William D. Magwood, IV: New Director-General of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is pleased to announce that on 1 September 2014, Mr. William D. Magwood, IV took up his duties as the new NEA Director-General. Mr. Magwood brings to the NEA extensive experience in both the regulatory and developmental aspects of nuclear energy, including at the international level. Since 2010, he had been serving as one of the five Commissioners appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Press release
Uranium 2014: Resources, Production and Demand
NEA No. 7209, 506 pages.
Bulletin de droit nucléaire n° 92
AEN n° 7155, 248 pages.
Nuclear Site Remediation and Restoration during Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations
NEA No. 7192, 244 pages.
R&D and Innovation Needs for Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities
NEA No. 7191, 314 pages.
Perceptions and Realities in Modern Uranium Mining
NEA No. 7063, 19 pages.
NEA's Stephen G. Burns nominated to US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Mr. Stephen G. Burns, NEA Head of Legal Affairs and former US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) General Counsel, has been nominated to become one of the five NRC Commissioners. The hearing before the full US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works was held on Tuesday, 9 September 2014 at 10:00 am EDT (GMT -4) in Washington D.C. Further details and the link to the webcast are available here.
Nuclear regulatory organisations, the internet and social media
A new NEA report on "Nuclear Regulatory Organisations, the Internet and Social Media: The What, How and Why of Their Use as Communication Tools" is now available online. Social media provide important tools for nuclear regulatory organisations to use in communicating with civil society both during periods of normal business and during an emergency. Each nuclear regulatory organisation will, however, need to review and analyse its own needs as part of its overall communications strategy, and to determine which platforms will best serve these needs. Prepared by the Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC), this report outlines the most popular social media tools available today and provides tips and techniques that have worked for nuclear regulators around the world. It also provides case studies and links to help regulators create, maintain or improve their social media usage in order to foster discussions and dialogue with civil society.
Projected costs of generating electricity
On 15 July 2014, the NEA and the International Energy Agency (IEA) launched preparations for a new edition of Projected Costs of Generating Electricity. The 2015 edition will again compile plant-level generating costs for power technologies from member countries and selected non-member countries according to a shared methodological framework for cost accounting that allows for comparisons across technologies and countries. Technologies under consideration include nuclear, coal, gas and a broad range of renewable technologies. At the workshop, participants defined the methodological assumptions and the overall structure of the new study. In addition to systematically updating the cost data, the next edition will also include in‑depth studies on qualitative issues such as the system costs of different technologies or the intricacies of financing power generation capacity.
The global supply chain for medical radioisotopes
On 8-9 July 2014, the NEA High-Level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG‑MR) met to discuss the status of implementation of the HLG‑MR policy approach and presented updates on new infrastructure development. Participants also addressed the findings of the second self‑assessment of the global 99Mo/99mTc supply chain, which was conducted in February 2014 to evaluate progress made by supply chain participants since the first self‑assessment in 2012. The findings have been released in a report entitled Results from the Second Self‑assessment of the Global 99Mo/99mTc Supply Chain. The report evaluates progress made by 99Mo/99mTc producers in implementing the HLG-MR policy principles, with a focus on the principles of full‑cost recovery, outage reserve capacity and the role of governments in the 99Mo/99mTc market.
Fukushima waste management and decommissioning R&D
On 1-4 July 2014, the first meeting of the Expert Group on Fukushima Waste Management and Decommissioning R&D (EGFWMD) was held in Fukushima, Japan. The EGFWMD, which consists of Japanese and international experts with experience in decommissioning nuclear facilities and related remedial actions, was established in March 2014. Participants discussed the programme of work for the group's two-year mandate. They also visited the research facilities of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to obtain a deeper understanding of the current status of the decommissioning of the plant. The group will prepare a technical advisory report on the waste management and R&D programme of Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning based on their discussions and visits.
Global interest in the International School of Nuclear Law
The 14th session of the International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL) was held from 25 August to 5 September 2014 in Montpellier, France, bringing together a diverse international group of graduate students and young professionals from across the globe to learn more about the legal framework and major issues affecting the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The course focuses on areas such as nuclear safety, security, non-proliferation and liability, and this year's session was attended by 58 participants from 37 NEA member and non-member countries. Organised by the NEA and the University of Montpellier 1 with support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the ISNL is a unique academic programme that offers participants from the academic, private and governmental sectors an in‑depth look at nuclear energy from an international law perspective. Over the past 14 years, it has attracted nearly 700 participants worldwide from an increasingly diverse range of countries.
Nuclear measurements, evaluations and applications: proceedings now available
The proceedings of the 7th Workshop on Nuclear Measurements, Evaluations and Applications (NEMEA), which also hosted the start-up meeting of the Collaborative International Evaluated Library Organisation (CIELO) Pilot Project, are now available online. The CIELO pilot project aims to foster nuclear data advances on key isotopes for nucler energy applications, especially in the area of criticality safety and reactors, by using the collective expertise of the nuclear data community under the auspices of the NEA. It relies on the collaboration among several nuclear data projects across the world, some of them having different short-term objectives, but all of them working towards improving basic nuclear data. The NEMEA‑7/CIELO workshop addressed status reviews of planned and completed contributions and related developments for the CIELO pilot isotopes (hydrogen‑1, oxygen‑16, iron‑56, uranium‑235, uranium‑238 and plutonium‑239). Read the workshop proceedings here: oe.cd/GB
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FLUKA2011.2b.6, Monte Carlo general purpose tool for calculations of particle transport and interactions with matter |
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