Nuclear Energy Agency Online Bulletin

Covers new material for October 2006:

New publications
Radiological protection
Nuclear law
Nuclear science
Data Bank

New publications

Nuclear Power Plant Life Management and Longer-term Operation
ISBN 92-64-02924-9. 60 pages.

Uranium 2005: Resources, Production and Demand
A Joint Report by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency
ISBN 92-64-02425-5. 388 pages.

Vient de paraître en français :
Uranium 2005 : Ressources, production et demande
Rapport établi conjointement par l'Agence de l'OCDE pour l'énergie nucléaire et l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique
ISBN 92-64-02427-1. 402 pages.

Decommissioning Funding: Ethics, Implementation, Uncertainties
A Status Report
ISBN 92-64-02312-7. 43 pages (156 kb).

Learning from Nuclear Regulatory Self-assessment
International Peer Review of the CSN Report on Lessons Learnt from the Essential Service Water System Degradation Event at the Vandellós Nuclear Power Plant
ISBN 92-64-02310-0. 50 pages (189 kb).

Selecting Strategies for the Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities
A Status Report
ISBN 92-64-02305-4. 42 pages (159 kb).

Disponible également en français :
Choisir des stratégies de démantèlement des installations nucléaires
Rapport de synthèse
ISBN 92-64-02306-2. 46 pages (183 ko).

Speciation, Techniques and Facilities for Radioactive Materials at Synchrotron Light Sources
Workshop Proceedings, Berkeley, California, USA, 14-16 September 2004
ISBN 92-64-02311-9. 168 pages (3.1 mb).

Stakeholders and Radiological Protection: Lessons from Chernobyl Twenty Years After
ISBN 92-64-01085-8. 88 pages (1.1 mb).

Vient de paraître en français :
Société civile et radioprotection : les enseignements de Tchernobyl, 20 ans après
ISBN 92-64-02309-7. 80 pages (884 ko).

Radiological protection

The third NEA/ICRP Regional Forum on the Evolution of the System of Radiation Protection was held on 24-25 October 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic. The forum was the first opportunity for the ICRP to present its views on how key new concepts, notably dose constraints, would be applied in various practical situations. These situations include: planned activities (such as the operation of licensed facilities), emergency situations (following a nuclear or radiological accident) and existing situations (the long-term rehabilitation of contaminated sites and radon in homes). Regulatory authorities, utilities and independent radiological assessment organisations presented their views of the ICRP proposals during the forum. This feedback was extremely timely for the ICRP Main Commission, which met on 30 October 2006 to discuss the way forward with the new recommendations. The papers presented during the fora will be published as NEA proceedings.

Nuclear law

The inaugural session of the European Nuclear Energy Tribunal was held on 27 October 2006 at OECD headquarters, Paris, France. The Tribunal was initially established in 1957 in accordance with the Convention on the Establishment of a Security Control in the Field of Nuclear Energy. Since the 1970s the jurisdiction of the Tribunal has been limited to resolving differences concerning the interpretation or application of the 1960 Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy and the 1963 Brussels Supplementary Convention. The application of its security control system (the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons) was suspended in the 1970s in order to avoid duplicating similar systems established by Euratom and the IAEA. As there have been no major nuclear accidents in a country signatory to the Paris Convention, and no resulting disputes between contracting parties, no cases have been brought before the Tribunal. The OECD Council, acting on proposals submitted by countries party to the 1957 convention, made the appointments in accordance with a procedure of rotation. The judges appointed for the term of office commencing 24 May 2006 are: Dr. Peter Baumann (Austria); Mrs. Mia Wouters (Belgium); Mr. Oliver Talevski (Denmark); Mrs. Marie-Claire Guyader (France); Dr. Armin Von Bogdandy (Germany); Mr. E.A. Maan (Netherlands); and Professor Vaughan Lowe (United Kingdom). During the inaugural session the Tribunal members elected Mr. Armin Von Bogdandy as president and appointed Ms. Julia Schwartz, Head of Legal Affairs at the NEA, as registrar.

Nuclear science

The Expert Group on Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel met for the first time on 26 October 2006 at NEA headquarters, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. The new expert group will pursue two activities in parallel: updating the NEA spent fuel isotopic composition database (SFCOMPO), and writing a state-of-the-art report on the assay data of spent nuclear fuel. The expert group's report will cover the full process, ranging from the experimental methods used to the best way to present and structure the data for its various applications. The data's applications include: burn-up credit analysis, reactor system monitoring, fuel reprocessing and radioactive waste management. During the meeting the participants compiled a list of the data that could be used to update the SFCOMPO database. Experts in fuel cycle safety are also expected to contribute to the group's work, which falls under the responsibility of the NEA Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety (WPNCS). More information is available at www.oecd-nea.org/science/wpncs/.

Data Bank

Computer program services

A page listing all new programs in the last 12 months can be found at: www.oecd-nea.org/tools/abstract/new. .

Instructions on retrieving material from the NEA may be found at www.oecd-nea.org. Please note that scientific database access is only available to residents of OECD/NEA Data Bank member countries.