Methodological developments and practice in characterisation of unconventional and legacy waste

Radioactive waste management requires planned and systematic actions to provide confidence that the entire system, processes and final products will satisfy given requirements for quality. The characterisation process is dependent on setting clear characterisation objectives and gathering the right information to underpin the decisions that need to be taken to manage the waste safely. This paper reviews experience of characterisation of waste generated from past nuclear activities that were not conducted in compliance consistent with current criteria, or from unexpected situations that were not planned for. This experience shows that the development of a reliable and efficient characterisation and categorisation methodology is a common challenge for such wastes, referred to here as unconventional and legacy (UL) waste. Through the activites of the Nuclear Energy Agency Expert Group on the Characterisation of Unconventional and Legacy Waste (EGCUL), consideration has been given to widely used waste stream characterisation procedures and methods that were originally developed primarily for application in conventional decommissioning work. Although they provide a substantial basis for characterisation, there are various additional factors that commonly need to be taken into account in the case of UL waste. By analysing the challenges and lessons learned from a variety of case studies and other international experience, it has been possible to identify opportunities for adaptations and enhancements to these characterisation methologies, and these are set out and explained. The need for integration of waste characterisation with other aspects of strategic planning for UL waste management is discussed, including characterisation to address any non-radiological hazards.The analysed case studies have also highlighted the importance of developing a robust legislative and regulatory framework in parallel with an appropriate waste infrastructure to treat, store and dispose of UL waste. Finally, the basic features of a UL waste characterisation roadmap are presented, including the interactions within a wider UL waste management programme and key areas for further consideration and possible development. It is anticipated such work can be supported by continued international cooperation.

Ability within disability: Reflective memories shared with Dr Kasturi Varley

In a post-apartheid South Africa, the value of reflective memories and their impact on community history gives credibility to their relationship with personal struggles such as disability, be it physical or political. Shaped by South African Indian heritage, an isolated individualised case of a second-generation descendant’s ability–disability experience is researched and narrated in this article. The respondent, Dr Kasturi Varley is a woman of the South African Indian community, who was born almost 101 years after the first shipload of Indian indentured labourers arrived in the then Colony of Natal. Her memories shed light on a unique Indo-African-European experience. Her indentured paternal grandfather arrived in the African continent in August 1900. Her reflective memories and shared experiences of various episodes of the ability–disability paradigm add to the body of knowledge of the Indian indentured labour system that already exists and partially fills up the prevalent gaps in the research on this topic. Her story is unique in that she worked wheelchair-bound at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria and subsequently settled in the United Kingdom. This study applied a qualitative research methodology.Contribution: This article provides insight on reflective memories within the domain of social memory and contributes to an understanding of the historiography of the descendants of Indian indentured labourers in South Africa. In 2020, this community commemorated the 160th anniversary of the arrival of the labourers to the Colony of Natal.

Effect of inaccurate small field output factors on brain SRS plans

External beam radiotherapy often includes the use of field sizes 3 × 3 cm2 or less, which can be defined as small fields. Dosimetry is a difficult, yet important part of the radiotherapy process. The dosimetry of small fields has additional challenges, which can lead to treatment inconsistencies if not done properly. Most important is the use of an appropriate detector, as well as the application of the necessary corrections. The International Atomic Energy Agency and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine provide the International Code of Practice (CoP) TRS-483 for the dosimetry of small static fields used in external MV photon beams. It gives guidelines on how to apply small-field correction factors for small field dosimetry. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of inaccurate small-field output factors on clinical brain stereotactic radiosurgery plans with and without applying the small-field correction factors as suggested in the CoP. Small-field correction factors for a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator were applied to uncorrected relative dose factors. Uncorrected and corrected clinical plans were created with two different beam configurations, 6 MV with a flattening filter (6 WFF) and 6 MV without a flattening filter (6 FFF). For the corrected plans, the planning target volume mean dose was 1.6 ± 0.9% lower with p < 0.001 for 6 WFF and 1.8 ± 1.5% lower with p < 0.001 for 6 FFF. For brainstem, a major organ at risk, the corrected plans had a dose that was 1.6 ± 0.9% lower with p = 0.03 for 6 WFF and 1.8 ± 1.5% lower with p = 0.10 for 6 FFF. This represents a systematic error that should and can be corrected.

THE HISTORY OF THE COVID 19, AND ITS IMPACT ON THE CRUDE OIL PRICE CHANGES (IN CONTEXT OF INDIA`S COVID 19 CONTEXT)

Oil is the most essential fuel for the world presently and the world, India is the third largest oil importer in the world, with 9.7 percent of the world oil imports, after China and USA, India imports around 80 percent of its oil needs and aims to bring down to 67 percent by 2022, by replacing it by local exploration, renewable energy and indigenous ethanol fuel, but in India there is lack of demand for crude oil and oil products due to Covid-19 epidemic, which made Indian government to imply restrictions, to lockdown of various firms, industries, public and private sector institutions, as health emergency, according to the report of IEA ( International Energy Agency) India’s 40 days lockdown has led to decrease in 30 percent fall in countries demand for energy. Price inflexibility is concern for Indian oil producers, as it is the biggest shock since the Second World War, The global economy is expected to enter recessionary zone in 2020, as countries have shut down there normal business activities, to fight the pandemic led to imbalances in demand and supply of oil prices in the Indian market, Indian oil companies are waiting for the tax reductions and packages by the government, in the short term imbalance in oil demand and supply situation. The purpose of the research paper is that, Indian government has a great task to fight against pandemic as a health emergency and oil prices fluctuations in the year 2020. KEY WORDS: History of the pandemic covid social growth and crude oil prices (PETROLEUM),

OC6 Phase Ia: CFD Simulations of the Free-Decay Motion of the DeepCwind Semisubmersible

Currently, the design of floating offshore wind systems is primarily based on mid-fidelity models with empirical drag forces. The tuning of the model coefficients requires data from either experiments or high-fidelity simulations. As part of the OC6 (Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continued, with Correlation, and unCertainty (OC6) is a project under the International Energy Agency Wind Task 30 framework) project, the present investigation explores the latter option. A verification and validation study of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of the DeepCwind semisubmersible undergoing free-decay motion is performed. Several institutions provided CFD results for validation against the OC6 experimental campaign. The objective is to evaluate whether the CFD setups of the participants can provide valid estimates of the hydrodynamic damping coefficients needed by mid-fidelity models. The linear and quadratic damping coefficients and the equivalent damping ratio are chosen as metrics for validation. Large numerical uncertainties are estimated for the linear and quadratic damping coefficients; however, the equivalent damping ratios are more consistently predicted with lower uncertainty. Some difference is observed between the experimental and CFD surge-decay motion, which is caused by mechanical damping not considered in the simulations that likely originated from the mooring setup, including a Coulomb-friction-type force. Overall, the simulations and the experiment show reasonable agreement, thus demonstrating the feasibility of using CFD simulations to tune mid-fidelity models.

The <i>μ</i>Dose system: determination of environmental dose rates by combined alpha and beta counting – performance tests and practical experiences

The μDose system is a recently developed analytical instrument applying a combined α- and β-sensitive scintillation technique for determining the radioactivity arising from the decay chains of 235U, 238U and 232Th as well as from the decay of 40K. The device was designed to meet the particular requirements of trapped charge dating methods and allows the assessment of environmental (i.e. low) levels of natural radionuclides. The μDose system was developed as a piece of low-cost laboratory equipment, but a systematic test of its performance is still pending. For the first time, we present results from a comprehensive performance test based on an inter-laboratory comparison. We compare the results obtained with μDose measurements with those from thick source alpha counting (TSAC), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and low-level high-resolution gamma spectrometry (HRGS) applied in five participating laboratories. In addition, the reproducibility and accuracy of μDose measurements were tested on certified reference materials distributed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA; RGU-1, RGTh-1 and RGK-1) and on two loess standards (Nussy and Volkegem) frequently used in trapped charge dating studies. We compare μDose-based results for a total of 47 sediment samples with results previously obtained for these materials by well-established methods of dose rate determination. The investigated natural samples cover a great variety of environments, including fluvial, aeolian, littoral, colluvial and (geo-)archaeological sites originating from high and low mountain regions as well as from lowlands in tropical areas, drylands and mid-latitude zones of Europe, Africa, Australia, Central Asia and the Americas. Our results suggest the μDose system's capability of assessing low-level radionuclide contents with very good accuracy and precision comparable to well-established dosimetry methods. Based on the results of our comparative study and with respect to the practical experiences gained so far, the μDose system appears to be a promising tool for trapped charge dating studies.

The Efficacy of the Global Nuclear Security Legal Regime and States’ Implementation Capacity in Light of the Forthcoming Development of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies

The forthcoming arrival of small modular reactors and other advanced nuclear reactor technologies can be an immensely beneficial development in the world’s collective pursuit of energy security and meeting climate change objectives. The key question is whether or not these new reactor technologies significantly alter the fundamental premises underlying the existing nuclear security legal regime. The Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its Amendment (A/CPPNM) are the only legally binding international instruments governing the physical protection of nuclear materials and nuclear facilities. Together the A/CPPNM and the international guidance on nuclear security comprise the current legal framework for nuclear security. This chapter examines whether the A/CPPNM adequately covers advanced reactor technologies; and whether the States that are interested in acquiring these new reactor technologies have the capacity to effectively implement the associated legal requirements, regulatory standards, and international guidance that comes along with such technologies. The analysis touches upon the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the IAEA Nuclear Security Guidance, and issues of cybersecurity.

Nuclear Law: The Global Debate

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plays a unique role in the development and implementation of international nuclear law. This chapter contains a short examination of the regime of nuclear law and its four pillars, namely safety, security, safeguards and civil liability for nuclear damage. It examines how we got to where we are and where we can take the global debate, taking into account current and emerging peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology such as advanced reactors and nuclear fusion. The chapter also contains an invitation to all stakeholders in the global community, including international organizations, non-governmental organizations, industry, academia and civil society, as well as all those that will be responsible for shaping nuclear law in the future, to let the debate and dialogue on nuclear law begin.

The effect of Co-60 gamma rays irradiation on chemical properties of biofertilizer carrier material

This study was conducted to test the method of sterilization using autoclave and Co-60 gamma rays irradiation on chemical properties changes of biofertilizer carriers (Jasinga Latosols, Pasar Jumat Latosols, compost, Rawa Pening peat, Kalimantan peat). This research was conducted in July 2016 to April 2017 at Center for the Application of Isotopes and Radiation National Nuclear Energy Agency (PAIR BATAN) laboratory and Ilmu Tanah Sumber Daya Lahan Insitut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) laboratory. The design used in this study is completely randomized design, with seven treatment and five replications. The treatments provided include the control (without sterilization), sterilization using autoclave, and sterilization using gamma ray of Co-60 with doses of 10 kilo Gray (kGy), 20 kGy, 30 kGy, 40 kGy and 50 kGy. The parameters observed in this research was available Mn2+, available Fe2+, available Zn2+, and effectiveness of sterilization method. This research also showed chemical character changes in materials as shown by Fouier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) spectra. The results showed that the methods sterilization was gave significant effect on pH changes, the levels of available P, the levels of available nitrates, available Mn2+, available Fe2+, and available Zn2+. Autoclave has led to a higher metal increase compared to Co-60 gamma irradiation. A dose of 30 kGy is an effective dose to sterilize the carriers material.

IAEA Safeguards: Correctness and Completeness of States’ Safeguards Declarations

In the light of the occasional challenges in recent years to the legal authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to verify the correctness and completeness of States’ declarations under comprehensive safeguards agreements, the chapter assesses the law and practice on this issue since the early 1990s. In particular, the chapter focuses right and obligation of the IAEA to verify the correctness and completeness of States’ declarations—one of the most fundamental principles in the implementation of comprehensive safeguards agreements. The chapter provides a detailed textual and historical analysis indicating that, in fulfilling that obligation, the IAEA is not limited to access to information about nuclear material which has been declared by the Agency, or to locations where such material has been declared by the Agency. A contrary interpretation would cause the IAEA to revert to a pre-1991 approach to verification that focused primarily on declared nuclear material, which resulted in the IAEA’s failure to detect Iraq’s undeclared nuclear programme.