To master the technology and the economics of nuclear energy, deep insight is needed into the physical and chemical phenomena at work in nuclear reactors and all parts of the associated fuel cycle. Scientific knowledge should be constantly updated in order to: - improve the safety and the economics of existing installations and anticipate possible problems; - optimise the design of future installations; - develop satisfactory techniques for radioactive waste storage and disposal.
One of the most important basic tools needed for accomplishing the above is accurate nuclear data. NEA Data Bank member countries have long supported the development of the Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion (JEFF) library, which is used as reference data for nuclear applications in many European countries.
The third, improved version of the data library (JEFF-3.0) was released in 2002. The present report describes the contents of this library.