NEA Monthly News Bulletin - February 2014

New at the NEA

Making progress on medical radioisotopes

New at the NEA feature - Making progress on medical radioisotopes

On 21‑23 January 2014, the NEA High‑level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG‑MR) began its third mandate looking at progress on the timely and universal implementation of full‑cost recovery and reserve capacity, the conversion to low‑enriched uranium targets for irradiations, and the appropriate reimbursement for medical diagnostic procedures related to technetium 99‑m (99mTc). Around 70 people from 17 countries and 5 international agencies attended the two‑day session. The meeting reviewed an NEA preliminary forecast for molybdenum‑99 (99Mo)/99mTc supply capacity over 2015‑2020, a period in which two major reactors will cease 99Mo irradiations. The final forecast is expected to be released in the spring. In addition, the HLG‑MR gave its support to a more extensive assessment of progress by the global 99Mo/99mTc supply chain, which will be launched in the coming months. More information on the NEA's activities related to medical radioisotopes is available here.


Nuclear development

IEA/NEA Nuclear Technology Roadmap

The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the NEA have launched the process of updating their joint Nuclear Technology Roadmap to 2050, organising a stakeholder engagement workshop which took place on 23‑24 January 2014 in Paris. The new IEA 2°C scenario (2DS) provides the basis for the roadmap and shows that nuclear energy is still an essential component of a decarbonisation policy, with more than 900 GWe of installed gross capacity projected by the middle of the century. The workshop brought together over 30 experts from academia, governments and industry (vendors and utilities), mostly from OECD countries, and helped identify the key issues, challenges and potential solutions to be further developed in this roadmap update. A second workshop will be held in Hong Kong.


Radiological protection

ISOE North American Symposium

The Information System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE) is the world's most comprehensive source of experience and information for occupational exposure management at nuclear power plants, and offers its participants a variety of resources for occupational exposure management, including the organisation of international and regional ALARA symposia. The latest regional symposium, which was supported by the NEA and organised by the North American Technical Center (NATC), was held on 12‑15 January 2014 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The purpose of the symposium was for radiation protection professionals to exchange dose reduction practices and lessons learnt globally to ensure the safe and efficient operation of nuclear power reactors. The symposium was attended by over 100 participants and featured technical papers and exhibits on the latest approaches in work management, source term reduction methodologies and radiological work management at nuclear power plants. Effective methods of planning, scheduling, training and managing refuelling and service outages were also presented. The next regional symposium will be organised by the European Technical Centre on 9‑11 April 2014 in Bern, Switzerland. More information on the ISOE is available on the ISOE network web page.


Nuclear law

NEA participates in European Commission conference on nuclear liability

The NEA Head of Legal Affairs provided an overview of the implementation of the Paris Convention as part of the Stakeholder Conference on Nuclear Third Party Liability and Insurance held on 20‑21 January 2014 in Brussels. The conference was organised by the European Commission in co‑operation with the European Economic and Social Committee and the Brussels Nuclear Law Association. Nearly 300 participants heard presentations from nuclear operators, insurance providers, civil society and governmental and international organisations. The conference was convened to further inform deliberations on the nuclear liability issue within the European Union, particularly in light of the recommendations made by the expert group to the European Commission on nuclear third party liability, and the outcomes of the public consultation on nuclear liability conducted from 30 July to 22 October 2013.

Applications open for the International School of Nuclear Law

Applications for the International School of Nuclear Law (ISNL), to be held from 25 August to 5 September 2014 in Montpellier, France, are being accepted until 31 March. Course information and application forms are available on the ISNL web page.


Data Bank

Computer program services

Training courses

New computer programs available


An online archive of previous editions is available here.

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