NEA Monthly News Bulletin

Covers new material for April 2009:

NEA publications
Multinational Design Evaluation Programme
Radioactive waste management

Nuclear science

Data Bank

NEA publications


Annual Report 2008
ISBN 978-92-64-99076-0. 48 pages (2.6 Mb).

Disponible également en français :
Rapport annuel 2008
ISBN 978-92-64-99077-7. 52 pages (2,5 Mb).

The JEFF-3.1.1 Nuclear Data Library
JEFF Report 22 - Validation Results from JEF-2.2 to JEFF-3.1.1
ISBN 978-92-64-99074-6. 62 pages (923 kb).

Multinational Design Evaluation Programme (MDEP)


RWM publications and reportsThe NEA serves as Technical Secretariat to the MDEP, a multinational initiative taken by national safety authorities to develop innovative approaches to leverage the resources and knowledge of the national regulatory authorities who will be tasked with the review of new reactor power plant designs. The MDEP Policy Group recently met in Washington, DC, USA and agreed on the following:

  • that significant progress has been made over the past year on the overall MDEP goals of increased co-operation and enhanced convergence of requirements and practices. Accomplishments to date provide confidence that the MDEP structure and process is an effective method of achieving increased co-operation in regulatory design reviews. The progress already made demonstrates that a broader level of co-operation and convergence is both possible and desirable;
  • to extend the programme of work by a minimum of five years, applying the current funding conditions to the extended period, and to periodically review the results obtained.

For more information on the MDEP and its activities, see www.oecd-nea.org/mdep/.


 

Radioactive waste management


RWM publications and reportsThe Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) held its seventh workshop in the eastern French region currently hosting the Bure underground laboratory (created by French law to pursue research on a geological disposal solution for the management of high-level and long-lived radioactive wastes). In 2006 Parliament approved the principle of constructing a reversible radioactive waste repository, if authorised, in 2025. The FSC workshop, entitled "Repository Project and Territories", brought together diverse potential host communities to exchange views with international delegates on the issues raised by such a project.

Following a session reviewing historical developments and the framework of the French national programme for the final management of long-lived, high- and medium-level radioactive waste, three themes were explored in more detail: local information; reversibility; environmental monitoring and memory of a long-term installation. 

The NEA will publish the proceedings of the workshop which will serve to benchmark best practices and to archive history and progress to date. FSC flyers and publications, including the proceedings of this event and the workshop programme, are available here.


 

Nuclear science


Legal section publications and reportsThe third meeting of the NEA Nuclear Science Committee Working Party on Multi-scale Modelling of Fuels and Structural Materials for Nuclear Systems (WPMM) was held at the NEA. It was decided that the work be divided into the following five areas:

  • multi-scale modelling methods;
  • multi-scale modelling of fuels;
  • structural materials modelling;
  • validation and benchmarking; and
  • primary radiation damage.

Each area of work will be managed by an expert group comprised of experts from member countries. The working party will also organise specific sessions at different workshops, for example at the International Workshop on Materials Models and Simulations for Nuclear Fuels (MMSNF) in the United States in 2009 and at the Nuclear Materials Congress (NMC-2010) in Germany in 2010.

The 4th NEA Information Exchange Meeting on the Nuclear Production of Hydrogen was held on 14-16 April at Oak Brook, Illinois, USA. The meeting began with programme overviews from Canada, France, Japan, Korea, the United States and the Russian Federation, and was followed by more technical/scientific presentations, notably on high-temperature electrolysis and different thermochemical processes, as well as safety and economic aspects of nuclear production of hydrogen. A proposal for a new activity in this area is under preparation for consideration by the NEA Nuclear Science Committee. It was also suggested that the next information exchange meeting on "Nuclear Production of Hydrogen" be held in the Czech Republic in 2011.

Data Bank



NEA Data Bank newsletter

Computer program services

New computer programs available

28-APR-2009 CCC-0657 BETA-S, Multi-Group Beta-Ray Spectra
(Arrived)
24-APR-2009 NEA-1846 FSKY4C, Gamma Ray Skyshine Analysis Code
(Arrived)
09-APR-2009 NEA-1844 JDL-THERMODYNAMICS, Thermodynamics: Frontiers and Foundations
(Tested)
09-APR-2009 NEA-1843 JDL-REACTOR-KINETICS, Nuclear Reactor Kinetics and Control
(Tested)
09-APR-2009 NEA-1811 JDL-IMPORTANCE, Adjoint Function: Physical Basis of Variational & Perturbation Theory in Transport & Diffusion Problems
(Tested)

The monthly bulletin only lists new and updated material. It is distributed by e-mail to registered users of the Nuclear Energy Agency's Online Services and is available online at www.oecd-nea.org/general/mnb/. Registration is free; please complete the form at www.oecd-nea.org/tools/mailinglist/register/.

An online archive of previous editions is available here.