UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Using longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study (analytic sample N = 712), we investigate how age, adult role acquisition and attainments, family resources, parent-child relationship...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The effects of a maltodextrin (dextrose equivalent 12)-electrolyte solution and a maltodextrin-electrolyte solution with added nutrients on net water and electrolyte transport in the secreting rat intestine was compared with the citrate-World Health Organization oral rehydration solution to determine the need for a clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of these maltodextrin solutions in acute diarrhoea treatment. Cholera toxin consistently produced net water secretion (-36.5 +/- 9.9 mean +/- SEM microliter/min/g dry weight of intestine). All three solutions reversed the cholera toxin-induced net intestinal water secretion to net absorption. Significantly greater net water absorption occurred from the maltodextrin-electrolyte solution compared to the World Health Organization solution (P < 0.05) but not when compared to the maltodextrin-electrolyte-nutrient solution. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This publication provides statistical data on net generation, fuel consumption, fossil fuel stocks, electricity sales, revenue, and average revenue per kilowatthour of electricity sold. Data on fossil fuel stocks and costs are also included.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) will provide a prototypic test environment for advanced fuels and materials development within the U. S. LMFBR program. As a fast test reactor, the FFTF also provides a potentially unique capability for conduct of safety experimentation relevant to selected LMFBR safety issues associated with postulated core disruption events. The utility and feasibility of possible extension of FFTF testing into the area of safety research is being investigated. 5 fig.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Coal and Electric Data and Renewables Division; Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy prepares the EPM. This publication provides monthly statistics at the State, Census division, and US levels for net generation, fossil fuel consumption and stocks, quantity and quality of fossil fuels, cost of fossil fuels, electricity sales, revenue, and average revenue per kilowatthour of electricity sold. Data on net generation, fuel consumption, fuel stocks, quantity and cost of fossil fuels are also displayed for the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) regions. The EIA publishes statistics in the EPM on net generation by energy source; consumption, stocks, quantity, quality, and cost of fossil fuels; and capability of new generating units by company and plant. 68 tabs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Located approximately 350 km east of Newfoundland, on the eastern edge of the Jeanne d'Arc Basin, and approximately 50 km from both the Terra Nova and Hibernia oilfields, the White Rose oilfield is considered the main oil producing basin off the eastern coast of North America. Husky Oil is very active in the region and holds almost 32 per cent net working interest in the Significant Discovery License areas in the Jeanne d'Arc basin. The development of an economically significant oil discovery in the White Rose Significant Discovery Area is being proposed jointly by Husky Oil and Petro-Canada. It is estimated that the project would enable the recovery of an estimated 36 million cubic meters (230 million barrels) of recoverable oil in this area that covers approximately 40 square kilometers. The operators propose to use a ship-shaped floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility which could store up to 135,000 cubic meters (850,000 ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report, the seventh in a series of annual reports, was prepared in response to congressional inquiries concerning how nuclear regulatory research is used. It summarizes the accomplishments of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research during FY 1991. The goal of this office is to ensure that safety-related research provides the technical bases for rulemaking and for related decisions in support of NRC licensing and inspection activities. This research is necessary to make certain that the regulations that are imposed on licensees provide an adequate margin of safety so as to protect the health and safety of the public. This report describes both the direct contributions to scientific and technical knowledge with regard to nuclear safety and their regulatory applications.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report, the sixth in a series of annual reports, was prepared in response to congressional inquiries concerning how nuclear regulatory research is used. It summarizes the accomplishments of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research during FY 1990. The goal of this office is to ensure that safety-related research provides the technical bases for rulemaking and for related decisions in support of NRC licensing and inspection activities. This research is necessary to make certain that the regulations that are imposed on licensees provide an adequate margin of safety so as to protect the health and safety of the public. This report describes both the direct contributions to scientific and technical knowledge with regard to nuclear safety and their regulatory applications.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

National Nuclear Safety Department is authorized by Infra (Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority) for issuing rules and regulation and conducting the licensing and supervisory process for nuclear facilities. The main responsibilities of the NNSD are conducted via five main division are, nuclear codes and standards, Nuclear Safety assessment, Authorization, Inspection and Enforcement and Technical Support. In this paper, the functions and responsibilities of TSD in enhancing nuclear safety are described. Examples of main tasks to support the Nuclear Safety assessment division regarding to technical calculations and research of safety issues in licensing documents are provided. (author)

Science.gov (United States)

One of the biggest fears and challenges a parent of a child with special needs faces is navigating the post-22 landscape. When a child hits the age of 22, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is no longer required to provide daily services and support. Whatever the abilities, or disabilities, of a child, every parent has the same concerns about how their child will productively fill their days and live as independently as possible without the safety net of the DESE. One of the transition paths most frequented is entering the workforce. Public and private schools alike work to teach their students the basic skills they need to work. In fact, the national Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that students must have a transition plan in formulation by the age of 16. This article describes the vocational program developed by the League School of Greater Boston which specifically ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for use in Nuclear Power Plant safety-related applications is being developed and tested first time in Korea. This safety-related PLC is being developed with requirements of regulatory guideline and industry standards for safety system. To test that the quality of the developed PLC is sufficient to be used in safety critical system, document review and various product testings were performed over the development documents for S/W, H/W, and V/V. This paper provides the performance testing methodology and its effectiveness for PLC platform conducted by KOPEC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Department of Energy (DOE) policy requires that all DOE activities be conducted in a manner that protects the safety of the public and provides a safe and healthful workplace for employees. DOE has also prescribed that all personnel be protected in any explosives operation undertaken. The level of safety provided shall be at least equivalent to that of the best industrial practice. The risk of death or serious injury shall be limited to the lowest practicable minimum. DOE and contractors shall continually review their explosives operations with the aim of achieving further refinements and improvements in safety practices and protective features. This manual describes the Department's explosive safety requirements applicable to operations involving the development, testing, handling, and processing of explosives or assemblies containing explosives. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The possibility of developing reactor designs with inherent safety characteristics sufficient to provide ''walk away'' safety is receiving additional emphasis in the LMR program. A key element in this effort is the recognition that LMR's possess safety characteristics above and beyond those employed in past safety review processes. Some of these additional safety characteristics are due to reactivity feedback effects caused by small structural movements during hypothetical severe design transients. The effect of these characteristics upon the behavior of the FFTF under such transients has been assessed and is discussed in this paper. The paper also presents a preliminary test matrix which might allow experimental verification of the structural reactivity feedback effects. Such experimental verification should be very useful to innovative designers seeking to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Reliability Data Management System (RDMS) for safety systems of PHWR type plants has been developed and utilized in the reliability analysis of the special safety systems of Wolsong Unit 1 with plant overhaul period lengthened. The RDMS is developed for the periodic efficient reliability analysis of the safety systems of Wolsong Unit 1. In addition, this system provides the function of analyzing the effects on safety system unavailability if the test period of a test procedure changes as well as the function of optimizing the test periods of safety-related test procedures. The RDMS can be utilized in handling the requests of the regulatory institute actively with regard to the reliability validation of safety systems.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Electric Power Monthly (EPM) presents monthly electricity statistics for a wide audience including Congress, Federal and State agencies, the electric utility industry, and the general public. The purpose of this publication is to provide energy decisionmakers with accurate and timely information that may be used in forming various perspectives on electric issues that lie ahead. The Coal and Electric Data and Renewables Division; Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels, Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy prepares the EPM. This publication provides monthly statistics at the State, Census division, and US levels for net generation, fossil fuel consumption and stocks, quantity and quality of fossil fuels, cost of fossil fuels, electricity sales, revenue, and average revenue per kilowatthour of electricity sold. Data on net generation, fuel consumption, fuel ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This document provides the detailed design requirements for the Spent Nuclear Fuel Project Cold Vacuum Drying Facility. Process, safety, and quality assurance requirements and interfaces are specified.

Science.gov (United States)

BACKGROUND: The urgent need for patient safety education for healthcare students has been recognised by many accreditation bodies, but to date there has been sporadic attention to undergraduate/graduate medical programmes. Medical students themselves have identified quality and safety of care as an important area of instruction; as future doctors and healthcare leaders, they must be prepared to practise safe healthcare. Medical education has yet to fully embrace patient safety concepts and principles into existing medical curricula. Universities are continuing to produce graduate doctors lacking in the patient safety knowledge, skills and behaviours thought necessary to deliver safe care. A significant challenge is that patient safety is still a relatively new concept and area of study; thus, many medical educators are unfamiliar with the literature and unsure how to integrate ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environment protection. These activities are designed to protect the worker, the public, and the environment. Many disciplines are required to meet the responsibilities, including radiation protection, industrial hygiene, safety, occupational medicine, environmental science, epidemiology, and waste management. New and challenging health and safety problems arise occasionally from the diverse research and development work of the Laboratory. Research programs in HSE Division often stem from these applied needs. These programs continue but are also extended, as needed to study specific problems for the Department of Energy and to help develop better occupational health and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Since its creation the nuclear industry has been struggling with the question of how safe is safe enough. Safety is a common goal to all involved in the design, operation and regulation of a nuclear installation. As a concept safety is not easy to define. However, there is a general understanding of what attributes a nuclear power plant should have in order to operate safely. The challenge lies in measuring the attributes. The new competitive open electricity market, in many countries throughout the world, is increasing the economic pressure on operators to lower operating costs without jeopardizing safety. Challenges are occurring at a rate that is unprecedented in the nuclear industry: competitiveness; downsizing; ageing; policy changes; reorganization; restructuring; mergers; globalization; and takeovers demand increasing attention to the management of safety. There are various means to measure ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Fast Flux Test Facility has provided a very useful framework for testing the advances in Liquid Metal Reactor Safety Technology. During the licensing phase, the switch from a nonmechanistic bounding technique to the mechanistic approach was developed and implemented. During the operational phase, the consideration of new tests and core configurations led to use of the anticipated-transients-without-scram approach for beyond design basis events and the move towards passive safety. The future role of the Fast Flux Test Facility may involve additional passive safety and waste transmutation tests. 26 refs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We report here on an experimental system that utilizes ion-selective microelectrodes to measure the electrochemical potential gradients for H"+ and K"+ ions within the unstirred layer near the root surface of both tact 4-day-old corn seedlings and corn root segments. Analysis of the steady state H"+ and K"+ electrochemical potential gradients provided a simultaneous measure of the fluxes crossing a localized region of the root surface. Net K"+ influx values obtained by this method were compared with unidirectional K"+ ("8"6Rb"+) influx kinetic data; at any particular K"+ concentration, similar values were obtained by either technique. The ion-specific microelectrode system was then used to investigate the association between net H"+ efflux and net K"+ influx. Although the computed H"+K"+ stoichiometry is dependent upon the choice of diffusion coefficients, the values obtained were extremely variable, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Department of Energy (DOE) policy requires that all activities be conducted in a manner that protects the safety of the public and provides a safe and healthful workplace for employees. DOE has also prescribed that all personnel be protected in any explosives operation undertaken. The level of safety provided shall be at least equivalent to that of the best industrial practice. The risk of death or serious injury shall be limited to the lowest practicable minimum. DOE and contractors shall continually review their explosives operations with the aim of achieving further refinements and improvements in safety practices and protective features. This manual describes the Department's explosive safety requirements applicable to operations involving the development, testing, handling, and processing of explosives or assemblies containing explosives. It is ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Implementation of Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations Part 830, Subpart B Nuclear Safety Management (1) was accomplished at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in a timely and efficient manner. The primary reason the transition went smoothly was that the existing safety analysis was relatively new, initially developed in 1995, and written in accordance with the safe harbor document DOE-STD-3009 (2). The WIPP Safety Analysis Report (SAR) (3) is kept up-to-date with the unreviewed safety question (USQ) process and thorough oversight and input provided by DOE-Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) documented in the annual safety evaluation report (SER) process.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Senior Committee on Environmental, Safety, and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion Energy (ESECOM) has assessed magnetic fusion energy's prospects for providing energy with economic, environmental, and safety characteristics that would be attractive compared with other energy sources (mainly fission) available in the year 2015 and beyond. ESECOM gives particular attention to the interaction of environmental, safety, and economic characteristics of a variety of magnetic fusion reactors, and compares them with a variety of fission cases. Eight fusion cases, two fusion-fission hybrid cases, and four fission cases are examined, using consistent economic and safety models. These models permit exploration of the environmental, safety, and economic potential of fusion concepts using a wide range of possible materials choices, power densities, power ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

During LOCA (Loss of Coolant Accident) in design bases accident (DBA), emergency core coolant supplements form a recirculation sump and cooled core and containment. When the double ended guillotine Break (DEGB) at the hot leg near steam generator, due to the jet impingement discharge flow, the debris could be potentially generated at pipe or wall nearby steam generator and be transported to the recirculation sump. Therefore, the debris, such as insulations and paint chips, could be accumulated and be clogged in the recirculation sump screen. If debris is blocked the sump strainer, the pressure drop is increased at the screen so as to increase the pressure loss of ECCS (Emergency Core Cooling System) pump NPSH (Net positive suction head). It is potentially influenced to decrease the long-term cooling capability of the recirculation sump. The recirculation sump screen clogging accident has happened in BWR of USA and Sweden. Considering the important to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Safety related equipment installed in Korean Nuclear Power Plants are required to perform a safety function during and after a seismic event. To accomplish this safety function, they must be seismically qualified in accordance with the intent and requirements of the USNRC Reg. Guide 1.100 Rev. 02 and IEEE Std. 344-1987. This paper defines and summarizes acceptable criteria and procedures, based on the Korean experience, for seismic qualification of purchased equipment to be installed in a nuclear power plant. As such the paper is intended to be a concise reference by equipment designers, architectural engineering company and plant owners in uniform implementation of commitments to nuclear regulatory agencies such as the USNRC or Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) relating to adequacy of seismic Category 1 equipment. Thus, the paper provides the methodologies which can be used ...

Science.gov (United States)

Background Food additives are an integral part of the modern food system, but opinion polls showing most Europeans have worries about them imply an urgent need for ethical analysis of their use. Sources of data The existing literature on food ethics, safety assessment and animal testing. Areas of agreement Food additives provide certain advantages in terms of many people's lifestyles. Areas of controversy There are disagreements about the appropriate application of the precautionary principle and of the value and ethical validity of animal tests in assessing human safety. Growing points Most consumers have a poor understanding of the relative benefits and risks of additives, but concerns over food safety and animal testing remain high. Areas timely for developing research Examining the impacts of food additives on consumer sovereignty, consumer health and on animals used in safety ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The economic feasibility of the residential solar thermal (ST) cooling system designed in the companion article [1] is ascertained by comparing it with a solar electric (SE) cooling system, and also with the baseline (i.e., control case), a grid dependent, highest efficiency COPC=5.66 heat pump. The economic scenario is analyzed for 24 cities across the southern USA, south of the 37degreeN. The SE cooling system provides lifecycle (20 year) savings to the homeowner only where electric rates are high and it is heavily subsidized. The overall societal effect (sum of taxpayer funded rebate and homeowner savings) is actually an increased cost everywhere except the California Central Valley, where the net savings is $1500. In the same valley, The ST cooling system provides greater lifecycle sav...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The analysis described demonstrates the use of benefit/cost sensitivity analysis in examining the wide range of potential damages and savings associated with converting oil-fired electric utility boilers to burn coal in Florida. This model, for the first time incorporates, in quantitative terms, environmental economic externalities into a benefit/cost ratio sensitivity analysis framework. Five different dose-response estimates of morbidity and mortality costs, property devaluation, and willing-to-pay estimates are used in combination with four acid rain dose-response models to estimate the net present worth of externality costs. The model estimates the net present worth of benefits by incorporating into a dynamic framework all relevant construction, O + M, and fuel costs of converting an electrical generation facility from using oil to coal. These benefits of fuel savings are then weighted against various combinations of externality costs ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This thesis examines the costs and benefits of energy management in office buildings and investigates the relationships between operating costs, space lease contracts, and building value. Energy management be building owners and managers begins with monitoring and analysing building energy, use and continues by reducing energy consumption through operating procedure changes, equipment replacement and control personnel training and continued monitoring. The cost to complete energy management projects in 12 British Columbia office buildings is analyzed. The average before-tax internal rate of return for the 12 energy management programs was 22.1% on total expenditures of Canadian $1.2 million. Nine of the buildings are owned and occupied by the provincial government, and the return on investment directly benefits the public. However, in the three prvately owned and tenant-occupied buildings, the owners have a less direct method of receiving the benefits due to net ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This EPRI sponsored report describes factors that influence the selection of drives in process industry. These factors include economics, safety aspects, speed control and the plant steam balance. Since the economics play a key-role in the decision, this report provides a quick way of estimating the economics of replacing steam turbines with electric motors. The tools to carry out economic analyses have been provided in the form of graphs and nomographs for quick estimation.

Science.gov (United States)

Prepared to make housing project managers, maintenance engineering staff, and designers and architects of HUD - assisted and HUD - insured housing projects and mobile home parks aware of their responsibilities under the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act, this handbook provides technical guidance for the reduction of gas leaks and the handling of gas leak incidents in residential areas. The hazards of natural gas, concern over gas safety in residential areas, applicable codes and standards, and sources of information and help are reviewed, along with maintenance and engineering considerations relating to gas pipe failures, the detection of gas leaks, appliance servicing, and pipe installation, repair, and replacement. Housing management considerations are also examined, with attention to recordkeeping and reporting, emergency contingency planning, tenant education, staff qualifications and training, and the development and use ...

Wastenet

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

According to the Romanian Nuclear Strategy, the third and fourth units of the Cernavoda NPP will be commissioned by 2015. Improvements in operation and safety are expected to be applied for these CANDU-6 based units. On the other side, the need for innovation determined AECL to promote the ACR -1000 - an evolutionary Generation III+ power reactor design and a necessary step towards Generation IV inherently safe nuclear energy systems. CANDU-6 is recognized for having two independent fully capable shutdown systems. ACR-1000 also benefits for this strong safety feature. Two major achievements i.e. using of light water as coolant and using Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) as fuel in a compact heavy water moderated lattice allowed the obtaining of a slightly negative Coolant Void Reactivity (CVR) for the first time in a CANDU-type reactor. The main goal of the paper is to compare the response of SDS1 action during some LOCAs supposed to take place both ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The core of Prismatic Modular Reactor (PMR) consists of assemblies of hexagonal graphite fuel and reflector elements. The core bypass flow of Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) is defined as the core flow that does not pass through the coolant channels but passes through the bypass gap between fuel elements. The increase in bypass flow makes the decrease in effective coolant flow. Since the core bypass flow has a negative impact on safety and efficiency of VHTR, core bypass phenomena have to be investigated to improve the core thermal margin of VHTR. For this purpose, the international project, I-NERI project, has been carried out since 2008. I-NERI project is collaborative project that KAERI and SNU of Korea side and INL, ANL and TAMU of U.S side are involved. In order to evaluate the core bypass flow, the multicolumn and multi-layer experimental facility is designed by SNU. In this experiment, the effect of cross-flow and local variation of bypass gap on the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The objective of project is to derive the policy recommendations to improve the efficiency of CANDU plants regulation. These policy recommendations will eventually contribute to the upgrading of Korean nuclear regulatory system and safety enhancement. During the second phase of this 2 years study, following research activities were done. Review the technical basis and framework of the new Canadian Regulation System and IAEA. Analysis on the interview of Wolsung operation staffs to identify important safety issues and regulation problems experienced at operation. Providing a plan of CANDU regulation system enhancement program.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Radiation protection in medicine has unique aspects and is an essential element of medical practice. Medical uses of radiation occur throughout the world, from large cities to rural clinics. It has been estimated that the number of medical procedures using radiation grew from about 1.7 billion in 1980 to almost 4 billion in 2007. In spite of these large numbers, there are many parts of the world without adequate equipment, where the ability to perform additional medical procedures would likely result in a net benefit. Medicine accounts for more than 99.9% of the per caput effective dose from man-made sources. The goal in medical exposure is not to give the lowest dose, but to provide the correct dose to enable the practitioner to make the diagnosis or cure a tumour. Too little or too much ...

CERN Document Server

We study the prospects of pinning down the effects of non-standard antineutrino interactions in the source and in the detector at the Daya Bay neutrino facility. It is well known that if the non-standard interactions in the detection process are of the same type as those in the production, their net effect can be subsumed into a mere shift in the measured value of the leptonic mixing angle theta_13. Relaxing this assumption, the ratio of the antineutrino spectra measured by the Daya Bay far and near detectors is distorted in a characteristic way, and good fits based on the standard oscillation hypothesis are no longer viable. We show that, under certain conditions, three years of Daya Bay running can be sufficient to provide a clear hint of non-standard neutrino physics.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Even if there have been efforts to validate remote-sensing-based energy balance models, which provide evapotranspiration (ET) maps over a large spatial scale, few studies have been conducted to validate their performance in Korea. In this study, surface energy balance fluxes including ET were estimated and inter-compared with two different models using the Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) image over a watershed scale in Korea. While there were larger spatial discrepancies for net radiation, soil heat and sensible heat fluxes on a pixel-by-pixel basis between the two models, relatively smaller spatial discrepancies for the latent heat flux and daily ET were detected. The spatial discrepancies for the daily ET were larger in low topography and dense vegetation ranges. Despite the different par...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Biotin is an essential water-soluble vitamin crucial for maintaining normal body functions. The importance of biotin for human health has been under-appreciated but there is plenty of opportunity for future research with great importance for human health. Currently, carrying out predictions of biotin metabolism involves tedious manual manipulations. In this paper, we report the development of BiotinNet, an internet based program that uses Bayesian networks to integrate published data on various aspects of biotin metabolism. Users can provide a combination of values on the levels of biotin related metabolites to obtain the predictions on other metabolites that are not specified. As an inherent feature of Bayesian networks, the uncertainty of the prediction is also quantified and reported to...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this paper a new fuzzy decision-making procedure is developed. Two levels of weightings, called upper and lower weights, are proposed to calculate the fuzzy weightings of different criteria. The preference table is introduced to calculate the upper and lower weights. Also a new method is developed to determine the expected preference values of different alternatives. These values are used for generating the priority list of alternatives. The procedure is applied for providing an emergency electric power distribution, scheduling time table. The IEEE 14-bus standard system and a 14-bus system with four power plants are considered as case studies. Using fuzzy decision-making procedure, the regions with more priorities are more connected to the distribution net, while the maximum consumption criterion is also reasonably respected. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The PARLOC Pipeline and Incident Databases provide the most complete information available on North Sea pipelines and risers from 1975. The database information enables the frequency of incidents which either result, or have a potential to result, in loss of containment to be related to the pipeline population as a whole or expressed as a function of particular pipeline characteristics. The importance of the PARLOC study in risk assessments of offshore pipelines is acknowledged worldwide and it is recognized as having contributed positively to their safer operation. Continuing improvements ensure that it remains a key reference in risk assessment studies. This paper describes the improvements which are being made to the study and shows how PARLOC is being used by the offshore industry in the consideration of pipeline safety. The rationalization of current arrangements for regulating pipeline safety presented in the new UK ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report, the eighth in a series of annual reports, was prepared in response to congressional inquiries concerning how nuclear regulatory research is used. It summarizes the accomplishments of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research during FY 1992. A special emphasis on accomplishments in nuclear power plant aging research reflects recognition that a number of plants are entering the final portion of their original 40-year operating licenses and that, in addition to current aging effects, a focus on safety considerations for license renewal becomes timely. The primary purpose of performing regulatory research is to develop and provide the Commission and its staff with the technical bases for regulatory decisions on the safe operation of licensed nuclear reactors and facilities, to find unknown or unexpected safety problems, and to develop data and related information for the purpose of revising the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report is the first of four volumes that identify and assess the environmental, health, and safety issues involved in using sodium-sulfur (Na/S) battery technology as the energy source in electric and hybrid vehicles that may affect the commercialization of Na/S batteries. This and the other reports on recycling, shipping, and vehicle safety are intended to help the Electric and Hybrid Propulsion Division of the Office of Transportation Technologies in the US Department of Energy (DOE/EHP) determine the direction of its research, development, and demonstration (RD D) program for Na/S battery technology. The reports review the status of Na/S battery RD D and identify potential hazards and risks that may require additional research or that may affect the design and use of Na/S batteries. This volume covers cell design and engineering as the basis of safety for Na/S batteries and describes and assesses the potential ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sudden changes in the temperature of flowing liquids can result in transient buoyancy forces which strongly impact the flow hydrodynamics via flow stratification. These effects have been studied for the case of potential flow of stratified liquids to line sinks, but not for moderator flow in SRS reactors. Standard codes, such as TRAC and COMMIX, do not have the capability to capture the stratification effect, due to strong numerical diffusion which smears away the hot/cold fluid interface. A related problem with standard codes is the inability to track plumes injected into the liquid flow, again due to numerical diffusion. The combined effects of buoyant stratification and plume dispersion have been identified as being important in operation the Supplementary Safety System which injects neutron-poison ink into SRS reactors to provide safe shutdown in the event of safety rod failure. The MODFLOW code discussed here ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The PIUS reactor utilizes simplified, inherent, passive, or other innovative means to accomplish safety functions. Accordingly, the PIUS reactor is subject to the requirements of 10CFR52.47(b)(2)(i)(A). This regulation requires that the applicant adequately demonstrate the performance of each safety feature, interdependent effects among the safety features, and a sufficient data base on the safety features of the design to assess the analytical tools used for safety analysis. Los Alamos has assessed the quality and completeness of the existing and planned data bases used by Asea Brown Boveri to validate its safety analysis codes and other relevant data bases. Only a limited data base of separate effect and integral tests exist at present. This data base is not adequate to fulfill the requirements of 10CFR52.47(b)(2)(i)(A). Asea Brown Boveri has stated that it ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In 1982 the semi-submersible drilling unit Ocean Ranger capsized and sank off the Grand Banks, resulting in the loss of the entire 84-man crew. A Royal Commission was set up to conduct an enquiry into the incident, and to carry out a process of research and opinion-gathering towards providing recommendations to both federal and Newfoundland governments. The primary purpose of the Commission was to determine why the Ocean Ranger sank, why none of the crew were saved, and how to avoid similar disasters. A number of studies and seminars were held to focus expert knowledge and opinion in several key fields and to update studies and fill gaps in the data base. Summaries of selected study reports and the seminar proceedings are presented in the following areas: the environment, including ice, marine climatology, weather forecasting services, wave climatology, oceanographic information, and seabed information; design, including mobile offshore drilling rig design ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inherent safety tests were performed during 1986 in the 400-MW (thermal) Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) reactor to demonstrate the effectiveness of an inherent shutdown device called the gas expansion module (GEM). The GEM device provided a strong negative reactivity feedback during loss-of-flow conditions by increasing the neutron leakage as a result of an expanding gas bubble. The best-estimate pretest calculations for these tests were performed using the IANUS plant analysis code (Westinghouse Electric Corporation proprietary code) and the MELT/SIEX3 core analysis code. These two codes were also used to perform the required operational safety analyses for the FFTF reactor and plant. Although it was intended to also use the SASSYS systems (core and plant) analysis code, the calibration of the SASSYS code for FFTF core and plant analysis was not completed in time to perform pretest analyses. The purpose of this paper is to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ARIES-AT is a 1000 MWe conceptual fusion power plant design with a very low projected cost of electricity. The design contains many innovative features to improve both the physics and engineering performance of the system. From the safety and environmental perspective, there is greater depth to the overall analysis than in past ARIES studies. For ARIES-AT, the overall spectrum of off-normal events to be examined has been broadened. They include conventional loss of coolant and loss of flow events, an ex-vessel loss of coolant, and in-vessel off-normal events that mobilize in-vessel inventories (e.g., tritium and tokamak dust) and bypass primary confinement such as a loss of vacuum and an in-vessel loss of coolant with bypass. This broader examination of accidents improves the robustness of the design from the safety perspective and gives additional confidence that the facility can meet the no-evacuation requirement under average weather ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In the safety assessment of a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system, it is required to estimate radiological impacts on future human beings arising from potential radionuclide releases from a deep repository into the surface environment. In order to estimate the impacts, a biosphere model is developed by reasonably assuming radionuclide migration processes in the surface environment and relevant human lifestyles. Releases from the repository might not occur for many thousands of years after disposal. Over such timescales, it is anticipated that the considerable climatic change, for example, induced by the next glaciation period expected to occur in around ten thousand years from now, will have a significant influence on the near surface environment and associated human lifestyles. In case of taking these evolution effects into account in modeling, it is reasonable to develop several alternative models on biosphere evolution systems consistent with ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The activation aspects of pure fusion and hybrid fusion technology is studied to assess the radioactive safety of various fusion concepts including tokamak pure fusion, fissile fuel producing hybrid and radio waste transmuting hybrid. The activation properties of breeding, coolant and structural materials in fusion reactors might be quite different from those in fission reactors because of the high energy D-T fusion neutrons from the fusion cores. A study on the involved activation reactions and the uncertainties of the associated nuclear cross-sections is carried. The activation properties of various first wall concepts and blanket concepts are discussed. The radioactive inventory during the operation lifetime and the potential hazard of the radioactive nuclides with respect to near term (reprocessing) and long term (waste disposal) aspects are calculated, with reference to ITER/NET (International Thermonuclear Experiment Reactor/Next European ...

Science.gov (United States)

This paper provides a snapshot of the computer network security industry and addresses specific issues related to network security in public education. The following topics are covered: (1) security policy, including reasons for establishing a policy, risk assessment, areas to consider, audit tools; (2) workstations, including physical security, protecting workstation components, and computer viruses; (3) the local network, including the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model, protocols, network segmentation, network management, network sniffing, and data encryption; (4) servers, including UNIX and other server operating systems; (5) remote access, including technologies, remote access servers, protocols, and authentication/authorization; (6) crackers and hackers, including threats and hacking tools/techniques; (7) Internet firewalls, including functions, issues and problems, types, rules, logs, firewall accessories, buying a firewall, and firewall ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper is a result of a research with the primary purpose of extending Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) modeling frameworks to include the effects of organizational factors as the deeper, more fundamental causes of accidents and incidents. There have been significant improvements in the sophistication of quantitative methods of safety and risk assessment, but the progress on techniques most suitable for organizational safety risk frameworks has been limited. The focus of this paper is on the choice of 'representational schemes' and 'techniques.' A methodology for selecting appropriate candidate techniques and their integration in the form of a 'hybrid' approach is proposed. Then an example is given through an integration of System Dynamics (SD), Bayesian Belief Network (BBN), Event Sequence Diagram (ESD), and Fault Tree (FT) in order to demonstrate the feasibility and value of hybrid ...

Science.gov (United States)

The initiation of explosives by laser illumination has been known for many years. In this paper we will discuss the development of a working detonator design that reduces the energy required for detonation in a low-density secondary explosive by vaporizing a thin metal coating. We present data on the development of the design for a workhorse laser detonator that provides enhanced safety over existing exploding bridgewire detonators (EBWs). Comparison of this laser initiated data to an exploding-bridgewire (EBW) provides insight into the mechanism of initiation of detonation in low-density PETN by the plasma source. A novel diagnostic technique to determine the run-distance to detonation also known as the apparent Center-of-Initiation (COI) will also be discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

(B204)Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) insights are now used by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) to confirm the level of safety for plant operations and to justify changes in nuclear power plant operating requirements, both on an exception basis and as changeds to a plant's licensing basis. This report examines qualitative and quantitative risk assessments during shutdown plant states, providing feedback to utilities in the use of qualitative models for outage risk management, and also providing input to the development of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Low Power and Shutdown PRA Standard.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report, entitled Combustion Engineering Standard Safety Analysis Report -- Design Certification (CESSAR-DC), has been prepared in support of the industry effort to standardize nuclear plant designs. These volumes describe the Combustion Engineering, Inc. System 80{sup +}{trademark} Standard Design. This volume 8 provides a description of instrumentation and controls.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The philosophy of containing tritium and activated products very close to the source and of operating by remote techniques is justified by a comparison with other concepts on protection and availability points of view. Several design options are studied according to the optimization protection methodology of ICRP. Provided that an important technological development is accomplished, the utilization of robotics and the limitation of containment volumes should be generalized.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apppendix B of 10 CFR Part 50 establishes quality assurance requirements for the operation of nuclear power plant safety-related structures, systems and components. This Guide describes an acceptable method for complying with these regulations with regard to overall quality assurance program requirements for the operation phase of nuclear power plants. Input to this Guide has been provided by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A tiered communications architecture for managing network traffic in a distributed system. Communication between client or control computers and a plurality of hardware devices is administered by agent and monitor devices whose activities are coordinated to reduce the number of open channels or sockets. The communications architecture also improves the transparency and scalability of the distributed system by reducing network mapping dependence. The architecture is desirably implemented in a proton beam therapy system to provide flexible security policies which improve patent safety and facilitate system maintenance and development.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This bibliography includes over 600 references (with abstracts) on all aspects of waterjet cutting and cleaning. The references are listed under the following chapter headings: fluid mechanics of jets; jet impact; equipment; jet cleaning; jet cutting; civil engineering; mining and tunnelling; precision cutting; underwater; safety; and bibliographies. Separate author and corporate source indexes are provided.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This ISB, in conjunction with the IOSR, provides the required basis for interim operation or restrictions on interim operations and administrative controls for the facility until a SAR is prepared in accordance with the new requirements or the facility is shut down. It is concluded that the risks associated with tha current and anticipated mode of the facility, uranium disposition, clean up, and transition activities required for permanent closure, are within risk guidelines.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The comments are divided into three parts. Section 2 relates generally to programs for which greater effort or emphasis is needed. Section 3 provides specific comments on the proposed programs in each Decision Unit and, in most cases, for individual Subelements within each Decision Unit. Specific recommendations regarding the Research Program Support Budget are given in Section 4.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The paper gives a generic idea of the solutions that the neuronal nets contribute to the robotics. The advantages and the inconveniences are exposed that have regarding the conventional techniques. It also describe the more excellent applications as the pursuit of trajectories, the positioning based on images, the force control or of the mobile robots management, among others

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper deals with dynamic reliability of embedded systems. It presents a method for deriving feared scenarios (which might lead the system to a critical situation) in Petri nets. A classical way to obtain scenarios in Petri nets is to generate the reachability graph. However, for complex systems, it leads to the state space explosion. To avoid this problem, in our approach, Petri net reachability is translated into provability of linear logic sequents. Linear logic bases are introduced and used to formally define scenarios and minimality of scenarios. These definitions allow the method to produce only pertinent scenarios. The steps of the method are described and illustrated through a landing-gear system example.

Science.gov (United States)

... listed certifications are vendor (CCNA) and Server Plus (Server neutral such as the Certified Information S ... CCNA ITIL NET+ GSEC SECURITY+ ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Utilities looking to thrive in increasingly competitive markets are reexamining their approach to pricing. To compete effectively, utilities will need to both control costs and offer customers pricing options that are competitive and reflect the diversity in their customer base. These price structures must reflect two key factors -- marginal costs, which will increasingly reflect market prices, and consumers` responsiveness to those price structures. To accomplish this requires the capability to forecast customers` response to price structures that often provide complex signals to customers about how changes in their energy consumption and maximum power demand affect their bill, and to calculate corresponding changes in utility profits and customer net benefits. Much discussion of competitive pricing focuses on innovative new rate structures. However, significant opportunities are present to improve matters by simply redesigning current ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper is focused on TLP and Spar technology as applied to floating production applications. In particular, safety considerations as related to classification and certification requirements are addressed. This covers hull structures, marine systems, production facilities and the relevant mooring systems for each platform type from design approval on through construction, installation and ultimately the ongoing maintenance of the platform to acceptable standards throughout its operating life. The experience of the American Bureau of Shipping with these platforms will be utilized in supporting the practical application of classification and regulatory standards to ensure safe operations and concluding that use of such standards in conjunction with an experienced classification society provides a substantial benefit to companies utilizing these technologies. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This manual was written for individuals who wish to become qualified in radiation protection as an adjunct to working with sources of ionizing radiation or using radionuclides in the field of medicine. It provides the radiation user with information needed to protect himself and others and to understand and comply with governmental and institutional regulations regarding the use of radionuclides and radiation machines. It is designed for a wide spectrum of users, including physicians, research scientists, engineers, and technicians. It should be useful also to radiation safety officers, members of radiation safety committees, and others who are responsible for the proper use of radiation sources, although they may not be working with the sources directly. The presentation in this manual is designed to obviate the need for reviews of atomic and radiation physics, and the mathematics has been limited to elementary ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The present Manual provides guidance and illustrative examples for applying a method by which graded quality assurance requirements may be determined and adapted to the items and services of a nuclear power plant in conformance with the requirements of the IAEA Nuclear Safety Standards (NUSS) Code and Safety Guides on quality assurance. The Manual replaces the previous publication IAEA-TECDOC-303 on the same subject. Various methods of grading quality assurance are available in a number of Member States. During the development of the present Manual it was not considered practical to attempt to resolve the differences between those methods and it was preferred to identify and benefit from the good practices available in all the methods. The method presented in this Manual deals with the aspects of management, documentation, control, verification and administration which affect quality. 1 fig., 4 tabs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this note is to provide guidance to those who have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act and other relevant legislation. It gives guidance on the practical application of legislation, concerning radiotherapy equipment. Two particular issues arise out of the requirements of Regulation 33 of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985 (IRR85) in relation to equipment which is used for medical exposures. These are the requirement to select, install and maintain this type of equipment in such a way that it is capable of restricting, so far as reasonably practicable, the medical exposure of any person where this is compatible with the intended clinical purpose, including the need to ensure that equipment used for radiotherapy is properly calibrated, and the requirement to notify the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) when an incident occurs involving a malfunction or defect in any 'radiation ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purpose: To secure the reactor operation safety by the provision of a fluid pressure detecting section for control rod driving fluid and a control rod interlock at the midway of the flow pass for supplying driving fluid to the control rod drives. Constitution: Between a driving line and a direction control valve are provided a pressure detecting portion, an alarm generating device, and a control rod inhibition interlock. The driving fluid from a driving fluid source is discharged by way of a pump and a manual valve into the reactor in which the control rods and reactor fuels are contained. In addition, when the direction control valve is switched and the control rods are inserted and extracted by the control rod drives, the pressure in the driving line is always detected by the pressure detection section, whereby if abnormal pressure is resulted, the alarm generating device is actuated to warn the abnormality and the control rod inhibition ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Installation of the major hardware subsystems for MFTF is nearing completion. These subsystems include the Fusion Chamber System, the eighty KV Neutral Beam System, the Superconducting Magnet System, and the Personnel Safety System. The Local Controls group has undertaken a uniform aproach to implementing the control systems for all of these hardware subsystems. This approach has two major aspects: (1) to provide a stand-alone computer control system with a remote, portable terminal so that computer control can be provided at the site of the hardware for initial testing, (2) to provide hardware simulators so that the complicated MFTF computer control system can be tested independent of the hardware. The software and hardware tools which were developed to carry out this plan will be described. Our experiences with bringing up subsystems containing up to 900 separate channels of control and status will ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The transfer kinetics of the negatively charged glycosphingolipid II"3-N-acetylneuraminosyl-gangliotetraosylceramide (GM_1) were investigated by monitoring tritiated GM_1 movement between donor and acceptor vesicles. After appropriate incubation times at 45 "0C, donor and acceptor vesicles were separated by molecular sieve chromatography. Donors were small unilamellar vesicles produced by sonication, whereas acceptors were large unilamellar vesicles produced by either fusion or ethanol injection. Initial GM_1 transfer to acceptors followed first-order kinetics with a half-time of about 40 h assuming that GM_1 is present in equal mole fractions in the exterior and interior surfaces of the donor vesicle bilayer and that no glycolipid flip-flop occurs. GM_1 net transfer was calculated relative to that of ["1"4C]cholesteryl oleate, which served as a nontransferable marker in the donor vesicles. Factors affecting the GM_1 interbilayer transfer rate included phospholipid ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A new microdensitometry method for quantitative assessment of bone mineral content using Fuji computed radiography (FCR) was developed and the results were compared with those obtained by the conventional film-screen method. Using both methods, X-ray pictures of the 2nd metacarpal bone were taken with a reference aluminum step wedge in nine normal subjects and nine parameters representing the width and density of bone marrow and cortex were calculated in middle of the bone shaft. Interobserver reproducibility assessed for three parameters was significantly higher in the FCR method than the conventional one. The value of #SIGMA#GS computed by the FCR method, that is equivalent to the net bone density of the transverse section of the shaft, showed higher correlation with the one obtained by computed tomography in comparison with the conventional method. In our FCR method, moreover, interobserver reproducibility and accuracy was improved by employing automatic ...

CERN Document Server

We present the initial results of an observational study into the variation of the dominant length-scale of quiet solar emission: supergranulation. This length-scale reflects the radiative energy in the plasma of the upper solar chromosphere and transition region at the magnetic network boundaries forming as a result of the relentless interaction of magnetic fields and convective motions of the Sun's interior. We demonstrate that a net difference of ~0.5Mm in the supergranular emission length-scale occurs when comparing observations cycle 22/23 and cycle 23/24 minima. This variation in scale is reproduced in the datasets of multiple space- and ground-based instruments and using different diagnostic measures. By means of extension, we consider the variation of the supergranular length-scale over multiple solar minima by analyzing a subset of the Mt Wilson Solar Observatory (MWO) Ca II K image record. The observations and analysis presented ...

Science.gov (United States)

Recent trends in distributed real-time and embedded (DRE) systems motivate the development of tactical information management capabilities that ensure the right information is delivered to the right place at the right time to satisfy quality of service (QoS) requirements in heterogeneous environments. A promising approach to building and evolving large-scale and long-lived tactical information management systems are standards-based QoS-enabled publish/subscribe (pub/sub) platforms that enable applications to communicate by publishing information they have and subscribing to information they need in a timely manner. Since there is little existing evaluation of how well these platforms meet the performance needs of tactical information management, this paper provides two contributions: (1) it describes three common architectures for the OMG Data Distribution Service (DDS), which is a QoS-enabled pub/sub platform standard, and (2) it evaluates three implementations of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The atmosphere and the biosphere are inherently coupled to one another. Atmospheric surface state variables such as temperature, winds, water vapor, precipitation, and radiation control biophysical, biogeochemical, and ecological processes at the surface and subsurface. At the same time, surface fluxes of momentum, moisture, heat, and trace gases act as time-dependent boundary conditions providing feedback on atmospheric processes. To understand such phenomena, a coupled set of interactive models is required. Costs are still prohibitive for computing surface/subsurface fluxes directly for medium-resolution atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs), but a technique has been developed for testing large-scale homogeneity and accessing surface parameterizations and models to reduce this computational cost and maintain accuracy. This modeling system potentially bridges the observed spatial and temporal ranges yet allows the incorporation of necessary details about ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuclear energy provides a third of Europe's electricity with nearly no greenhouse-gas emissions. Sustained efforts are now being conducted to harmonize regulations all over Europe through WENRA and to converge on technical nuclear safety practices within the TSO network ETSON (European Technical Safety Organizations Network). In CANDU type NPP the tritiated water occurs by the neutron bombardment of deuterium. The tritiated water vapors imply health hazard (in the critical organs of the body the water presents a 10 day average biological half-life) and the early detection in nuclear plants of tritium emissions is important because the tritiated water vapors have the same characteristics as of atmospheric water vapors. By detecting tritiated vapors, the monitoring system ensures the following objectives: (a) indicates levels of tritium generally due to heavy water leakage, (b) reduces the possibility of health hazard. In ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In-service Test (IST) of the nuclear power plant is very important to maintain the safety of the plants. The safety features of nuclear power plant are based on the operation of pumps and valves. Therefore, it is an essential basis for the safety of nuclear power plant to keep operational readiness of pumps and valves. Because of the importance of the IST, most of nuclear power plants should designate the IST department and personnel. Because the nuclear power plants of Korea have several types and the designs and operations are different from each other, the methods and experiences are various for the management of the IST program. However, there are no medium to communicate with each other and exchange the tips and information about IST program and education and discussion would be required to apply a consistent code. The nature of the IST Standardization Management Data Base (SMDB) is to exchange opinions and documents ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This report discusses the safety approach of the Advanced Liquid Metal reactor program, sponsored by the US Department of Energy, which relies upon passive reactor responses to off-normal condition to limit power and temperature excursions to levels that allow safety margins. Gas expansion modules (GEM) have included in the design to provide negative reactivity to enhance these margins in the extremely unlikely event that pumping power is lost and the highly reliable scram system fails to operate. The feasibility and beneficial features of these devices were first demonstrated in the core of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) in 1986. Preapplication safety evaluations by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have identified areas that must be addressed if these devices are to be relied on. One of these areas is the response of the reactor when it is critical and the pumps are turned on, resulting in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The slow or stagnant rate of nuclear power generation development in many developed countries over the last two decades has resulted in a significant shortage in the population of mid-career nuclear industry professionals. This shortage is even more pronounced in some specific areas of expertise such as radiological protection, waste management and decommissioning. This situation has occurred at a time when the renaissance of nuclear power and the globalization of the nuclear industry are steadily gaining momentum and when the industry's involvement in international and national debates in these three fields of expertise (and the industry's impact on these debates) is of vital importance. This paper presents the World Nuclear Association (WNA) approach to building and enhancing worldwide industry cooperation in radiological protection, waste management and decommissioning, which is manifested through the activities of the two WNA working groups on radiological protection (RPWG) and on ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitsubishi is now developing a next-generation Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) which has the innovative feature of hybrid safety systems (optimum combination of passive safety system and active safety system) and passive core cooling by horizontal steam generators during Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). In order to confirm the capability of this passive core cooling system during LOCAs, the thermal-hydraulic tests of horizontal steam generator and the integral thermal-hydraulic tests simulating the LOCAs were performed. The thermal-hydraulic tests of horizontal steam generator consist of a single tube test and a multi-tubes test. On the basis of these test results, the heat transfer characteristics of steam-water two-phase flow with noncondensable gas along a long horizontal tube is understood and the heat transfer correlation including the effect of noncondensable gas is presented. The integral thermal-hydraulic tests ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

On nuclear power stations with high temperature reactors and helium turbine cycles (HTR-single circuits) the residual heat from the energy conversion process in the primary and intermediate coolers is removed from cycled gas, helium. Water, which is circulated for safety reasons through a closed circuit, is used for cooling. The primary and intermediate coolers as well as other cooling equipment of the power plant are installed within the reactor building. The heat from the helium turbine cycle is removed to the environment most effectively by natural draught cooling towers. In this way a net plant efficiency of about 40% is attainable. The low quantities of residual heat thereby produced and the high (in comparison with power stations with steam turbine cycles) cooling agent pressure and cooling water reheat pressure in the circulating coolers enable an economically favourable design of the overall 'cold end' to be expected. In the so-called ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In order to build the safety culture for nuclear power industry, it is important to evaluate the safety culture scientifically. Considering the traits of safety culture in the nuclear power industry, 24 safety culture assessment indexes are established from 4 aspects such as Safety consciousness, Safety attitude, Safety action and Safety actuality by using the SMART criteria. Safety culture star-class assessment criterion is presented and safety culture star-class assessment system is developed by using Visual Basic 6.0 and BP neural network. The system has a better generalization ability, and it can show exactly which phase the safety culture is in. Experimental results show that safety culture star-class assessment is practical and easy ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The recent definition of a postulated thermal shock accident followed promptly by system repressurization, termed an overcooling or pressurized thermal shock accident, has set a large analysis and research effort into motion. The essential elements are concerned with defining the accident transients, evaluating the instrumentation and controls that cause the postulated accidents, and evaluating the metallurgical and structural mechanics aspects of the reactor vessel with respect to its failure potential. This paper poses the question faced by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the vessel steel embrittlement, annealing, and surveillance dosimetry facets of this postulated accident and provides information on our plans for study of this problem as well as current status.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To improve operational safety of the fuel channel for Wolsung units the recommended primary heat transport system (PHTS) operating guidelines were developed, which provides a safe operation window in terms of pressure and temperature to maintain fuel channel integrity, which is similar to pressure-temperature curves used for primary pressure boundary integrity in PWRs and deterministic Leak-Before Break (LBB) analyses were conducted using recent understanding of delayed hydride cracking (DHC) mechanism. In addition, a comparative assessment of LBB analysis was made using the procedures of Fitness For Service Guidelines(FFSG) for pressure tubes rev. 0 and rev. 1.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Results are summarized of a study on concrete component aging and its significance relative to continued service of nuclear power plants (NPPs) beyond the initial period for which they were granted operating licenses. Progress is presented of a second study being conducted to identify and provide acceptance criteria for structural safety issues which the USNRC staff will need to address when applications are submitted for continued service of NPPs. Major activities under this program include: development of a materials property data base, establishment of structural component assessment and repair procedures, and development of a methodology for determination of structural reliability. 19 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monte Carlo criticality calculations have been performed for over 50 years for reactor physics and criticality safety applications. With today's faster computers, these calculations are being carried out to greater precision (smaller uncertainties) in keff, and detailed distributions of power and reaction rates are being computed routinely. This paper provides a review of the fundamental theory of Monte Carlo criticality calculations, with guidance on practical methods for: (1) assuring convergence of both keff and the source distribution, (2) minimizing the bias in keff and reaction rate distributions, and (3) dealing with the under-prediction bias in uncertainties for keff and reaction rate distributions. (authors)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sudden changes in the temperature of flowing liquids can result in transient buoyancy forces which strongly impact the flow hydrodynamics via flow stratification. These effects have been studied for the case of potential flow of stratified liquids to line sinks, but not for moderator flow in SRS reactors. Standard codes, such as TRAC and COMMIX, do not have the capability to capture the stratification effect, due to strong numerical diffusion which smears away the hot/cold fluid interface. A related problem with standard codes is the inability to track plumes injected into the liquid flow, again due to numerical diffusion. The combined effects of buoyant stratification and plume dispersion have been identified as being important in operation of the Supplementary Safety System which injects neutron-poison ink into SRS reactors to provide safe shutdown in the event of safety rod failure. The MODFLOW code discussed here ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Within its competence for energy research, the Bundesministerium fuer Wirtschaft und Arbeit (BMWA) (Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology) sponsors investigations into the safety of nuclear power plants. The objective of these investigations is to provide fundamental knowledge, procedures and methods to contribute to realistic safety assessments of nuclear installations, to the further development of safety technology and to make use of the potential of innovative safety-related approaches. The Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH, by order to the BMWi, continuously issues information on the status of such investigations by publishing semi-annual and annual progress reports within the series of GRS-F-Fortschrittsberichte (GRS-F-Progress Reports). Each progress report represents a compilation of individual reports about the objectives, work performed, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Active Process Water (APW) System, provided as unitized closed loop system in Tarapur Atomic Power Project Units-3 and 4, serves to remove heat from various heat exchangers. One of the important loads served by APW system is shutdown cooling heat exchangers and if APW shutdown is taken then reactor cannot be maintained in cold shutdown condition. It is estimated that after 7 days of reactor shutdown, if about 20% of the normal cooling flow to shutdown cooling heat exchangers is provided then along with keeping PHT in cold shutdown state, reactor components, moderator, end shield water, calandria vault water and calandria vault concrete temperature can be maintained within technical specification limits for extended duration. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This guide is intended to provide the necessary guidance to successfully manage the NAVMED Navy Occupational Health Information Management System (NOHIMS) at NAVMED sites and the NAVSEA Occupational Safety and Health Record Keeping System (OSHRKS) at NAVSEA sites. Outlines procedures to manage system operations, procedures to resolve hardware, software and communications problems, and procedures outside the realm of system operations that are required for a successful system. This guide is intended for the System and Functional Managers use. The System Manager is the individual designated to provide overall ADP management to the entire local configuration. Usually responsible for file backup, daily operations of the CPU, security, supplies, equipment, operating software and technical ADP guidance to the local functional users.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Fires and explosions have been identified as major potential hazards for Oil and Gas Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) installations and pose risk to personnel, assets, and the environment. Current fire and explosion assessment (FEA) tools require physical effect modeling software and follows standards from API, ISO, and engineering practices. However, the tools are not specific to any particular system such as an FPSO, and do not provide comprehensive guidance for safety engineers to perform FEA. This paper discusses the development of a screening and comparison tool for FEA on FPSOs and the incorporation of an expert system into the tool. The results are computerized using MS Excel/VBA to provide a structured and comprehensive assessment on each equipment and module handling ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The effect of five doses of gamma radiation: 10, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 Gy on chlorophylls content, net photosynthesis and respiration of chlorella pyrenoidosa has been studied. A decrease in chlorophylls levels is produced after irradiation at 500, 1000 and 5000 Gy, being, at first 'b' chlorophyll affected to a greater extent than 'a' chlorophyll. Net photosynthesis and respiration decline throughout the time of the observations after irradiation, this depressing effect being much more remarkable for the first one. Net photosynthesis inhibition levels of about 30% have got only five hours post irradiation at a dose of 5000 Gy. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This Packaging Review Guide (PRG) provides guidance for Department of Energy (DOE) review and approval of packagings to transport fissile and Type B quantities of radioactive material. It fulfills, in part, the requirements of DOE Order 460.1B for the Headquarters Certifying Official to establish standards and to provide guidance for the preparation of Safety Analysis Reports for Packagings (SARPs). This PRG is intended for use by the Headquarters Certifying Official and his or her review staff, DOE Secretarial offices, operations/field offices, and applicants for DOE packaging approval. This PRG is generally organized at the section level in a format similar to that recommended in Regulatory Guide 7.9 (RG 7.9). One notable exception is the addition of Section 9 (Quality Assurance), which is not included as a separate chapter in RG 7.9. Within each section, this PRG addresses the technical and regulatory bases for the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuclear facilities of the Department of Energy (DOE) located at the Savannah River Site must comply with DOE orders as implemented at DOE-SR. The DOE orders cover safety criteria, design criteria, environmental protection, occupational health and safety. The program applies to DOE and contractors. In this section, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) criteria and industry codes and standards are addressed as well as DOE orders. Specific DOE orders which add additional criteria have also been noted. A program for assessing and implementing contractor applicable DOE orders has been established. This program ensures that compliance is achieved through developing and implementing policies, programs, and procedures. The primary emphasis is placed on safe, efficient reactor restart and operation. DOE has classified orders applicable to restart as Level I, Category I while those applicable to post-restart are classified as Level I, Category II. ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This project is to provide the regulatory direction of containment bypass during multiple steam generator tube failure issue for the Korean Next Generation Reactors, which is a part of major technical issues resulted from the safety regulation R and D on the KNGR. The outstanding results are as follows : the Multiple Steam Generator Tube Repture(MSGTR) event has never been occurred in the history of commercial nuclear reactor operation but single Steam Generator Tube Rupture(SGTR) event is reported to occur every two years. A probabilistic safety analysis study on MSGTR event, however, show its probability of occurrence is to be the same order as the design basis accidents such as LACA. In this regard, the ability of NPPs to cope with MSGTR event is required. Some requirements on initial and boundary conditions are suggested to be used in the analyses of NPPs during MSGTR events. The items that should be considered in ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

PMID:19955450

Science.gov (United States)

Skip to Main Content Skip to Main Navigation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Accessible menu--Sitemap Driving Safety Aggressive Driving Bicycles Child Safety...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Different cases exist in various countries regarding the institutional status, the organization and the technical resources of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA): there are NRAs having extended internal technical capability and others relying mostly on external technical support. Considering the research and development activities and the very broad range of technical matters on which the regulatory and licensing activity are based, the NRA can not rely only on internal resources, and generally there is the need of technical and scientific support together with enhanced international cooperation. The international cooperation and networking among NRAs, and their Technical Support Organizations (TSO), represents a fundamental way to maintain competence, capability and knowledge. Within the EU member states this is becoming more and more an institutional duty. In providing technical support for regulatory activity, the experience shows, from one side, the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

General-Purpose Heat Source radioisotope thermoelectric generators (GPHS-RTGs) will provide electrical power for the NASA Galileo and European Space Agency (ESA) Ulysses missions. Each GPHS-RTG comprises two major components: GPHS modules, which provide thermal energy, and a thermoelectric converter, which converts the thermal energy into electrical power. Each of the 18 GPHS modules in a GPHS-RTG contains four /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/-fueled capsules. LANL conducted a series of safety verification tests on the GPHS-RTG before the scheduled May 1986 launch of the Galileo spacecraft to assess the ability of the GPHS modules to contain plutonia in potential accident environments. As a result of the Challenger 51-L accident in January 1986, NASA postponed the launch of Galileo; the spacecraft launch vehicle was reconfigured and the spacecraft trajectory modified. These actions prompted NASA to reevaluate potential mission accidents ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management is the first legal instrument to directly address the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management on a global scale. The Joint Convention entered into force in 2001. This paper describes its process and its main achievements to date. The perspectives to establish of a Global Waste Safety Regime based on the Joint Convention are also discussed. (authors)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Argentina's National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) was created in 1950 to promote the development of the pacific technological applications of nuclear energy within the country. Since its very beginning CNEA considered that nuclear development is possible only if it is supported by broad scientific knowledge and accompanied by an adequate progress of the needed technological capacities. Thus, an important investment was done to educate and prepare professionals to form a technical staff that had broad backgrounds; as a consequence, excellent educational and training Institutes were created, and a number of researchers, engineers and technologists were educated. Since the early days, CNEA has paid special attention to crucial aspects such as radiological protection and nuclear safety. CNEA has had a role in contributing to the national growth of Argentine scientific and technical sector. This role has been necessary not only to provide the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The specific objectives of the work were defined by the Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) as follows: (1) assess the stability of panel 1 during the proposed operation of waste emplacement; (2) estimate the amount of time before room closure would be expected to transfer rock loads to the waste packages. The work consisted of (1) an analysis of geotechnical data and a review of the Department of Energy`s (DOE) plans for waste emplacement in panel 1, (2) an evaluation of ground conditions based on data analysis and observations of changes in ground conditions since the first evaluation in 1993 (USBM 1993), and (3) preparation of a report and presentation of the results to EEG staff. Excluded from this study are radiological safety issues and policies. The study is based on data provided by DOE and Westinghouse Electric Corporation (operator of the site) and conversations with DOE and Westinghouse personnel. MTI cannot independently verify the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Low and intermediate waste disposal facilities safety assessment is comprised of several steps from site selection , construction and operation to post-closure performance assessment. This is a multidisciplinary and complex task , and can not be analyzed by one expert only. This high complexity can lead to ambiguity and vagueness in information and consequently in the decision making process. In order to make the decision process clear and objective, there is the need to provide the decision makers with a clear and comprehensive picture of the whole process and, at the same time, simple and easily understandable by the public. This paper suggests the development of an inference system based on fuzzy decision making methodology. Fuzzy logic tools are specially suited to deal with ambiguous data by using language expressions. This process would be capable of integrating knowledge from various fields of environmental sciences. It has an advantage ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fusion energy has been studied in many countries such as U.S., France, Japan, Korea etc. Because it would provide much more energy for a given weight of fuel than any technology currently in use, and the fuel itself (primarily deuterium) exists abundantly in the Earth's ocean. Nuclear fusion reactor uses tritium and deuterium as fuel while nuclear fission reactor uses uranium and plutonium as fuel. Besides, inherent design characteristics and driving condition of nuclear fusion reactor is different from those of nuclear fission reactor. Therefore, we cannot apply the regulation rules of nuclear fission reactor to nuclear fusion reactor without change and thus it is needed to development of the safety regulation concept which reflects the characteristics of nuclear fusion reactor. Safety regulation of nuclear fusion reactor employs deterministic approach until sufficient data are secured. However, regulation methodology of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuclear Fuel Plant (FCN) is a facility that produces fuel bundles of CANDU-6 type for the CANDU nuclear power plant. Only natural and depleted uranium in bulk and itemized form are present as nuclear materials in this facility. Uranium and wastes from the plant are handled, processed, treated and stored throughout the entire facility. The nuclear materials with natural and depleted uranium are entirely under nuclear safeguards. The amount of uranium present in the plant in different forms and activities together with zircaloy, beryllium and other hazardous substances, wastes, explosive materials at high temperatures, etc. lead to special measures undertaken by Nuclear Safety Department (DNS) to ensure nuclear safety. Different aspects of safety are continuously monitored in the plant: operational safety, industrial safety, radiological safety, labour ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Integral Fast Reactor is an innovative liquid metal reactor concept that is being developed by Argonne National Laboratory. It takes advantage of the properties of metallic fuel and liquid metal cooling to offer significant improvements in reactor safety, operation, fuel cycle economics, environmental protection, and safeguards. The plans for demonstrating the IFR fuel cycle, including its waste processing options, by processing irradiated fuel from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II fuel in its associated Fuel Cycle Facility have been developed for the first refining series. This series has been designed to provide the data needed for the further development of the IFR program. An important piece of the data needed is the recovery of TRU material during the reprocessing and waste operations.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study is related to the use of thermoplastic liners to control corrosion of new and rehabilitated pipelines carrying aggressive hydrocarbon products. The aim is to investigate the technical and safety issues involved in introducing a thermoplastic liner into an existing carbon steel pipeline for aggressive hydrocarbon service at temperatures up to 150 C and internal pressures up to 34 MPa (5,000 psi). The principle objective is to provide design data for thermoplastic lined pipelines. The scope combines the use of liner insertion techniques with thermoplastic materials widely used in onshore pipelines and demonstrates the effectiveness of thermoplastic linings. The results indicate that thermoplastic liners can be used to control corrosion of pipelines in aggressive hydrocarbon environments.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This standard provides requirements and guidelines for installation, inspection and testing activities that assure the quality of important mechanical parts of a nuclear power plant not covered by the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, during construction. These parts include those mechanical systems and components whose satisfactory performance is required: for the plant to operate reliably; to prevent accidents that could cause undue risk to the health and safety of the public; or to mitigate the consequences of such accidents if they were to occur. The requirements of this standard deal with the protection and control necessary to assure that the requisite quality of those important parts of the plant are preserved from the time items are removed from storage or receiving until they are incorporated into the plant up to but not including fuel loading for PWR plants and the completion of cold functional testing for BWR and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papers and presentations were made by all participating countries and provided a wide range of perspectives on the use of the ASSET methodology. Generally, the views expressed were positive, however, there were comments on areas were the service could be improved or enhanced. The workshop was divided into three task groups to analyze the self-assessments conducted at Krsko NPP, Slovenia; Dukovany NPP, Czech Republic; and Balakovo NPP, Russian Federation. In addition, they were asked to comment on the recommendations on the ASSET service made by the Consultants' Meeting of 26-30 August 1996 on ''Performance of the IAEA programme on Operational Safety Services''. A presentation was made by Mr. B. Thomas to remind delegates of the ASSET methodologies, and Mr. V. Sivokon demonstrated the latest developments of computer software available for assisting in the plant Self-Assessment process. Refs, figs, tabs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA)/poly(glycolide-co-lactide) copolymer (PLGA) membrane with polyglycolic acid (PGA) mesh was prepared to aid the effective regeneration of defective periodontal tissues. The microporous membrane used in this study consists of biodegradable polymers, and seems to have a structure to provide appropriate properties for periodontal tissue regeneration. Based on the albumin permeation test, it is known that the biodegradable membrane exhibits the suitable permeability of nutrients. The membrane maintained its physical integrity for 6-8 weeks, which could be sufficient to retain space in the periodontal pocket. Cell attachment and cytotoxicity tests were performed with respect to the evaluation of biocompatibility of the membrane. As a result, the membrane did not show any cytotoxicity. The safety and therapeutic efficacies of the biodegradable membranes were confirmed in animal tests.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of this paper is to relate some of the commonly encountered problems with operational procedures in the nuclear industry and offer practical suggestions for their elimination. The paper is based on recent consultant experience in assisting industry clients with human performance related design and assessment initiatives. Operational procedures are a key part of an integrated system design. Procedures provide the specified instructions for actions people are to undertake in operating a facility to achieve production and safety goals. While organizations continue to make substantial investments in procedure development and maintenance, problems with procedures continue to occur, as evidenced through operating inefficiencies, errors, and events. The paper reviews the role procedures play in facility operations, comments on current development and maintenance practices, discusses the extent of human performance related problems ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The recognition that natural convection offers the prospect of an important inherent safety feature for liquid metal cooled reactor systems has provided the impetus for a world-wide research effort over the past decade. Whilst this research has been based on experiment, both plant experiments and out-of-pile experiments, the enormous advances in the development of computing power in recent years have enabled complementary programmes of mathematical modelling through numerical simulation of the transport equations in three spatial dimensions. These not only offer considerable promise for the designer in projecting the behaviour from experiments and prototype plant to full scale plant, they have also proved to be of considerable value in helping us to interpret and understand the results of the experiments themselves. This paper attempts to review the progress made with the emphasis on decay heat removal by natural convection in the pool-type ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In a water well sunk in the Grafschaft Bentheim region of northern Germany, small volumes of methane were emitted regularly and large volumes of methane in eruptions at irregular intervals. After some extreme gas eruptions in 2002 and 2004, the Grafschaft Bentheim district government initiated a project to investigate underground conditions in the region between Nordhorn and Bad Bentheim in order to prevent potential hazards to the locals population. The main purpose of the project was to provide information on underground mechanisms as far as possible in order to develop long-term safety strategies for freshwater supply in the region. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Under 10CFR50 Appendix B, utilities have a commitment to establish and maintain material control programs to assure the safety and reliability of their power plants. The guidelines in this report discuss methods of establishing, maintaining, and extending the shelf life of limited life items. In addition, these guidelines establish justifiable shelf lives for a sample of 70 items and review the effects of environmental conditions. Moreover, the guidelines are consistent with utility qualification test documentation and provide for evaluation of items with expired shelf lives. These guidelines set precedent by indicating that the shelf life is greater than previously available for many items. This increase in shelf life has been established through natural and accelerated aging tests.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A large portion of world?s natural gas reserves are ?stranded?? resources, the drive to monetize these resources leads to the development of gas-to-liquids (GTL) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) technologies. LNG has the advantage of having been developed for the past 40 years and having an excellent safety record. GTL on the other hand is another option with substantial benefits, but its development stage and commercial viability are far behind LNG. This paper presents a techno-economic comparison of GTL with LNG, including technical development, plant efficiency, market potential for the products, and capital cost for the infrastructure. The aim is to give an overall view on both LNG and GTL and provide a perspective on the profitability of these two technologies.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuel management simulations have been performed for 0.9% SEU CANFLEX fuel in the Wolsung-1. Based on earlier studies at AECL, the bi-directional, four-bundle-shift fuelling scheme was assumed. Time-averaged simulations resulted in an average discharge burnup of 13.0 MWd/kgU. The derived pin power envelope indicated that the peak linear element rating with CANFLEX fuel is 15% less than that obtained with 0.9% SEU 37-element fuel and there is little power boosting at high burnups. Calculated worths of the reactivity devices are sufficient to provide the control and safety requirements for CANFLEX 0.9% SEU fuel in the Wolsung-1 reactor. (Author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) is a 400 Mw(t), loop-type, sodium-cooled, fast neutron reactor. It is operated by the Westinghouse Hanford Company for the United States Department of Energy at Richland, Washington. The FFTF is a multipurpose test reactor used to irradiate fuels and materials for programs such as Liquid Metal Reactor (LMR) research, fusion research, space power systems, isotope production and international research. FFTF is also used for testing concepts to be used in Advanced Reactors which will be designed to maximize passive safety features and not require complex shutdown systems to assure safe shutdown and heat removal. The FFTF also provides experience in the operation and maintenance of a reactor having prototypic components and systems typical of large LMR (LMFBR) power plants. The 5 year operational performance of the FFTF reactor is discussed in this report. 6 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report presents the preliminary findings of the first phase of the Environmental Survey of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research (NIPER), conducted February 29 through March 4, 1988. The Survey is being conducted by an interdisciplinary team of environmental specialists, led and managed by the Office of Environment, Safety and Health's Office of Environmental Audit. Team members are being provided by private contractors. The objective of the Survey is to identify environmental problems and areas of environmental risk associated with NIPER. The Survey covers all environmental media and all areas of environmental regulation. It is being performed in accordance with the DOE Environmental Survey Manual. The on-site phase of the Survey involves the review of existing site environmental data, observations of the operations carried on at NIPER and interviews with site personnel. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) is a safety critical system provided to mitigate the consequence of Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in PHWR. Unlike 220MWe, all header injection has been introduced in 540MWe to simplify the logic. ECCS Integrated Test is schematic approach to establish that ECC system will behave as per design intent during actual LOCA condition. Objective of ECCS Integrated test is to ascertain that various ECC system components operate as intended in design. Additionally, the various system resistances which form the input to LOCA analysis are validated. This test has been carried out by creating actual LOCA during cold and pressurised condition of PHT system to establish all phases of injection with overlap. This paper discusses the results obtained during the Integrated Test and comparison with the prediction during the commissioning of first unit of 540 MWe. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper describes the development and testing of a system to provide isolated power to the cathode-subsystem electronics of an x-ray tube. These components are located at the cathode potential of several hundred kilovolts, requiring a supply of power isolated from this high voltage. In this design a fiber-optically connected photonic power system (PPS) is used to recharge a lithium-ion battery pack, which will subsequently supply power to the cathode-subsystem electronics. The suitability of the commercially available JDSU PPS for this application is evaluated. The output of the ppe converter is characterized. The technical aspects of its use for charging a variety of Li-Ion batteries are discussed. Battery charge protection requirements and safety concerns are also addressed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper shows how molecular theory paves the way for accelerated aging tests of safety-related equipment in nuclear power plants, as required by NRC qualification programs. Arrhenius' model, based on an equation, provides useful information regarding the extent of molecular change as a function of time and temperature. Critical to determining the aging characteristics and qualified life of organic materials is the activation energy concept, which is derived from information gathered when the molecular reaction of the material is documented over the entire life cycle. In accelerated-aging applications, the importance of the model lies in characterizing the chemical related reactions of materials. The problem with the Arrhenius approach is that, in generating a testing period of reasonable duration, a rather high test temperature must be selected which may lead to an added and unrelated environmental effect.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The paper is Part 2 of the study on the thermodynamic and thermoeconomic analyses of trigeneration system with a gas-diesel engine. In Part 1, thermodynamic and thermoeconomic methodologies for such a comprehensive analysis were provided, while this paper applies the developed methodology to an actual TRIGEN system with a rated output of 6.5 MW gas-diesel engine installed in the Eskisehir Industry Estate Zone, Turkey. Energy and exergy efficiencies, equivalent electrical efficiency, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) efficiency, fuel energy saving ratio, fuel exergy saving ratio and other thermodynamic performance parameters are determined for the TRIGEN system. The efficiencies of energy, exergy, PURPA and equivalent electrical efficiency of the entire system are found to be 58.97%, 36.13%, 45.7% and 48.53%, respectively. For the whole system and its components, exergetic cost allocations and various exergoeconomic performance parameters are ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

For InAs-GaAs based quantum dot lasers emitting at 1300 nm, digital modulation showing an open eye pattern up to 12 Gb s{sup -1} at room temperature is demonstrated, at 10 Gb s{sup -1} the bit error rate is below 10{sup -12} at -2 dB m receiver power. Cut-off frequencies up to 20 GHz are realised for lasers emitting at 1.1 {mu}m. Passively mode-locked QD lasers generate optical pulses with repetition frequencies between 5 and 50 GHz, with a minimum Fourier limited pulse length of 3 ps. The uncorrelated jitter is below 1 ps. We use here deeply etched narrow ridge waveguide structures which show excellent performance similar to shallow mesa structures, but a circular far field at a ridge width of 1 {mu}m, improving coupling efficiency into fibres. No beam filamentation of the fundamental mode, low a-factors and strongly reduced sensitivity to optical feedback are observed. QD lasers are thus superior to QW lasers for any system or network. Quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier (QD ...

Science.gov (United States)

This practical guide for the agribusiness manager (the farmer, rancher, and other agribusiness people who work with agricultural commodities, supplies, and services) gives a basic understanding of modern management practices. It provides guidelines that can help them make practical business decisions. Chapter 1 is an introduction that highlights farm management efficiency, decision making, and goals and objectives. The following 11 chapters discuss recordkeeping (importance and purposes of keeping records, types of systems, record book components), financial analysis (cash flow, net worth, income statements and their ratios; whole farm and enterprise analysis; relationships of various analyses), budget analysis (introduction to types and uses of budgets, how to use and analyze a partial budget, enterprise budget and whole farm budget, production principles, cost components), cash flow analysis (projections and analysis, repayment capacity, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The ecological effects of acid mine drainage were investigated during the summer of 1993 on St. Kevin Gulch, a headwater stream near Leadville, Colorado. The stream currently receives acidic water from an abandoned mine. The pH downstream of the mine is between 3.5 and 4.5, and several metals exceed concentrations toxic to aquatic organisms. Zinc is present at especially high concentrations (1 to 10 mg/L) Furthermore, the stream bottom is covered with a thick layer of iron hydroxide precipitates. Effects on stream biota have been dramatic. Aquatic flora in the affected reach is limited to a green filamentous alga, Ulothrix subtilissima. Macroinvertebrate densities are significantly lower in the affected reach (mean = 99 indiv/m"2; SD = 88 indiv/M"2) compared to an upstream (pristine) reference reach (mean = 1,735 indiv/m"2; SD = 652 indiv/M"2). Functional processes were also studied in the stream. Net primary production (NPP) was measured during midday with ...

Science.gov (United States)

We describe the synthesis of metal-chelating polymers (MCPs) with four different pendant polyaminocarboxylate ligands (EDTA, DTPA, TTHA, DOTA) and an orthogonal end-group, either a fluorescein molecule or a bismaleimide linker for antibody attachment. Polymer characterization by a combination of (1)H NMR, UV/vis absorption measurements, and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that each chain of the fluorescein-terminated polymers contained one dye molecule. These polymer samples were loaded with three different types of lanthanide ions as well as palladium and platinum ions. The numbers of metal atoms per chain were determined by a combination of UV/vis and conventional ICP-MS measurements. The experiments with lanthanide ions demonstrated that a net anionic charge on the polymer is important for water solubility. These experiments also showed that at least one type of lanthanide ion (La(3+)) is capable of forming a bimetallic complex with pendant DTPA ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The IAEA Code of Practice on Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants and the corresponding Safety Guides are reviewed and compared with quality assurance (QA) practices in the IAEA Member States. The QA requirements stipulated by the Code place on the nuclear power plant owner the responsibility to establish an overall QA programme for the plant. In selecting the QA programme level for specific activities, the Code allows of a flexible approach but does not specify gradation in programme requirements. The Code is placing the burden of quality-achieving and quality-assuring functions on the task-performing organizations, namely the designers, manufacturers, constructors and plant operators. The plant owner provides for the management of the overall QA programme, surveillance of activities and verifications of the effectiveness of the constituent programmes of all project participants through programme audits and ...

Science.gov (United States)

As part of the Wisconsin road weather safety initiative, the objective of this study is to assess the effects of rainfall on the severity of single-vehicle crashes on Wisconsin interstate highways utilizing polychotomous response models. Weather-related factors considered in this study include estimated rainfall intensity for 15 min prior to a crash occurrence, water film depth, temperature, wind speed/direction, stopping sight distance and deficiency of car-following distance at the crash moment. For locations with unknown weather information, data were interpolated using the inverse squared distance method. Non-weather factors such as road geometrics, traffic conditions, collision types, vehicle types, and driver and temporal attributes were also considered. Two types of polychotomous response models were compared: ordinal logistic and sequential logistic regressions. The sequential logistic regression was tested with forward and backward formats. Comparative ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

To estimate the success criteria of an operator's action time for a probabilistic safety/risk assessment (PSA/PRA) of a nuclear power plant, the information from a safety analysis report (SAR) and/or that by using a simplified simulation code such as the MAAP code has been used in a conventional PSA. However, the information from these is often too conservative to perform a realistic PSA for a risk-informed application. To reduce the undue conservatism, the use of a best-estimate thermal hydraulic code has become an essential issue in the latest PSA and it is now recognized as a suitable tool. In the same context, the 'ASME PRA standard' also recommends the use of a best-estimate code to improve the quality of a PSA. In Korea, a platform to use a best-estimate thermal hydraulic code called the MARS code has been developed for the PSA of the Korea standard nuclear power plant (KSNP). This study has proposed an estimation method for an operator's ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

During 1993 and 1994 a working group of biologists operating in Region Lombardia has carried out a study to evaluate the reliability of artificial substrates in the assessment of water quality by the Extended Biotic Index. Macroinvertebrate samples were collected by means of hand net and artificial substrates (up to 3 replicates) in 22 sampling sites of 15 watercourses of different typology (river, stream, irrigation channel) and water quality. Sampling efficiency and reliability in the calculation of E.B.I. and Quality Class by 1, 2 and 3 artificial substrates with respect to hand net have been evaluated. Influence of water quality, typology and original prevailing substrate in watercourses on the performance of artificial substrates has also been investigated. Results show a good agreement with other Authors' papers, confirming that artificial substrates represent a valid alternative macroinvertebrate sampling technique when traditional hand ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The potential profitability of a horizontal borehole drilling program for recovering methane gas in an Alabama coalbed for 6 yr in advance of mining is estimated in the Bureau of Mines report. A cash flow analysis based on estimated capital investments, annual operating costs, and the selling price of methane gas was used to determine the net income and net cash flow for each year of operation. Subsequently, the annual net cash flows were capitalized to determine the discounted cash flow rate of return. Findings indicate that a 25.08-percent interest rate of return on investment could be realized from the sale of methane gas in excess of 3 billion cubic feet during the years 1985 through 1990 at a minesite price of $2.25/per thousand cubic feet.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) was launched in the year 2000, based on a resolution by the IAEA General Conference (GC(44)/RES/21). INPRO intends to help to ensure that nuclear energy is available in the 21st century in a sustainable manner, and seeks to bring together all interested Member States, both technology holders and technology users, to consider, jointly, actions to achieve desired innovations. INPRO is taking care of the specific needs of developing countries. This IAEA publication is part of Phase 1 of INPRO. It intends to provide an overview on history, present situation and future perspectives of nuclear fuel cycle technologies. While this overview focuses on technical issues, nevertheless, the aspects of economics, environment, and safety and proliferation resistance are important background issues for this study. After a brief description about the INPRO project and an evaluation ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The pollution prevention program operated by the Health Department of Boulder County is called Business Partners for a Clean Environment (Business Partners). It is a cooperative effort among local businesses, the City of Boulder, Boulder County, and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. This nonregulatory, incentive-based program provides industry with pollution prevention information and technical assistance necessary to reduce and/or eliminate environmental waste. This paper provides an overview of the program development, creation of partnerships and trust, and some of the results from implementation of the program. Following the first 18 months of the program, 35 businesses were recognized as Business Partners. The Business Partners program has also received an achievement award from the National Association of Counties for promoting {open_quotes}responsible, responsive, and effective government{close_quotes} and two governor`s awards from the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Heavy Water Reactor Facility (HWRF), as part of the defense-in-depth philosophy to mitigate the effect of design-basis and severe accidents, is equipped with a passive containment cooling system (PCCS). The function of the PCCS is to provide a safety-grade path to the ultimate heat sink for the removal of the reactor coolant system sensible heat and core decay heat. Ambient air enters an annular space between the steel containment shell and the surrounding concrete shield building through inlets in the shield building wall, is heated via natural convection, rises, and exits the building through a chimney located above the containment dome. A test program is in place to access parameters important to the effective operation of the PCCS. This paper focuses on the large-scale tests (LSTs). The objectives of these tests are as follows: (1) demonstrate natural circulation cooling with more prototypic cylinder and dome surface area ratios than ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with future non-nuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program will require the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing program (ASC) is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment and certification, to study advanced ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

On 24th of July 2007 Westinghouse Electric Co. signed landmark contracts with China's State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC), to provide four AP1000 nuclear power plants in China. The AP1000 is a two-loop 1117 MWe Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). It is based on proven technology, but with an emphasis on safety features that rely on natural driving forces, such as pressurized gas, gravity flow, natural circulation flow and convection. Ansaldo Nucleare has provided a significant support to the passive plant technology development and, starting from 2000, is cooperating with Westinghouse to development of the AP1000 Plant. In the frame of the AP1000 Chinese agreement, Ansaldo Nucleare, in Joint Venture with Mangiarotti Nuclear, has signed a contract with Westinghouse for the design and the supply of innovative components to be installed in the first AP1000 unit to be constructed at the Sanmen site. The contract ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A variety of critical experiments were constructed of enriched uranium metal during the 1960s and 1970s at the Oak Ridge Critical Experiments Facility (ORCEF) in support of criticality safety operations at the Y-12 Plant. The purposes of these experiments included the evaluation of storage, casting, and handling limits for the Y-12 Plant and providing data for verification of calculation methods and cross-sections for nuclear criticality safety applications. These included solid cylinders of various diameters, annuli of various inner and outer diameters, two and three interacting cylinders of various diameters, and graphite and polyethylene reflected cylinders and annuli. Of the hundreds of delayed critical experiments, one experiment was comprised of a stack of approximately 7-inch-diameter metal discs. The bottom of the stack consisted of uranium with an approximate height of 4-1/8 inches. The top of the stack consisted ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

During organogenesis, net growth of tissues is determined by a balance between proliferation, hypertrophy, and apoptotic death. Human fetal bladder outflow obstruction is a major cause of end-stage...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Revised neutron fluence and damage values are reported for the MOTA-2A experiment in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). This revision corrects an error with processing of the {sup 235}U(n,f) reaction. Net corrections are on the order of 5%.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

D-galactose, a monosaccharide rapidly phosphorylated within liver cells, is irreversibly removed from the portal circulation. We have studied the kinetic relations between the hepatic cell entry process...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We analyzed prospective data on 17,228 European patients who sought treatment at GeoSentinel sites from 1997 to 2007. Gastrointestinal illness (particularly in tourists), fever (those visiting friends...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The influence of insulin on unidirectional flux of glucose across the blood-brain barrier and on net uptake of glucose by the brain was investigated in seven fasting patients. The unidirectional extraction,...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... dilutions greater than 10 -5 for an end-point. ... Polyvinyl polypyrrolidone (PVPP) (Sigma, P-6755); NET buffer ... The adsorbent celite should prevent filter clogging. ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

One method of increasing juvenile fish escapement from net cod-ends is to encourage fish to approach the netting by placing an active stimulating device (ASD) in the cod-end. Two types of ASD were tested inside model cod-ends to generate variable visual stimuli. One was a free-end flag-like net panel and the other consisted of an array of free-ended ropes. Escape responses of juvenile red seabream were observed in a circulating water channel using a cod-end fitted with the ASD, and they were compared with responses to conventional polyethylene multi-ply, high-contrast cod-ends with and without ASD made from either 28- or 43-mm mesh under three light conditions. With the ASD attached, the retention rate was significantly lower, 20%, than for conventional cod-ends except in dim light with 28...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report presents a study on the use of computerised, continuous remote monitoring systems for fire and explosive atmosphere safety in underground coal mines. The effects of these systems on the safety level in mines are investigated, and the relationship between mine safety regulations and computerised, continuous, remote monitoring is analysed.

Science.gov (United States)

familiarity fire triangle (i.e., fuel, oxidant, and ignition source) are excluded. It Is obvious that for the baseline safety goal for spacecraft this ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards are presented to the Commissioners for their consideration for FY 82 budget for the NRC safety research program.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AECL Publications on Reactor Safety in CANDU Reactors are listed in this bibliography. The listing is chronological and the accompanying index is by subject. The bibliography will be brought up to date annually. (auth).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Information is presented concerning new trends in licensing; seismic considerations and system structural behavior; TMI-2 risk assessment and thermal hydraulics; statistical assessment of potential accidents and verification of computational methods; issues with respect to improved safety; human factors in nuclear power plant operation; diagnostics and activities in support of recovery; LOCA transient analysis; unresolved safety issues and other safety considerations; and fission product transport.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Overall Numbers Small, But Study Finds SSRI Exposure, Autism Link Additional Drug Safety, Efficacy Data Needed for Pediatric Bipolar Disorder SGA Safety and Efficacy in Children and Adolescents Aripiprazole Safety and Tolerability for Irritability in Autism No Lisdexamfetamine Effect on Sleep Disturbances in Children With ADHD Sickle Cell Disease With Comorbid Depression Homeopathy in Psychiatry Manic Symptoms Induced by Marijuana in a Healthy Adolescent New Warnings Safety Labeling Changes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The relations between nuclear energy availability and nuclear plant safety are analyzed in the particular cases of naval propulsion nuclear boilers (aircraft carriers, submarines): safety objectives, present and potential risk analysis, optimization of the availability-safety couple, at the design stage and during operation (procedural rules related to the boiler state, real time decisions). 6 fig., 1 tab.

KoreaScience (Korea)

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The Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs) for the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility define acceptable conditions, safe boundaries, bases thereof, and management or administrative controls required to ensure safe operation. Controls required for public safety, significant defense-in-depth, significant worker safety, and for maintaining radiological and toxicological consequences below risk evaluation guidelines are included.

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Waste management has gone through a history of shifting problems, demands, and strategies over the years. In contrast to the long prevailing view that the problem could be solved by hiding or moving it, waste is now viewed as a problem ranging from local to global concern, and as being an integral part of several sectors in society. Decisive for this view has been society's increasing complexity and thus the increasing complexity of waste, together with a general development of environmental consciousness, moving from local focus on point emission sources, to regional and global issues of more complex nature. This thesis is about the development and application ORWARE; a model for computer aided environmental systems analysis of municipal waste management. Its origin is the hypothesis that widened perspectives are needed in waste management decision-making to avoid severe sub-optimisation of environmental performance. With a strong foundation in life cycle assessment (LCA), ...

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Critics of higher fuel economy standards for vehicles have long argued that improving vehicle fuel economy will require reducing vehicle weight, and that would result in an increase in the number of fatalities from vehicle crashes. Several researchers have estimated that an across-the-board reduction of vehicle weight would reduce passenger safety (Evans 1991; Kahane 1997; U.S. GAO 1994). However, little research has been done on the relationship of vehicle size and fatality rates, independent of weight (see, however, Joksch, Massie, and Pichler 1998). In this report we review previous analyses of the relationship of vehicle weight and safety. We do this to study the opportunities to improve fuel economy in a more sophisticated way than across-the-board mass reduction. The aim is to explore improvements in traffic safety by making selected vehicle groups lighter, and retaining or enlarging selected vehicle dimensions. ...

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The objective of Configuration Risk Management Program(CRMP) is to maintain the safety level by assuring the defense-in-depth of nuclear power plant while the configurations are changed during plant operations, especially for the LP/SD. Such a safety purpose can be achieved by establishing the risk monitoring programs with both quantitative and qualitative features. Generally, the quantitative risk evaluation models, i.e., PRA models are used for the risk evaluation during full power operation, and the qualitative risk evaluation models such as safety function assessment trees are used. Through this study, safety function assessment trees were developed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Development in Instrumentation and Control (I and C) technology provides more convenience and better performance, thus, adopted in many fields. To adopt newly developed technology, nuclear industry requires rigorous V and V procedure and tests to assure reliable operation. Adoption of digital system requires verification and testing of the OS for licensing. Commercial real-time operating system (RTOS) is targeted to apply to various, unpredictable needs, which makes it difficult to verify. For this reason, simple, application-oriented realtime OS is developed for the nuclear application. In this work, we show how to verify the developed RTOS at each development lifecycle. Commercial formal tool is used in specification and verification of the system. Based on the developed model, software in C language is automatically generated. Tests are performed for two purposes; one is to identify consistency between the verified model and the generated code, the other is to ...

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Laser safety standards and eye protection (filters) are designed to limit ocular exposures to prevent retinal lesions, yet eyesafe laser exposures can disrupt vision by causing glare and flashblindness. Protective filters can have opposing effects on vision function. They reduce laser exposures but also reduce task luminance and contrast. Filters alone may interfere with vision and consequently reduce work safety and performance. It is therefore important to be able to predict the effects of both laser exposures and protective filters to assess trade-offs between protection and visual function. This paper briefly reviews the methods, concepts, and experimental database used in our laboratory to predict laser, filter, and laser-plus-filter effects on tasks involving visual detection. The modeling approach uses estimates of the spatial distribution of light in the retinal image of the laser source to predict glare, flashblindness, and retinal ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) is a 400-MW(t) sodium-cooled fast reactor operating at the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory in Richland, Washington, to conduct fuels and materials testing in support of the US liquid-metal fast breeder reactor program. Startup and initial power testing included a comprehensive series of nuclear and nonnuclear tests to verify the thermal and neutronic characteristics of the plant and to demonstrate its inherent safety features. Extensive reactor core characterization measurements were completed to provide the neutron and gamma spectra, fission rates, and other physics data needed to design and evaluate tests irradiated in the FFTF. A specially designed series of natural-circulation tests was performed to demonstrate the inherent safety features of the plant. Early in 1982 the FFTF began its first 100-d irradiation cycle. Since that time the plant has operated beyond expectations; ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The mechanism of action of Clostridium difficile enterotoxin A (CA), of Escherichia coli enterotoxin (STa) and of cholera toxin (CT), which are known to cause severe diarrhea, were studied in a preparation of ligated jejunal loops of anesthetized rats in vivo. The toxins were administered intraluminally. Pharmacological agents, which were tested for their potency to influence toxin-related effects, were administered subcutaneously. Net fluid transport was determined gravimetrically, prostaglandin (PG) E_2-output into the lumen, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) contents in the mucosa were measured by radioimmunoassay, serotonin-(5-HT)-output into the lumen was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The histopathological effects of CA and CT were examined by light- and scanning electron microscopy. All three toxins caused net fluid secretion (FS). 5-HT_2-(ketanserin) and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Short note. The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken aim at critics of irradiated food, claiming that the process has the potential to reduce the incidence of foodborne diseases such as salmonellosis, to cut postharvest food losses and to provide a wider variety of foods for consumers. 'The unwarranted rejection of this process, often based on lack of understanding of what food irradiation entails, may hamper its use in those countries which may benefit most', Dr. Jean-Paul Jardel, WHO's assistant director-general, argued following a recent international conference on the subject. Critics, including Canadians, has opposed food irradiation for years, claiming that more needs to be known about its effects. WHO said the 'vast majority' of the 54 national delegations at the conference supported use of the technology on foods ranging from grain and potatoes to poultry, tropical fruit and strawberries. WHO wants governments to educate the public on the benefits and ...

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A surplus USN 40 mm ammunition can was subjected to a variety of tests. Pressure tests were carried out with nitrogen gas, followed by the venting of actual Li/SO/sub 2/ cells and batteries inside the can. A fire test was also conducted on a can packed with 10 each 10-cell batteries surrounded by vermiculite. Test results indicate the US Navy (USN) 40-mm ammunition can is suitable as a shipping container for Li/SO/sub 2/ batteries on passenger aircraft. To provide a further measure of safety, a sulfur dioxide getter was incorporated into the can. Studies indicated a commercial material, ASC carbon, is suitable for this purpose. The granular material was packaged in porous paper desiccant bags and placed in the can with the batteries and vermiculite. The batteries were vented inside the sealed can and the internal pressure monitored. Pressure returned to normal within several minutes, indicating that this arrangement should prevent sulfur ...

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An assessment of the cooling requirements for fusion reactor components, such as the first wall and limiter/divertor, was carried out using pressurized water as the coolant. In order to establish the coolant operating conditions, a survey of the literature on departure from nucleate boiling, critical heat flux, asymmetrical heating and heat transfer augmentation techniques was carried out. The experimental data and the empirical correlations indicate that thermal protection for the fusion reactor components based on current design concepts can be provided with an adequate margin of safety without resorting to either high coolant velocities, excessive coolant pressures, or heat transfer augmentation techniques. If, however, the future designs require heat transfer enhancement techniques, experimental verification would be necessary since no data on heat transfer augmentation techniques exist for complex geometries, especially under ...

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An assessment of the cooling requirements for fusion reactor components, such as the first wall and limiter/divertor, was carried out using pressurized water as the coolant. In order to establish the coolant operating conditions, a survey of the literature on departure from nucleate boiling, critical heat flux, asymmetrical heating and heat transfer augmentation techniques was carried out. The experimental data and the empirical correlations indicate that thermal protection for the fusion reactor components based on conventional design concepts can be provided with an adequate margin of safety without resorting to either high coolant velocities, excessive coolant pressures, or heat transfer augmentation techniques. If, however, the future designs require unconventional shapes or heat transfer enhancement techniques, experimental verification would be necessary since no data on heat transfer augmentation techniques exist for complex geometries, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metastable austenitic steels show excellent mechanical properties, such as high strength combined with excellent ductility and toughness due to martensitic transformation under mechanical loading (transformation induced plasticity effect). A good energy consumption, and, in the case of high-alloyed metastable austenitic steels, a high corrosion resistance, increase the potential of these materials for diverse applications, also in regard of safety requirements. Up to now, numerous wrought alloys were investigated concerning mechanical behaviour, TRIP-effect, martensitic transformation behaviour and modelling of transformation kinetics or stress-strain behaviour. New high alloyed cast CrMnNi-steels, developed at Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg, provide the chance to reduce processing steps, production time and costs. In order to understand the influence of temperature on the martensitic phase transformation behaviour and therefore on ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This report primarily deals with three issues: the health consequences of the use of ammunition with depleted uranium cores; the health damage that radar staff may have suffered through stray X-radiation; and the way hazardous materials such as asbestos are handled in the German army. As regards uranium ammunition, the present findings suggest that there is neither reason for concern nor blame on anyone. The 31,000 American DU rounds that were fired over Kosovo in 1999 neither pose a health hazard to soldiers nor to the civil population. All that remains is a minimal risk of future groundwater contamination. The radar equipment currently in use in the German army poses no danger to operators, inspectors, service personnel or instructors provided that the relevant safety rules are observed. However, this cannot be said with the same degree of certainty with regard to the equipment used in the 1960s and 1970s. It is quite possible that ...

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More details about the construction of the Terra Nova floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel are provided. The vessel was built in the Daewoo shipyard in South Korea, and is now undergoing final fitting at Bull Arm, near St. John's, Newfoundland. When complete, the vessel will operate 350 km offshore, southeast of St. John's. It is 291 metres long and 45.5 metres wide and has a capacity of 960,000 barrels of oil. Although the FPSO will hold less than half of the last giant supertanker which sailed for Irving Oil, it has a crew of 81, four times the size of the supertanker, reflecting the technical uniqueness of the vessel and the intense pre-occupation with safety associated with the combination of winds, ice, waves, and shallow water around the Grand Banks. Also described is the alliance system of partnership between the oil companies and the main contractors. The deal stipulates that if the project ran ...

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Canisters with spent nuclear fuel can obviously not be located within deformation zones as this might jeopardise their long term mechanical stability and thereby constitute a potential hazard to the biosphere. Less apparent, but equally important, is the fact that earthquakes trigger reactivation, slip, of structures some distance from their hypocentres due to, among many other factors, stress redistribution. Fault slip across a deposition hole might damage the isolation capacity of the canister and thereby jeopardise the overall integrity of the barrier system. Therefore, the following question might be posed: What is the distance from a deformation zone beyond which a canister can be safely emplaced? This respect distance cannot be readily computed because, unknown future events aside, there are some complicated aspects that need to be addressed e.g. degree of conservatism, scale, our ability to model ice sheets and earthquakes, etc. In this report we discuss various aspects of the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The seismic analysis of nuclear island of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was just in accordance with the approaches in RCC-G standard for the model M310 in France, in which the simplified impedance matrix method was employed for the consideration of soil's function. In this paper the more sophisticated 3D half-space continuum impedance method based on the Green functions is used to analyze the function of soil. In addition, multi-group of input time histories was used in the seismic response analysis in the existing design and their average of responses for each group was taken as the design basis. The same multi-group of input time histories was used in the seismic response analysis in this study, but the average and enveloped value of responses for each case are calculated respectively to account for the uncertainty of input motions. Focused on the above two issues, the seismic responses of the reactor building are calculated and the floor response spectra (FRS), a very important ...

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The excellent high temperature strength and thermal conductivity of molybdenum-base alloys provide attractive features for components in advanced magnetic and inertial fusion devices. Refractory metal alloys react readily with oxygen and other gases. Oxidized molybdenum in turn is susceptible to losses from volatile molybdenum trioxide species, MoO{sub 3}(m), in air and the hydroxide, MoO{sub 2}(OH){sub 2}, formed from water vapor. Transport of radioactivity by the volatilization, migration, and re-deposition of these volatile species during a potential accident involving a loss of vacuum or inert environment represents a safety issue. In this report the authors present experimental results on the oxidation, volatilization and re-deposition of molybdenum from TZM in flowing air between 400 and 800 C. These results are compared with calculations obtained from a vaporization mass transfer model using chemical thermodynamic data for vapor ...

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On-board reforming of liquid fuels to hydrogen for use in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) has been the subject of numerous investigations. In many respects, liquid fuels represent a more attractive method of carrying hydrogen than compressed hydrogen itself, promising greater vehicle range, shorter refilling times, increased safety, and perhaps most importantly, utilization of the current fuel distribution infrastructure. The drawbacks of on-board reformers include their inherent complexity [for example a POX reactor includes: a fuel vaporizer, a reformer, water-gas shift reactors, a preferential oxidation (PROX) unit for CO cleanup, heat exchangers for thermal integration, sensors and controls, etc.], weight, and expense relative to compressed H{sub 2}, as well as degraded fuel cell performance due to the presence of inert gases and impurities in the reformate. Partial oxidation (POX) of automotive fuels is another alternative ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

As shown in various new examples, HABOG facility (Netherlands), CERNAVODA (Candu - Romania), KOZLODUY (WWER - Bulgaria), CHERNOBYL ( RMBK - Ukraine), MAYAK (Spent Fuel from submarine and Icebreakers - Russia), recent studies allow to confirm the flexibility and performances of the CASCAD system proposed by SGN, both in safety and operability, for the dry storage of main kinds of spent fuel. The main features are: A multiple containment barrier system: as required by international regulation, 2 independent barriers are provided (tight canister and storage pit); Passive cooling, while the Fuel Assemblies are stored in an inert atmosphere and under conditions of temperature preventing from degradation of rod cladding; Sub-criticality controlled by adequate arrangements in any conditions; Safe facility meeting ICPR 60 Requirements as well as all applicable regulations (including severe weather conditions and earthquake); Safe handling operations; ...

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This Public Design Report provides, in a single document, available nonproprietary design -information for the ``Innovative Coke Oven Gas Cleaning System for Retrofit Applications`` Demonstration Project at Bethlehem Steel Corporation`s Sparrows Point, Maryland coke oven by-product facilities. This project demonstrates, for the first time in the United States, the feasibility of integrating four commercially available technologies (processes) for cleaning coke oven gas. The four technologies are: Secondary Gas Cooling, Hydrogen Sulfide and Ammonia Removal, Hydrogen Sulfide and Ammonia Recovery, and Ammonia Destruction and Sulfur Recovery. In addition to the design aspects, the history of the project and the role of the US Department of,Energy are briefly discussed. Actual plant capital and projected operating costs are also presented. An overview of the integration (retrofit) of the processes into the existing plant is presented and is followed by detailed ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recent seizures of nuclear materials, and particularly of fissionable nuclear materials, have resulted in an increased awareness of the need for fieldable instrumentation for the detection and characterization of suspect packages and materials. The ability to perform in-field assessments of materials contained in suspect packages is important for several reasons. First, and most importantly, determination of the type and quantity of material provides information critical to personnel safety. The personnel at potential risk may include both the general population in the area of the package and incident response personnel. Additionally, it would be advantageous to gain information that could result in attribution of the suspect package to a particular facility or pathway as soon as possible after interception. Limited access to a suspect package could also require the use of fieldable characterization instrumentation as opposed to transporting ...

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The Hebron offshore drilling project in Atlantic Canada was discontinued in 2002 due to economic challenges. Chevron-Texaco has conducted small-scale studies to find ways to improve the project's viability. One of the main challenges facing this offshore drilling project is the issue of iceberg scour and its effect on seafloor equipment. This paper demonstrates how advances in ice engineering have resulted in new and cost-effective development concepts for: central gravity base structures; wellhead gravity base structures; floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) subsea facilities; and, long subsea tieback and trench optimization. New studies have provided a better understanding of ice contact pressures, drift velocities, iceberg management and interaction processes. New designs for gravity base structures can reduce wave loads. The selection of a new development concept is determined by economic viability, capital cost, operability, technical ...

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This technology development plan is designed to provide a clear understanding of the research and development direction necessary for the qualification of nuclear grade graphite for use within the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) reactor. The NGNP will be a helium gas cooled Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) with a large graphite core. Graphite physically contains the fuel and comprises the majority of the core volume. Considerable effort will be required to ensure that the graphite performance is not compromised during operation. Based upon the perceived requirements the major data needs are outlined and justified from the perspective of reactor design, reatcor performance, or the reactor safety case. The path forward for technology development can then be easily determined for each data need. How the data will be obtained and the inter-relationships between the experimental and modeling activities will define the technology development ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) is a liquid-metal-cooled test reactor located on the Hanford Site. The FFTF is the only reactor of this type designed and operated with the intent of meeting the licensing requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Unique characteristics of the FFTF that present special challenges related to leak rate testing include thin wall containment vessel construction, cover gas systems that penetrate containment, and a low-pressure design basis accident. The successful completion in 1986 of the third FFTF Integrated Leak Rate Test (ILRT) five days ahead of schedule and 10% under budget was a major achievement for the Westinghouse Hanford Company. The success of this operational safety test was due in large part to a special local area network (LAN) of three IBM PC/XT computers that monitored the sensor data, calculated the containment vessel leak rate, and displayed test results. The multiple computer configuration allowed ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This document defines the quality assurance requirements for the US Department of Energy-Richland Operations Office Environmental Restoration Remedial Action program at the Hanford Site. The Environmental Restoration Remedial Action program implements significant commitments made by the US Department of Energy in the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order entered into with the Washington State Department of Ecology and the US Environmental Protection Agency. This document combines quality assurance requirements from various source documents into one set of requirements for use by the US Department of Energy-Richland Operations Office and other Environmental Restoration Remedial Action program participants. This document will serve as the basis for developing Quality Assurance Program Plans and implementing procedures by the participants. The requirements of this document will be applied to activities affecting quality, using a graded approach based on the importance of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Application of Programmable Digital Comparator System (PDCS) in NPP is to monitor large number of plant parameters and generate contact outputs for reactor trip, reactor setback, process interlocks etc. when parameters cross their operational bounds. Till NAPS these functions are achieved through individual Indicating Alarm Meters (IAM). PDCS used for the first time in KAPS replaces these IAMs. Since its inception, PDCS has undergone improvements in design, incorporates additional functionalities/enhanced features. Dedicated PDCS is provided in TAPP-3 and 4 for protection function. System re-configurability, on-line inter channel comparison of safety critical process parameters' values, Graphic User Interface etc. are other enhancements. From KAPS to TAPP-4 system has given many years of almost trouble-free operation. Commissioning of TAPP-3 system has been very smooth. Objective of the paper is to describe the advantage of the new system, its ...

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Production of hydrogen sulfide in produced waters due to the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is a potentially serious problem. The hydrogen sulfide is not only a safety and environmental concern, it also contributes to corrosion, solids formation, a reduction in produced oil and gas values, and limitations on water discharge. Waters produced from seawater-flooded reservoirs typically contain all of the nutrients required to support SRB metabolism. Surface processing facilities provide a favorable environment in which SRB flourish, converting water-borne nutrients into biomass and H{sub 2}S. This paper will present results from a field trial in which a new technology for the biochemical control of SRB metabolism was successfully applied. A slip stream of water downstream of separators on a produced water handling facility was routed through a bioreactor in a side-steam device where microbial growth was allowed to develop fully. This ...

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Debris coolability in the lower plenum of the reactor pressure vessel is an important factor for evaluation of debris in-vessel retention. The debris coolability analysis module is developed for the accurate prediction of the safety margin of the present reactor vessels in a severe accident. The module calculates debris spreading and cooling through melting and solidification in combination with a temperature distribution and failure evaluation of the vessel wall. Debris spreading is solved by the explicit method on a quasi-three-dimensional scheme and debris coolability is solved on the basis of natural convection analysis. The calculation for spreading is compared with a water spreading experiment on the floor and the calculation for coolability is compared with a n-octadecane melting experiment in a rectangular vessel. The comparisons show capabilities for predictions of spearhead transportation in the debris spreading process and of melting front transportation ...

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