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The factors supporting the safety of atomic energy are discussed. It is underscored that all factors considered in the generally accepted nuclear-safety strategy must be fully taken into account and implemented in order to achieve this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential problems of the MBIR multipurpose, research, fast reactor, currently under construction, in the validation of new nuclear-power projects with fast reactors and a closed nuclear fuel cycle are discussed. The basic characteristics and experimental possibilities of the reactor are described. Considerable attention is given to the primary directions of research on nuclear safety, reactor and structural materials science, and NFC closure. Proposals for the development of an MBIR-based international research center are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technical requirements of a system that continually monitors the condition of the safety barriers of nuclear power plants are substantiated. It is shown for the example of the Rostov NPP that power units with VVER which are operating, under construction, or in the design stage can be equipped with a measuring system for monitoring radiation leaks from the steam generators. This improves safety (by not allowing emergency situations) and increases the installed capacity utilization factor (by eliminating unjustified shutdowns of power units) of operating power plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is devoted to some methodological developments on information fusion in presence of uncertainty and their application in the frame of the BEMUSE Programme. In nuclear safety studies, different uncertainty analyses using different codes and implying different experts are generally performed. It is then useful to define formal methods to combine all these information sources in order to improve the reliability of the expertise process and especially to detect possible conflicts (if any) between the sources. Starting from the IRSN methodology already introduced in Destercke and Chojnacki (Nucl Eng Des 238(9):2484-2493, ), this paper presents a more convenient reformulation of its construction to allow its use by engineers. It is then applied to analyse the results coming from the BEMUSE Programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A worldwide radionuclide network of 80 stations, 40 of which with noble-gas-detection capability, and part of the International Monitoring System (IMS) has been designed to monitor compliance to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Pending entry into force of the Treaty, the certified stations are provisionally operated. With about 70% of the network operational global coverage has been reached and an overall operating experience of more than 250 station year for the particulate network has been accumulated. To ensure minimum down time any operational problems are addressed within the organizations’ Operations and Maintenance Support System. Within this support system the operational performance is continuously assessed as well as particular problems identified. To address these problems, equipment failures, operational procedures, maintenance and sparing plans, and equipment obsolescence are continuously reviewed and improved. The current operational status of the network as well as the support strategy is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actual data on the number, type, operating state, and use of nuclear research facilities are presented. The generalized operational indices of the facilities for 1999-2008 are given; they were obtained on the basis of an analysis of the information entering the sector center for the collection and analysis of safety information concerning nuclear research facilities. Information is presented on the research being conducted at the facilities and the intensity with which the research reactors are used. Attention is focused mainly on the safety of nuclear research facilities. The results of an analysis of disruptions of the operation of the facilities are examined in detail. It is shown that the operation of nuclear research facilities is safe from the nuclear and radiological standpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Methodological questions concerning the assessment of the efficiency and competitiveness of nuclear power plants with VVER taking account of regional factors are presented. The methodological and practical questions of how to increase the operational safety of nuclear power plants by controlling unanticipated accidents and increase the installed capacity utilization factor (ICUF) by forming and developing regional energy markets and by regional socio-economic development are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  A model of an irregular situation in a spent nuclear fuel repository with the introduction of excess reactivity into the system, consisting of containers with spent fuel assemblies and water, is examined. The neutron kinetics of a critical system is calculated taking account of the thermohydraulics of the system. The character of the flow of a short-time self-sustained chain reaction — “neutron burst” — is described. It is found that an excursion of the system in the range of reactivity introduction rates examined will result in heating of the system and self-quenching of the chain reaction by negative reactivity effects with respect to fuel temperature. Intense fluxes of fission neutrons and prompt gamma rays, accompanying a self-sustained chain reaction, are formed in the excursion process. A mixed neutron and gamma ray field near the system considered is investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the risk associated with the childhood leukemia due to the nuclear installation northern coast of Scotland. He mentions that the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) observe the radiological risk of in the vicinity of the facility and COMARE also advised to the government of Great Britain related to the safety measure of the radiation exposure.

The article offers information on the risks of using nuclear energy as power resources in the U.S. It says that investment in nuclear energy is risky as indicated why Wall Street has chosen not to be part of it, and nuclear power plants are stated terrorist targets aside from carrying serious risk of their own. Moreover, it notes that nuclear power will not reduce dependency on foreign energy, its generated electricity does not compare favorably with sustainable energy sources, and there is no good means of nuclear waste disposal. However, it suggests that various problems must be resolved first for nuclear power to succeed, including major cost cuts, avoiding serious accidents, and resolving the nuclear waste storage and disposal issues.

The article highlights the U.S. military's Roadrunner supercomputer, the first machine to calculate at more than a quadrillion operations per second, which breaks the petaflop barrier in Poughkeepsie, New York. The author stated that using the LINPACK standard benchmark for comparing supercomputer performance, the record has been technically set at the International Business Machines Corp.'s (IBM's) laboratories on May 25. He added that the Roadrunner which is due to be delivered in July to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has been built to run calculations to ensure the safety of the U.S. nuclear stockpile.

Reports on the call by the Oko Institute for Germany to monitor carefully one of its three former national nuclear research laboratories. The suspicion that the Forschungszentrum Geesthacht (GKSS) could be the cause of cases of childhood leukemia; The status of the Oko Institute as an environmental research organization.