large.

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP), originally initiated at the national level by the US Department of Energy in 1992, became an official activity of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in 1995.
This handbook contains criticality safety benchmark specifications that have been derived from experiments performed at various critical facilities around the world. The benchmark specifications are intended for use by criticality safety engineers to validate calculation techniques used to establish minimum subcritical margins for operations with fissile material and to determine criticality alarm requirement and placement. Many of the specifications are also useful for nuclear data testing. Example calculations are presented; these calculations do not, however, constitute a validation of the codes or cross-section data.
The evaluated criticality safety benchmark data are presented in nine volumes, containing over 65 000 pages and 549 evaluations with benchmark specifications for over 4 700 critical, near-critical or subcritical configurations, 24 criticality alarm placement/shielding configurations with multiple dose points for each, and 200 configurations that have been categorised as fundamental physics measurements that are relevant to criticality safety applications.
New to the handbook are benchmark specifications for the Water-moderated Square-pitched U(6.90)O2 Fuel Rod Lattices with 0.67 Fuel-to-water Ratio experiments (see front cover) that were performed by a team of experimenters at Sandia National Laboratories between 2009 and 2012.

Fuel transuranics (TRU) multi-recycling is a mandatory feature if both the resource sustainability and the waste minimisation objectives for future fuel cycles are to be pursued. The resulting TRU transmutation can be implemented in fast neutron spectrum reactors according to two main options commonly referred to as the homogeneous and heterogeneous modes.

In this study, the two alternatives have been compared in terms of reactor core feasibility, fuel development and impact on the fuel cycle. The multi-criteria analysis indicates that there are major challenges in minor actinide-loaded fuel development, its experimental validation and possibly in its reprocessing. Both modes of recycling have an impact on the overall fuel cycle, even if at different stages, for example complex target fabrication and handling in the case of heterogeneous recycling and full core fuel fabrication in the case of homogeneous recycling. The study finds that an economic evaluation according to specific implementation scenarios should still be undertaken.

Materials research is a field of growing relevance for innovative nuclear systems, such as Generation IV reactors, critical and sub-critical transmutation systems and fusion devices. For these different systems, structural materials are selected or developed taking into account the specificities of their foreseen operational environment. Since 2007, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has begun organising a series of workshops on Structural Materials for Innovative Nuclear Systems (SMINS) in order to provide a forum to exchange information on current materials research programmes for different innovative nuclear systems. These proceedings include the papers of the second workshop (SMINS-2) which was held in Daejon, Republic of Korea on 31 August-3 September 2010, and hosted by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).

This volume is the 12th in the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) "Chemical Thermodynamics" series. It is based on a critical review of the thermodynamic properties of tin, its solid compounds and aqueous complexes, carried out as part of the NEA Thermochemical Database Project Phase III (TDB III). The database system developed at the OECD/NEA Data Bank ensures consistency not only within the recommended data sets of tin, but also among all the data sets published in the series. This volume will be of particular interest to scientists carrying out performance assessments of deep geological disposal sites for radioactive waste.

Following the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, extraordinary efforts were undertaken in Japan to implement a compensation scheme for the proper and efficient indemnification of the affected victims. This publication provides English translations of key Japanese legislative and administrative texts and other implementing guidance, as well as several commentaries by Japanese experts in the field of third party nuclear liability.

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has prepared this publication in co-operation with the government of Japan to share Japan’s recent experience in implementing its nuclear liability and compensation regime. The material presented in the publication should provide valuable insights for those wishing to better understand the regime applied to compensate the victims of the accident and for those working on potential improvements in national regimes and the international framework for third party nuclear liability.

Managing the ageing of fuel cycle facilities (FCFs) means, as for other nuclear installations, ensuring the availability of required safety functions throughout their service life while taking into account the changes that occur with time and use. This technical opinion paper identifies a set of good practices by benchmarking strategies and good practices on coping with physical ageing and obsolescence from the facility design stage until decommissioning. It should be of particular interest to nuclear safety regulators, fuel cycle facilities operators and fuel cycle researchers.

La gestion du vieillissement des installations du cycle du combustible consiste, comme pour toute autre installation nucléaire, à garantir la disponibilité des fonctions de sûreté sur toute leur durée de vie tout en tenant compte des modifications intervenues avec le temps et l’usage. Cet avis technique identifie et compare les stratégies et les bonnes pratiques utilisées pour faire face au vieillissement physique et à l’obsolescence des installations, depuis leur conception jusqu’à leur démantèlement. Il devrait intéresser les autorités de sûreté nucléaire, les exploitants d’installations du cycle du combustible ainsi que les chercheurs qui travaillent sur ce sujet.

The application of lessons learnt from the International Reporting System for Operating Experience (IRS) is an essential element for enhancing the safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) throughout the world. The IRS provides a mechanism for the exchange of information related to the incident, actions taken, root cause analysis and lessons learnt. This feedback on how to adequately remedy, or avoid, possible challenges and precursors is of paramount importance to operational safety. The IRS improves international awareness of potential challenges, actual incidents and “precursors” in NPP operations. The heightened awareness generated by feedback from operating experience has resulted in numerous improvements to equipment, procedures and training in many NPPs. The application of operational feedback also benefits the design of the next generation of NPPs. Operating experience has demonstrated that design modification issues documented in IRS reports can have a significant impact on safety. The IRS is jointly operated and managed by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In the area of radioactive waste management, the regulator or safety authority has emerged in recent years as a principal actor in the eyes of civil society. This study shows how regulators are increasing their interaction with society while still retaining – or ­reinforcing – their independence and how they play their role within the stepwise ­licensing and decision-making processes now adopted in most countries. Safety is ensured by a “regulatory system”, in which a host of players, including local ­stakeholders, have a vital role to play. The technical regulator has come to be considered as the “people’s expert”, concentrating knowledge useful to local communities as they deliberate the hosting of a waste storage or disposal facility.
This report provides a useful update on the changing role of the regulator as well as insights that will be helpful to the many countries that are considering, or are preparing for, storage or disposal of radioactive waste either in near-surface facilities or deeper underground. While it focuses on the developments in waste management and disposal, the trends it describes are probably relevant throughout the nuclear field.

Deep geological repositories of radioactive waste are designed and licensed based on a model of long-term safety which does not require the active presence of man. During the period of stepwise development of such repositories, reversibility of decisions and retrievability of the waste are widely thought to be beneficial. Reversibility and retrievability are not requirements for long-term safety. They are instead about implementing a process that responds to ethical and precautionary obligations without compromising safety. How are the concepts of reversibility and retrievability understood in the various nuclear countries? How do they appear in national waste management legislation, regulation and operational programmes, and how can they be implemented?
The “R&R” project of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) culminated in an International Conference and Dialogue on Reversibility and Retrievability in December 2010. This open meeting brought together regulators, policy makers, elected officials, experts in social sciences, and representatives of civil society and stakeholder groups in addition to waste management professionnels. These proceedings include the texts of 50 presentations and the “International Retrievability Scale” – a tool to support dialogue with stakeholders and to help establish a common international framework.

Meeting the growing demand for energy, and electricity in particular, while addressing the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to ensure security of energy supply, is one of the most difficult challenges facing the world’s economies. No single technology can respond to this challenge, and the solution which policy-makers are seeking lies in the diversification of energy sources.

Although nuclear energy currently provides over 20% of electricity in the OECD area and does not emit any carbon dioxide during production, it continues to be seen by many as a controversial technology. Public concern remains over its safety and the management of radioactive waste, and financing such a capital-intensive technology is a complex issue. The role that nuclear power will play in the future depends on the answers to these questions, several of which are provided in this up-to-date review of the status of nuclear energy, as well as on the outcome of research and development on the nuclear fuel cycle and reactor technologies.

Refurbishment and long-term operation (LTO) of existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) today are crucial to the competitiveness of the nuclear industry in OECD countries as existing nuclear power plants produce baseload power at a reliable cost. A number of nuclear power plants, most notably 73 units in the United States (up to 2012), have been granted lifetime extensions of up to 60 years, a development that is being keenly watched in other OECD countries. In many of these (e.g. France, Switzerland), there is no legal end to the operating licence, but continued operation is based on the outcomes of periodic safety reviews.
This study analyses technical and economic data on the upgrade and lifetime extension experience in OECD countries. A multi-criteria assessment methodology is used considering various factors and parameters reflecting current and future financial conditions of operation, political and regulatory risks, the state of the plants’ equipment and the general role of nuclear power in the country’s energy policy.
The report shows that long-term operation of nuclear power plants has significant economic advantages for most utilities envisaging LTO programmes. In most cases, the continued operation of NPPs for at least ten more years is profitable even taking into account the additional costs of post-Fukushima modifications, and remains cost-effective compared to alternative replacement sources.

The reliable supply of molybdenum-99 (99Mo) and its decay product, technetium-99m (99mTc), is a vital component of modern medical diagnostic practices. At present, most of the global production of 99Mo is from highly enriched uranium (HEU) targets. However, all major 99Mo-producing countries have recently agreed to convert to using low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets to advance important non-proliferation goals, a decision that will have implications for the global supply chain of 99Mo/99mTc and the long-term supply reliability of these medical isotopes.
This study provides the findings and analysis from an extensive examination of the 99Mo/99mTc supply chain by the OECD/NEA High-level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR). It presents a comprehensive evaluation of the potential impacts of converting to the use of LEU targets for 99Mo production on the global 99Mo/99mTc market in terms of costs and available production capacity, and the corresponding implications for long-term supply reliability. In this context, the study also briefly discusses the need for policy action by governments in their efforts to ensure a stable and secure long-term supply of 99Mo/99mTc.

Cet ouvrage s’intéresse aux interactions de plus en plus importantes entre les énergies renouvelables variables et les énergies programmables telles que l’énergie nucléaire, et aux effets de ces interactions sur les systèmes électriques. Ces effets systémiques induisent des surcoûts à la production d’électricité qui ne sont généralement pas identifiés. L’étude recommande que les décideurs prennent désormais en compte ces effets systémiques et les internalisent suivant un principe de « producteur-payeur ». À partir des données de six pays membres de l’OCDE/AEN, ce rapport montre qu’en réalité les effets systémiques des énergies renouvelables variables au niveau du réseau majorent de jusqu’à un tiers les coûts complets de production d’électricité selon le pays considéré, la technologie employée et son taux de pénétration. Il conclut que, dans le cas où les régimes de subventions aux énergies renouvelables restent inchangés, les moyens de production programmables arrivés en fin d’exploitation risquent de ne pas être remplacés à des niveaux suffisants pour garantir la sécurité d’approvisionnement en énergie. Des changements significatifs dans la gestion et l’allocation des coûts deviennent donc indispensables pour assurer la flexibilité nécessaire à une coexistence viable entre l’énergie nucléaire et les énergies renouvelables dans des systèmes électriques bas carbone.