NEA Mandates and Structures

Technical Review Group for the International Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel Database (SFCOMPOTRG)

Mandate (Document reference):

• Agreed by written procedure following the Nuclear Science Committee bureau meeting in December 2006 [NEA/NSC/DOC(2006)25]
• Summary Record of the 21st meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee held on 9-11 June 2010 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2010)3]
• Summary Record of the 23rd meeting of the Nuclear Science Committee held on 13-15 June 2012 [NEA/SEN/NSC(2012)3]
• Summary Record of the 16th meeting of the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety held on 21 September 2012 [NEA/NSC/WPNCS/DOC(2013)6]
• Summary Record of the 19th meeting of the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety held on 8 July 2015
• Summary Record of the 21st meeting of the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety held on 26-30 June 2017, [NEA/NSC/WPNCS/DOC(2017)2]; name changed, formerly the Expert Group on Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel
• Agreed by written procedure following the 25th Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety meeting in July 2021 [NEA/NSC/WPNCS/DOC(2021)16, in preparation]
• Mandate of the Technical Review Group for the International Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel Database (SFCOMPOTRG) [NEA/NSC/WPNCS/DOC(2021)1]
• Mandate of the Technical Review Group for the International Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel Database (SFCOMPOTRG) [NEA/NSC/WPNCS(2023)1]
• Summary Record of the 29th Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety meeting held on 30 June 2023 (forthcoming)

Mandate (Document extract):

Extract from document NEA/NSC/WPNCS(2023)1

Mandate

Background

Under the direction of the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety (WPNCS) of the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), the Technical Review Group for the International Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel Database (SFCOMPOTRG) reviews and evaluates the available measurements of nuclide inventories and decay heat for spent nuclear fuel (SNF), especially in NEA member countries.

Scope

The SFCOMPOTRG collects new nuclide inventory and decay heat measurement data, the associated SNF operating history data, and any other information relevant for the evaluation of the data, and prepares corresponding evaluations and/or SFCOMPO entries. The SFCOMPOTRG analyses the database to assess the current coverage and the potential need for new experimental data.

The members of the SFCOMPOTRG interface with specialists in their own country and in other international communities to identify and obtain new data to be evaluated, included in the SFCOMPO database, and made available to the public.

The SFCOMPOTRG collects and archives publicly available original reports relevant to data included in the SFCOMPO database and adds supporting technical references that were used in the original development.

The SFCOMPOTRG provides technical advice in support of nuclide inventory and decay heat measurement activities in member countries and promotes international collaboration to expand the measurement data that are publicly available. The SFCOMPOTRG:

1. supports the design of future experiments by identifying the minimum and desired requirements for fuel characterisation and operating history data to qualify the measured SNF;
2. maintains and enhances the SFCOMPO database, in both its content and features, and investigate the addition of other relevant SNF measurements; and
3. improves the quality of experimental data by performing and documenting peer-reviewed evaluations of the experimental data sets under the form of benchmarks.

Objectives

Under the guidance of the WPNCS, the SFCOMPOTRG has identified the following main areas under which it will conduct activities:

• Preservation of data: One of the main objectives of the SFCOMPOTRG is to ensure the preservation of existing nuclide inventory and decay heat data, and to continuously capture new data as it becomes available. It is important to capture and document both the operator’s and experimentalist’s knowledge of the conditions under which the measured SNF fuel was irradiated and measurements were obtained, while such information is still available.
• Accessibility of data: Experimental data are made accessible to users in a standardised format through the SFCOMPO database. As improvements are identified by the SFCOMPOTRG, the database and its interface tools are adapted accordingly.
• Evaluation of data: This significant and challenging objective seeks complete documentation of the data sets, including all relevant design and reactor operating data, as well as an independent, peer-reviewed assessment of these data. This review process is intended to vet the data for potential errors and produce qualified data under the form of benchmarks, suitable for use in code validation.
• Knowledge transfer: Guidance for the evaluation of experimental data in the SFCOMPO database is developed by the SFCOMPOTRG. Similar guidelines have already been established for the qualification of benchmark data by the Technical Review Group for the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEPTRG) for criticality experiments, and by the International Reactor Physics Experiments Evaluation Project Technical Review Group (IRPhETRG) for reactor physics benchmarks.

Working methods

The SFCOMPOTRG reports to the WPNCS and meets on average once per year. Interim virtual meetings are organised as needed.

Interactions

The SFCOMPOTRG works closely with the WPNCS and its bodies as well as with the NSC. In particular, the SFCOMPOTRG collaborates with other subsidiary bodies of the NSC developing and using databases of integral experiments, such as the ICSBEPTRG, and the IRPhETRG. Furthermore, given the key role of nuclide inventory and decay heat data in many different areas involving SNF, collaboration is ensured with the following topics and bodies:

• the nuclear data through the Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) under the NSC; and the Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion Nuclear Data Library Co-ordination Group (JEFF) under the Management Board for the Development, Application and Validation of Nuclear Data and Codes (MBDAV);
• the fuel cycle scenarios through the NSC Working Party on Scientific Issues of Advanced Fuel Cycles (WPFC) and the Expert Group on Advanced Fuel Cycle Scenarios (EGAFCS) under WPFC;
• the deep geological disposal of long-lived and high-level radioactive waste through the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC);
• the preservation and dissemination of data through the NEA Databank under the auspices of the MBDAV. 

Deliverables

• Collect, capture, format, and include new experimental nuclide inventory and decay heat data in the SFCOMPO database;
• Explore expanding the type of data in the SFCOMPO database, to include other SNF related measurements;
• Prepare, review, and publish evaluation reports.