Transport device for nuclear fuel powder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adelmann, M.

1987-01-01

The transport device for nuclear fuel powder, which does not disintegrate during transport, has a transport pipe which starts with its entry end from the floor or a closed container and opens with its outlet end at the top into a closed separation container connect via a powder filter to a suction pump. By alternate regular opening and closing of a first control valve for transport gas fitted to a transport pipe to a supply duct and a second control valve for transport gas fitted to the container to an additional supply duct, alternating plugs of nuclear fuel powder and transport gas cushions are formed and are transported to the outlet end of the transport pipe. (orig./HP) [de

Transportation of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brobst, W.A.

1977-01-01

Twenty years of almost accident-free transport of nuclear materials is pointed to as evidence of a fundamentally correct approach to the problems involved. The increased volume and new technical problems in the future will require extension of these good practices in both regulations and packaging. The general principles of safety in the transport of radioactive materials are discussed first, followed by the transport of spent fuel and of radioactive waste. The security and physical protection of nuclear shipments is then treated. In discussing future problems, the question of public understanding and acceptance is taken first, thereafter transport safeguards and the technical bases for the safety regulations. There is also said to be a need for a new technology for spent fuel casks, while a re-examination of the IAEA transport standards for radiation doses is recommended. The IAEA regulations regarding quality assurance are said to be incomplete, and more information is required on correlations between engineering analysis, scale model testing and full scale crash testing. Transport stresses on contents need to be considered while administrative controls have been neglected. (JIW)

Transport Properties in Nuclear Pasta

Science.gov (United States)

Caplan, Matthew; Horowitz, Charles; Berry, Donald; da Silva Schneider, Andre

2016-09-01

At the base of the inner crust of neutron stars, where matter is near the nuclear saturation density, nuclear matter arranges itself into exotic shapes such as cylinders and slabs, called `nuclear pasta.' Lepton scattering from these structures may govern the transport properties of the inner crust; electron scattering from protons in the pasta determines the thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as the shear viscosity of the inner crust. These properties may vary in pasta structures which form at various densities, temperatures, and proton fractions. In this talk, we report on our calculations of lepton transport in nuclear pasta and the implication for neutron star observables.

Next nuclear gamble: transportation and storage of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Resnikoff, M.

1983-01-01

Accidents during transport of nuclear waste are more threatening - though less likely - than a reactor meltdown because transportation accidents could occur in the middle of a populous city, affecting more people and property than a plant accident, according to the Council on Economic Priorities, a non-profit public service research organization. Transportation, as presently practiced, is unsafe. Shipping containers, called casks, are poorly designed and constructed, CEP says. The problem needs attention because the number of casks filled with nuclear waste on the nation's highways could increase a hundred times during the next 15 years under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, which calls for storage areas. Recommendations, both technical and regulatory, for reducing the risks are presented

Transport insurance of unirradiated nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matto, H.

1985-01-01

Special conditions must be taken into account in transport insurance for nuclear materials even if the nuclear risk involved is negligible, as in shipments of unirradiated nuclear fuels. The shipwreck of the 'Mont Louis' has raised a number of open points which must be solved pragmatically within the framework of transport insurance. Some proposals are outlined in the article. (orig.) [de

Nuclear fuel transport and particularly spent fuel transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenail, B.

1986-01-01

Nuclear material transport is an essential activity for COGEMA linking the different steps of the fuel cycle transport systems have to be safe and reliable. Spent fuel transport is more particularly examined in this paper because the development of reprocessing plant. Industrial, techmical and economical aspects are reviewed [fr

Update of Nuclear Waste Policy Act transportation activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callaghan, E.F.

1987-01-01

As directed by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), the Department of Energy (DOE) is developing a nationwide system for transporting spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from commercial power plants to deep geologic repositories for disposal. Plans for the transportation system will consider the following factors: the President's 1985 decision to co-locate some defense high-level waste with commercial waste in a repository, the NWPA requirement that the private sector be used to the fullest extent possible in developing and operating the system, and the possible approval by Congress of the DOE's proposal for a Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) facility, submitted in March 1987. (The MRS, if approved, would provide for the consolidation, packaging, and perhaps the temporary storage of spent fuel from reactors.) The ''Transportation Business Plan'', published in January 1986, reflects these considerations. The transportation system, when operational, will consist of two elements: (1) the cask system, which includes the transportation casks, the vehicular conveyances, tie-downs, and associated equipment for handling the casks; and (2) the transportation support system which is comprised of facilities, equipment, and services to support waste transportation. Development of the transportation system incorporates the following work elements: operational planning, support systems development, cash system development, systems analysis, and institutional activities. This paper focusses on the technical aspects of the system

Nuclear transport in Entamoeba histolytica: knowledge gap and therapeutic potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Gwairgi, Marina A; Ghildyal, Reena

2018-03-22

Entamoeba histolytica is the protozoan parasite that causes human amoebiasis. It is one of the leading parasitic disease burdens in tropical regions and developing countries, with spread to developed countries through migrants from and travellers to endemic regions. Understanding E. histolytica's invasion mechanisms requires an understanding of how it interacts with external cell components and how it engulfs and kills cells (phagocytosis). Recent research suggests that optimal phagocytosis requires signalling events from the cell surface to the nucleus via the cytoplasm, and the induction of several factors that are transported to the plasma membrane. Current research in other protozoans suggests the presence of proteins with nuclear localization signals, nuclear export signals and Ran proteins; however, there is limited literature on their functionality and their functional similarity to higher eukaryotes. Based on learnings from the development of antivirals, nuclear transport elements in E. histolytica may present viable, specific, therapeutic targets. In this review, we aim to summarize our limited knowledge of the eukaryotic nuclear transport mechanisms that are conserved and may function in E. histolytica.

Legal aspects of transport of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobsson, Mans.

The Paris Convention and the Brussels Supplementary Convention are briefly discussed and other conventions in the field of civil liability for nuclear damage are mentioned: the Vienna Convention, the Nuclear Ships Convention and the 1971 Convention relating to civil liability in the field of maritime carriage of nuclear material. Legislation on civil liability in the Nordic countries, which is based on the Paris Convention and the Supplementary Convention is discussed, notably the principle of channelling of liability and exceptions from that principle due to rules of liability in older transport conventions and certain problems due to the limited geographical scope of the Paris Convention and the Supplementary Convention. Insurance problems arising in connection with transport of nuclear materials are surveyed and an outline is given of the administrative provisions concerning transport (based on the IAEA transport regulations) which govern transport of radioactive materials by different means: road, rail, sea and air. Finally, the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is discussed. (NEA) [fr

Rules specific to nuclear incidence occurring in installations or during transport of nuclear substances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocamora, P.

1976-01-01

International nuclear third party liability conventions deal in depth with the liability system governing the transport of nuclear substances. Without appropriate legislation, international transport would be likely to meet very serious legal difficulties. The rule of nuclear conventions apply the same system to transport as to nuclear installations and mainly enable a determination of the operator liable. They also allow the person responsible for transport to assume liability therefor in place of the operator who whould normally have been liable. These nuclear conventions do not affect application of international transport conventions and this provision has been the cause of serious difficulties regarding maritime transport. This resulted in the adoption in 1971 in Brussels of a convention relating to civil liability in the field of maritime carriage of nuclear material. The purpose of this convention is to establish in the field of maritime transport, the priority of the system of absolute, exclusive and limited liability in the nuclear conventions. (NEA) [fr

The eyes, ears and collective voice for nuclear transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, L.

2000-01-01

Transport is a vital part of the nuclear industry and the safety record of radioactive materials transport across the world is excellent. This record is due primarily to well-founded regulations developed by such intergovernmental organisations as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Maritime Organisation. It is due, also, to the professionalism of those in the industry. Attitudes to nuclear transport are important. They have the potential, if not heeded, and not responded to sensitively and convincingly to make life very much more difficult for those committed to the safe, reliable and efficient transport of nuclear materials. What is required is a balanced situation, which takes account both of the public's attitudes and industry's need for an efficient operation. The voices of the nuclear transport industry and those who value the industry need to be heard. The World Nuclear Transport Institute was established to provide the nuclear transport industry with the collective eyes, ears and voice in the key intergovernmental organisations which are so important to it. The nuclear transport industry has a safety record which could be regarded as a model for the transport of dangerous goods of all kinds. The industry is situated within a comprehensive and strict regime of national and international standards and regulations. That is the message to be disseminated, and that is the commitment of the World Nuclear Transport Institute as it works to protect and to promote the safe, efficient and reliable transport of radioactive materials. (author)

Public and media acceptance of nuclear materials transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindeman, E.

1999-01-01

Transport is absolutely essential to the continued existence of a nuclear industry that includes large-scale power generation, sophisticated research, and medicine. Indeed, transport of nuclear materials is hardly a new business. What is new is the public's awareness and distrust of this transport - a distrust fuelled by the well-funded and skilled manipulation of the nuclear industry's detractors. The nuclear industry itself has only recently begun to acknowledge the importance and the implications of transport. This paper looks at the public and media response to the European-Japanese and the US Department of Energy's transport campaigns and quotes from several telling newspaper articles. It emphasizes the need for the nuclear industry to continue to be vigilant in its efforts to reach the public, media and governments with good science, openness and well-communicated facts. (author)

Transport of nuclear substances in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faille, S. [Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2015-07-01

CNSC Regulates all Nuclear-related facilities and activities including Uranium mines and mill;, uranium fuel fabrication and processing; nuclear power plants; nuclear substance processing; industrial and medical applications; nuclear research and education; transport; export/import control; security and safeguards and waste management facilities. Our mandate is to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians and the environment, and implement Canada's International commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public. Based on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, 1996 Edition, Revised and currently being revised to reflect the 2012 edition of the IAEA Regulations.

Transport of nuclear substances in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faille, S.

2015-01-01

CNSC Regulates all Nuclear-related facilities and activities including Uranium mines and mill;, uranium fuel fabrication and processing; nuclear power plants; nuclear substance processing; industrial and medical applications; nuclear research and education; transport; export/import control; security and safeguards and waste management facilities. Our mandate is to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians and the environment, and implement Canada's International commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public. Based on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material, 1996 Edition, Revised and currently being revised to reflect the 2012 edition of the IAEA Regulations.

Ordinance concerning the filing of transport of nuclear fuel materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

This Order provides provisions concerning nuclear fuel substances requiring notification (nuclear fuel substance, material contaminated with nuclear fuel substances, fissionable substances, etc.), procedure for notification (to prefectural public safety commission), certificate of transpot (issued via public safety commission), instructions (speed of vehicle for transporting nuclear fuel substances, parking of vehicle, place for loading and unloading of nuclear fuel substances, method for loading and unloading, report to police, measures for disaster prevention during transport, etc.), communication among members of public safety commission (for smooth transport), notification of alteration of data in transport certificate (application to be submitted to public safety commission), application of reissue of transport certificate, return of transport certificate, inspection concerning transport (to be performed by police), submission of report (to be submitted by refining facilities manager, processing facilities manager, nuclear reactor manager, master of foreign nuclear powered ship, reprocessing facilities manager, waste disposal facilities manager; concerning stolen or missing nuclear fuel substances, traffic accident, unusual leakage of nuclear fuel substances, etc.). (Nogami, K.)

COPI-mediated retrograde trafficking from the Golgi to the ER regulates EGFR nuclear transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Ying-Nai; Wang, Hongmei; Yamaguchi, Hirohito; Lee, Hong-Jen; Lee, Heng-Huan; Hung, Mien-Chie

2010-01-01

Research highlights: → ARF1 activation is involved in the EGFR transport to the ER and the nucleus. → Assembly of γ-COP coatomer mediates EGFR transport to the ER and the nucleus. → Golgi-to-ER retrograde trafficking regulates nuclear transport of EGFR. -- Abstract: Emerging evidence indicates that cell surface receptors, such as the entire epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family, have been shown to localize in the nucleus. A retrograde route from the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is postulated to be involved in the EGFR trafficking to the nucleus; however, the molecular mechanism in this proposed model remains unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that membrane-embedded vesicular trafficking is involved in the nuclear transport of EGFR. Confocal immunofluorescence reveals that in response to EGF, a portion of EGFR redistributes to the Golgi and the ER, where its NH 2 -terminus resides within the lumen of Golgi/ER and COOH-terminus is exposed to the cytoplasm. Blockage of the Golgi-to-ER retrograde trafficking by brefeldin A or dominant mutants of the small GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor, which both resulted in the disassembly of the coat protein complex I (COPI) coat to the Golgi, inhibit EGFR transport to the ER and the nucleus. We further find that EGF-dependent nuclear transport of EGFR is regulated by retrograde trafficking from the Golgi to the ER involving an association of EGFR with γ-COP, one of the subunits of the COPI coatomer. Our findings experimentally provide a comprehensive pathway that nuclear transport of EGFR is regulated by COPI-mediated vesicular trafficking from the Golgi to the ER, and may serve as a general mechanism in regulating the nuclear transport of other cell surface receptors.

The sea transport of irradiated nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, M.L.

1995-01-01

The paper describes the development of a transport system dedicated to the sea transport of irradiated nuclear fuel. It reviews the background to why shipments were required and the establishment of a specialist shipping company, Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited. A description of the ships, flasks and other equipment utilized is provided, together with details of key procedures implemented to ensure safety and customer satisfaction

Nuclear transports. Unpopular as never before?; Nukleartransporte. Ungeliebter denn je?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feldmann, Ulrike

2014-11-15

Since many years there are initiatives in cities with large German seaports to prevent nuclear transports through the cities and transshipment at these harbours. Through the reactor accident in Fukushima and the Federal Government's decision 2011 to opt out, initiatives against nuclear transports seem to have gotten fresh wind in their sails. This is indicated by initiatives in Bremen and Hamburg. Though, to protect health and material goods from hazards and harmful ionising radiation, transportation of radioactive material is regulated by nuclear law as well as traffic law, enactments, guidelines, standards and recommendations, nationally and internationally. These regulations have contributed to the fact that nuclear material has been transported worldwide routinely without harm for the past five decades with an average of roughly 20 million nuclear material transports per year. These attempts disregard that about 95 % of all nuclear transports is not caused by the nuclear energy industry. We should stop demonising nuclear transports and rather acknowledge that they are necessary part of our everyday life.

Nuclear transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2002-01-01

During September and October 2001, 1 event has been reported and classified at the first level of the INES scale. This incident concerns the violation of the European regulation that imposes to any driver of radioactive matter of being the holder of a certificate asserting that he attended a special training. During this period, 13 in-site inspections have been made in places related to nuclear transport. (A.C.)

Liability and insurance aspects of international transport of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

van Gijn, S.H.

1985-01-01

The Paris and Vienna Conventions do not affect the application of any international transport agreement already in force. However, in certain circumstances both the nuclear operator and the carrier may be held liable for nuclear damage which arises during international transports of nuclear materials. The ensuing cumulation of liabilities under the Nuclear and Transport Conventions may cause serious problems in obtaining adequate insurance cover for such transports. The 1971 Brussels Convention seeks to solve this problem by exonerating any person who might be held liable for nuclear damage under an international maritime convention or national law. Similar difficulties are encountered in the case of transports of nuclear materials between states which have and states which have not ratified the Paris and Vienna Conventions. (NEA) [fr

Nuclear critical safety analysis for UX-30 transport of freight package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quan Yanhui; Zhou Qi; Yin Shenggui

2014-01-01

The nuclear critical safety analysis and evaluation for UX-30 transport freight package in the natural condition and accident condition were carried out with MONK-9A code and MCNP code. Firstly, the critical benchmark experiment data of public in international were selected, and the deflection and subcritical limiting value with MONK-9A code and MCNP code in calculating same material form were validated and confirmed. Secondly, the neutron efficiency multiplication factors in the natural condition and accident condition were calculated and analyzed, and the safety in transport process was evaluated by taking conservative suppose of nuclear critical safety. The calculation results show that the max value of k eff for UX-30 transport freight package is less than the subcritical limiting value, and the UX-30 transport freight package is in the state of subcritical safety. Moreover, the critical safety index (CSI) for UX-30 package can define zero based on the definition of critical safety index. (authors)

Transportation of nuclear materials: the nuclear focus of the 80's

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyers, S.; Hardin, E.C. Jr.; Jefferson, R.M.

1980-01-01

The transport of radioactive material has been carried out since the inception of the nuclear age (over 30 years) with an unparralled safety record. Despite these achievements, there is a need to strive for improvements, to develop safer and more efficient transportation systems, moreover to perform these tasks in a highly visible manner so that public concern can be allayed. But, in the same vein that the past record is not of itself sufficient, neither is public participation the solution to all the issues surrounding the transportation of radioactive materials. The solutions to the problems facing the nuclear transport industry involve many disciplines, much of which rest on a foundation of sound technology. This conference is built around a core of papers on the developing technology of nuclear transportation: on systems, their design and development, their manufacturing processes, their operation and the methodologies of quality assurance in each of these activities. The role of IAEA in the collecting of data to compile information on the flow of radioactive materials, the mode of transport and the corresponding accident/incident experience, as well as its role in initiating a program to develop a worldwide uniform methodology to address the risks of transporting radioactive materials are covered in this symposium

Analysis of NEPA/CEQ requirements with respect to nuclear materials transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, K.E.L.; Welles, B.W.; Pellettieri, M.W.

1983-01-01

This paper examines the responsibility of federal agencies concerned with nuclear materials transportation decisions that come within the scope of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the requirements established by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Two of the case histories presented in this paper focus on actions taken by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). A third case history, in which the limits of environmental impact are judicially redefined, presents an analysis of NEPA application in an NRC licensing action. The decision by the US Supreme Court (April 19, 1983) disallowed psychological stress as a factor to be required in environmental analysis of federal actions. The review by the Supreme Court of environmental impact considerations required under NEPA is clearly transferable to federal actions involving transportation of nuclear materials. Of interest in these examples is the application of NEPA requirements for worst-case analysis and the employment of the rule of reason by a federal agency to determine the limits of its NEPA obligations

GLONASS satellite monitoring of nuclear transports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davydov, Yu.L.

2012-01-01

In 2011 Rosatom has made the decision to create the industry-wide automated system for monitoring of transports of radioactive substances (RS) and wastes (RAW), as well as hazardous loads by rail and automobile, based upon the same hardware as used by the GLONASS satellite navigation system - the so-called ASBT-GLONASS system. The new system will use the same technical infrastructure as the existing operational Automated System for Safe Transport of Nuclear Materials of Categories I and II (ASBT). The ASBT structure includes a network of control centres fitted with automation and communication hardware. In addition, ASBT includes technical complexes installed upon transport vehicles intended for nuclear material transport. In order to identify transport vehicle location, the GLONASS/GPS (GALS-P-ASBT) satellite navigational receiver device is used, it is developed especially for ASBT systems taking in account information security requirements. By now the basic software and hardware complex ASBT-GLONASS has been created (equipment to be carried on-board the transport vehicle loaded with RS and RAW, as well as the transport control stations) that supports transport monitoring and transmission of an emergency signal to control stations of companies which deal with RS and RAW transportation [ru

Analysis of the transportation logistics for spent nuclear fuel in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyo Jik; Ko, Won Il; Seo, Ki Seok

2010-01-01

As a part of the back-end fuel cycle, transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from nuclear power plants (NPP s ) to a fuel storage facility is very important in establishing a nuclear fuel cycle. In Korea, the accumulated amount of SNF in the NPP pools is troublesome since the temporary storage facilities at these NPP pools are expected to be full of SNF within ten years. Therefore, Korea cannot help but plan for the construction of an interim storage facility to solve this problem in the near future. Especially, a decision on several factors, such as where the interim storage facility should be located, how many casks a transport ship can carry at a time and how many casks are initially required, affect the configuration of the transportation system. In order to analyze the various possible candidate scenarios, we assumed four cases for the interim storage facility location, three cases for the load capacity that a transport ship can carry and two cases for the total amount of casks used for transportation. First, this study considered the currently accumulated amount of SNF in Korea, and the amount of SNF generated from NPP s until all NPP s are shut down. Then, how much SNF per year must be transported from theNPP s to an interim storage facility was calculated during an assumed transportation period. Second, 24 candidate transportation scenarios were constructed by a combination of the decision factors. To construct viable yearly transportation schedules for the selected 24 scenarios, we created a spreadsheet program named TranScenario, which was developed by using MS EXCEL. TranScenario can help schedulers input shipping routes and allocate transportation casks. Also,TranScenario provides information on the cask distribution in the NPP s and in the interim storage facility automatically, by displaying it in real time according to the shipping routes, cask types and cask numbers that the user generates. Once a yearly transportation schedule is established

NMTC/JAM, Simulates High Energy Nuclear Reactions and Nuclear-Meson Transport Processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furihata, Shiori

2002-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: NMTC/JAM is an upgraded version of the code system NMTC/JAERI97. NMTC/JAERI97 simulates high energy nuclear reactions and nucleon-meson transport processes. It implements an intra-nuclear cascade model taking account of the in-medium nuclear effects and the pre-equilibrium calculation model based on the exciton one. For treating the nucleon transport process, the nucleon-nucleus cross sections are revised to those derived by the systematics of Pearlstein. Moreover, the level density parameter derived by Ignatyuk is included as a new option for particle evaporation calculation. A geometry package based on the Combinatorial Geometry with multi-array system and the importance sampling technique is implemented in the code. Tally function is also employed for obtaining such physical quantities as neutron energy spectra, heat deposition and nuclide yield without editing a history file. The code can simulate both the primary spallation reaction and the secondary particle transport in the intermediate energy region from 20 MeV to 3.5 GeV by the use of the Monte Carlo technique. The code has been employed in combination with the neutron-photon transport codes available to the energy region below 20 MeV for neutronics calculation of accelerator-based subcritical reactors, analyses of thick target spallation experimented and so on. 2 - Methods: High energy nuclear reactions induced by incident high energy protons, neutrons and pions are simulated with the Monte Carlo Method by the intra-nuclear nucleon-nucleon reaction probabilities based on an intra-nuclear nucleon cascade model followed by the particle evaporation including high energy fission process. Jet-Aa Microscopic transport model (JAM) is employed to simulate high energy nuclear reactions in the energy range of GeV. All reaction channels are taken into account in the JAM calculation. An intra-nuclear cascade model (ISOBAR code) taking account of the in-medium nuclear effects

Energetics of Transport through the Nuclear Pore Complex

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ghavami, Ali; van der Giessen, Erik; Onck, Patrick R

2016-01-01

Molecular transport across the nuclear envelope in eukaryotic cells is solely controlled by the nuclear pore complex (NPC). The NPC provides two types of nucleocytoplasmic transport: passive diffusion of small molecules and active chaperon-mediated translocation of large molecules. It has been shown

Nuclear materials transport in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korycanek, J.

1990-01-01

About 1.5 million tons of uranium ore, 8000 tons of uranium concentrate, 1000 tons of UF 6 , 340 spent fuel containers, and 30 000 m 3 of nuclear wastes are transported annually by trucks, trains and ships in France. Annual costs of this transportation amount to 500-600 million FRF, and about 200 employees are engaged in this activity. Transportation of spent fuel to the La Hague and Marcoule fuel reprocessing plants, and the transport of plutonium are dealt with in detail. (Z.M.). 5 figs., 1 ref

Spatiotemporal Regulation of Nuclear Transport Machinery and Microtubule Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Okada, Naoyuki; Sato, Masamitsu

2015-01-01

Spindle microtubules capture and segregate chromosomes and, therefore, their assembly is an essential event in mitosis. To carry out their mission, many key players for microtubule formation need to be strictly orchestrated. Particularly, proteins that assemble the spindle need to be translocated at appropriate sites during mitosis. A small GTPase (hydrolase enzyme of guanosine triphosphate), Ran, controls this translocation. Ran plays many roles in many cellular events: nucleocytoplasmic shuttling through the nuclear envelope, assembly of the mitotic spindle, and reorganization of the nuclear envelope at the mitotic exit. Although these events are seemingly distinct, recent studies demonstrate that the mechanisms underlying these phenomena are substantially the same as explained by molecular interplay of the master regulator Ran, the transport factor importin, and its cargo proteins. Our review focuses on how the transport machinery regulates mitotic progression of cells. We summarize translocation mechanisms governed by Ran and its regulatory proteins, and particularly focus on Ran-GTP targets in fission yeast that promote spindle formation. We also discuss the coordination of the spatial and temporal regulation of proteins from the viewpoint of transport machinery. We propose that the transport machinery is an essential key that couples the spatial and temporal events in cells. PMID:26308057

Transportation cost of nuclear off-peak power for hydrogen production based on water electrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Saburo; Ueno, Shuichi

2004-01-01

The paper describes transportation cost of the nuclear off-peak power for a hydrogen production based on water electrolysis in Japan. The power could be obtainable by substituting hydropower and/or fossil fueled power supplying peak and middle demands with nuclear power. The transportation cost of the off-peak power was evaluated to be 1.42 yen/kWh when an electrolyser receives the off-peak power from a 6kV distribution wire. Marked reduction of the cost was caused by the increase of the capacity factor. (author)

Transportation risks in the US nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rhoads, R.E.; Andrews, W.B.

1980-01-01

Estimated risks associated with accidental releases of materials transported for each step of the nuclear fuel cycle are presented. The risk estimates include both immediate and latent fatilities caused by releases of these materials in transportation accidents. Studies of the risk of transporting yellowcake, fresh nuclear and low level wastes from the front end of the fuel cycle have not been completed. Existing information does permit estimates of the risks to be made. The estimates presented result from the very low hazards associated with release of these materials. These estimates are consistent with the results of other studies. The results show that risks from all the fuel cycle transportation steps are low. The results also indicate that the total transportation risks associated with the nuclear fuel cycle are distributed about evenly between the fuel supply end and waste management end of the cycle. Risks in the front end of the cycle result primarily from the chemical toxicity of the materials transported. The results of the risk analysis studies for transportation of nuclear fuel cycle materials are compared with the results for the three studies that have been completed for non-nuclear systems. The risk analysis methodology used in these studies identifies the complete spectrum of potential accident consequences and estimates the probability of events producing that level of consequence. The maximum number of fatalities predicted for each material is presented. A variety of risk measures have been used because of the inherent difficulties in making risk comparisons. Examination of a number of risk measures can provide additional insights and help guard against conclusions that are dependent on the way the risk information has been developed and displayed. The results indicate that the risks from transporting these materials are all relatively low in comparison to other risks in society

Experience of air transport of nuclear fuel material as type A package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawasaki, Masashi; Kageyama, Tomio; Suzuki, Toru

2004-01-01

Special law on nuclear disaster countermeasures (hereafter called as to nuclear disaster countermeasures low) that is domestic law for dealing with measures for nuclear disaster, was enforced in June, 2000. Therefore, nuclear enterprise was obliged to report accidents as required by nuclear disaster countermeasures law, besides meeting the technical requirement of existent transport regulation. For overseas procurement of plutonium reference materials that are needed for material accountability, A Type package must be transported by air. Therefore, concept of air transport of nuclear fuel materials according to the nuclear disaster countermeasures law was discussed, and the manual including measures against accident in air transport was prepared for the oversea procurement. In this presentation, the concept of air transport of A Type package containing nuclear fuel materials according to the nuclear disaster countermeasures law, and the experience of a transportation of plutonium solution from France are shown. (author)

Regulation on the transport of nuclear fuel materials by vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

The regulations applying to the transport of nuclear fuel materials by vehicles, mentioned in the law for the regulations of nuclear source materials, nuclear fuel materials and reactors. The transport is for outside of the factories and the site of enterprises by such modes of transport as rail, trucks, etc. Covered are the following: definitions of terms, places of fuel materials handling, loading methods, limitations on mix loading with other cargo, radiation dose rates concerning the containers and the vehicles, transport indexes, signs and indications, limitations on train linkage during transport by rail, security guards, transport of empty containers, etc. together with ordinary rail cargo and so on. (Mori, K.)

Transport of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2002-01-01

During november and december 2001, 2 events concerning nuclear transport were reported and classified on the first grade (grade 1) of the INES scale. The first event concerns a hole in a transport cask of contaminated tools. The hole seems to have been made by the fork of a handling equipment. The second event concerns the loss of a parcel containing a technetium generator, this generator represented an activity of about 141 G Becquerel of 99 Mo the day it left the premises of CIS-bio in Saclay. (A.C.)

The maritime transport of nuclear substances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Los Santos, A. de; Corretjer, L.

1976-01-01

In view of the fact that the regulation of maritime transport of nuclear materials comes under both maritime and nuclear law has raised problems which it was attempted to solve by specific standards. As regards the prevention of nuclear hazards, these standards are based on the recommendations of competent international organizations, while concerning compensation of nuclear damage, a Convention which has just come into force lays down that nuclear law has priority over maritime law. Despite the progress made, a study of the situation in this field shows that it can be further improved. (N.E.A.) [fr

Experience of air transport of nuclear fuel material in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, T.; Toguri, D.; Kawasaki, M.

2004-01-01

Certified Reference Materials (hereafter called as to CRMs), which are indispensable for Quality Assurance and Material Accountability in nuclear fuel plants, are being provided by overseas suppliers to Japanese nuclear entities as Type A package (non-fissile) through air transport. However, after the criticality accident at JCO in Japan, special law defining nuclear disaster countermeasures (hereafter called as to the LAW) has been newly enforced in June 2000. Thereafter, nuclear fuel materials must meet not only to the existing transport regulations but also to the LAW for its transport

Nuclear transport of heat shock proteins in stressed cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chughtai, Zahoor Saeed

2001-01-01

Nuclear import of proteins that are too large to passively enter the nucleus requires soluble factors, energy , and a nuclear localization signal (NLS). Nuclear protein transport can be regulated, and different forms of stress affect nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. As such, import of proteins containing a classical NLS is inhibited in starving yeast cells. In contrast, the heat shock protein hsp70 Ssa4p concentrates in nuclei upon starvation. Nuclear concentration of Ssa4p in starving cells is reversible, and transfer of nutrient-depleted cells to fresh medium induces Ssa4p nuclear export. This export reaction represents an active process that is sensitive to oxidative stress. Upon starvation, the N-terminal domain of Ssa4p mediates Ssa4p nuclear accumulation, and a short hydrophobic sequence, termed Star (for starvation), is sufficient to localize the reporter proteins green fluorescent protein or β-gaIactosidase to nuclei. To determine whether nuclear accumulation of Star-β-galactosidase depends on a specific nuclear carrier, I have analyzed its distribution in mutant yeast strains that carry a deletion of a single β-importin gene. With this assay I have identified Nmd5p as a β-importin required to concentrate Star-β-galactosidase in nuclei of stationary phase cells. (author)

Nuclear transport of heat shock proteins in stressed cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chughtai, Zahoor Saeed

2001-07-01

Nuclear import of proteins that are too large to passively enter the nucleus requires soluble factors, energy , and a nuclear localization signal (NLS). Nuclear protein transport can be regulated, and different forms of stress affect nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. As such, import of proteins containing a classical NLS is inhibited in starving yeast cells. In contrast, the heat shock protein hsp70 Ssa4p concentrates in nuclei upon starvation. Nuclear concentration of Ssa4p in starving cells is reversible, and transfer of nutrient-depleted cells to fresh medium induces Ssa4p nuclear export. This export reaction represents an active process that is sensitive to oxidative stress. Upon starvation, the N-terminal domain of Ssa4p mediates Ssa4p nuclear accumulation, and a short hydrophobic sequence, termed Star (for starvation), is sufficient to localize the reporter proteins green fluorescent protein or {beta}-gaIactosidase to nuclei. To determine whether nuclear accumulation of Star-{beta}-galactosidase depends on a specific nuclear carrier, I have analyzed its distribution in mutant yeast strains that carry a deletion of a single {beta}-importin gene. With this assay I have identified Nmd5p as a {beta}-importin required to concentrate Star-{beta}-galactosidase in nuclei of stationary phase cells. (author)

Thermal analysis of transportation packaging for nuclear spent fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akamatsu, Hiroshi; Taniuchi, Hiroaki

1989-01-01

Safety analysis of transportation packaging for nuclear spent fuel comprises structural, thermal, containment, shielding and criticality factors, and the safety of a packaging is verified by these analyses. In thermal analysis, the temperature of each part of the packaging is calculated under normal and accident test conditions. As an example of thermal analysis, the temperature distribution of a packaging being subjected to a normal test was calculated by the TRUMP code and compared with measured data. (author)

Fasting Induces Nuclear Factor E2-Related Factor 2 and ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters via Protein Kinase A and Sirtuin-1 in Mouse and Human

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Supriya R.; Donepudi, Ajay C.; Xu, Jialin; Wei, Wei; Cheng, Qiuqiong C.; Driscoll, Maureen V.; Johnson, Delinda A.; Johnson, Jeffrey A.; Li, Xiaoling

2014-01-01

Abstract Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine whether 3′-5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-protein kinase A (PKA) and Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) dependent mechanisms modulate ATP-binding Cassette (ABC) transport protein expression. ABC transport proteins (ABCC2–4) are essential for chemical elimination from hepatocytes and biliary excretion. Nuclear factor-E2 related-factor 2 (NRF2) is a transcription factor that mediates ABCC induction in response to chemical inducers and liver injury. However, a role for NRF2 in the regulation of transporter expression in nonchemical models of liver perturbation is largely undescribed. Results: Here we show that fasting increased NRF2 target gene expression through NRF2- and SIRT1–dependent mechanisms. In intact mouse liver, fasting induces NRF2 target gene expression by at least 1.5 to 5-fold. In mouse and human hepatocytes, treatment with 8-Bromoadenosine-cAMP, a cAMP analogue, increased NRF2 target gene expression and antioxidant response element activity, which was decreased by the PKA inhibitor, H-89. Moreover, fasting induced NRF2 target gene expression was decreased in liver and hepatocytes of SIRT1 liver-specific null mice and NRF2-null mice. Lastly, NRF2 and SIRT1 were recruited to MAREs and Antioxidant Response Elements (AREs) in the human ABCC2 promoter. Innovation: Oxidative stress mediated NRF2 activation is well described, yet the influence of basic metabolic processes on NRF2 activation is just emerging. Conclusion: The current data point toward a novel role of nutrient status in regulation of NRF2 activity and the antioxidant response, and indicates that cAMP/PKA and SIRT1 are upstream regulators for fasting-induced activation of the NRF2-ARE pathway. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 20, 15–30. PMID:23725046

The changing nature of nuclear transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brobst, W.A.

1976-01-01

The IAEA's efforts in transport safety have been proven through 25 years of nearly accident-free transport, with no evidence of death or injury from the nuclear characteristics of those shipments. Much testing has been done over the last five years to verify the technical bases for the IAEA Regulations. Rather than being complacent with the past, we should instead see ourselves at a turning point for the solution of problems coming up in the next few years. The number of shipments will increase drastically and this will result in changes of risk levels. A number of critical problems will be discussed: (1) lack of public acceptance of nuclear shipment safety; (2) transport safeguards; (3) incompleteness in the IAEA package damage tests; (4) need for innovative technology for spent fuel casks; (5) reduction of radiation dose to the public; (6) quality assurance; (7) engineering analyses versus scale-model and full-scale testing; and (8) transport controls. A recommendation is made to the IAEA to set up immediately a study group to define these problems, list alternatives and options, and recommend corrective actions. (author)

Transportable nuclear power plant TEC-M with two reactor plants of improved safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogloblin, B.G.; Sazonov, A.G.; Svishchev, A.M.; Gromov, B.F.; Zelensky, V.N.; Komkova, O.I.; Sidorov, V.I.; Tolstopyatov, V.P.; Toshinsky, G.I.

1993-01-01

Liquid metals are the best to meet the requirements of inherently safety nuclear power plants among the coolants used. A great experience has been gained in lead coolant power plant development and operation as applied to transportable power set-ups. Low chemical activity of this coolant with respect to air-water interaction is a determining factor for this coolant. The transportable nuclear power plant is described. It is intended to generate electric power for populated areas placed a long distance from the main electric power supply sources where it is difficult or not economical to deliver the conventional types of fuel. There are several remote areas in Siberia, Kamchatka in need of this type of power plant

Nuclear liability in the course of transport - some insurance aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, G.

1993-01-01

This presentation deals with some legal and practical problems in the transport liability field, problems the author has met over the years as an insurer of nuclear risks. The intention is not to give a presentation of the nuclear liability rules as such, which should be familiar to the reader, neither to give an overall survey of the insurance procedures as regards transport of nuclear substances. It will just point out a few questions that are typical for this kind of business and that might be of interest for those who in one way or another might be involved in the insurance of nuclear transports

Transporting spent nuclear fuel: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-03-01

Although high-level radioactive waste from both commercial and defense activities will be shipped to the repository, this booklet focuses on various aspects of transporting commercial spent fuel, which accounts for the majority of the material to be shipped. The booklet is intended to give the reader a basic understanding of the following: the reasons for transportation of spent nuclear fuel, the methods by which it is shipped, the safety and security precautions taken for its transportation, emergency response procedures in the event of an accident, and the DOE program to develop a system uniquely appropriate to NWPA transportation requirements

Transport Properties of the Nuclear Pasta Phase with Quantum Molecular Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Nandi, Rana; Schramm, Stefan

2018-01-01

We study the transport properties of nuclear pasta for a wide range of density, temperature, and proton fractions, relevant for different astrophysical scenarios adopting a quantum molecular dynamics model. In particular, we estimate the values of shear viscosity as well as electrical and thermal conductivities by calculating the static structure factor S(q) using simulation data. In the density and temperature range where the pasta phase appears, the static structure factor shows irregular behavior. The presence of a slab phase greatly enhances the peak in S(q). However, the effect of irregularities in S(q) on the transport coefficients is not very dramatic. The values of all three transport coefficients are found to have the same orders of magnitude as found in theoretical calculations for the inner crust matter of neutron stars without the pasta phase; therefore, the values are in contrast to earlier speculations that a pasta layer might be highly resistive, both thermally and electrically.

Perspective on transporting nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wymer, R.G.

1975-01-01

An evaluation is made of the material flow to be expected up to the year 2000 to and from the various steps in the nuclear cycle. These include the reactors, reprocessing plants, enrichment plants, U mills, U conversion plants, and fuel fabrication plants. A somewhat more-detailed discussion is given of the safety engineering that goes into the design of containers and packages and the selection of the mode of transportation. The relationship of shipping to siting and transportation accidents is considered briefly

Transport and reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenail, B.

1981-01-01

This contribution deals with transport and packaging of oxide fuel from and to the Cogema reprocessing plant at La Hague (France). After a general discussion of nuclear fuel and the fuel cycle, the main aspects of transport and reprocessing of oxide fuel are analysed. (Auth.)

Transportation of nuclear material in France: regulatory and technical aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flory, D.; Renard, C.

1995-01-01

Legislative and regulatory documentation define responsibilities in the field of security and physical protection for transportation of nuclear material. Any transportation activity has to conform to an advance authorization regime delivered by the Ministry of Industry. Responsibility for physical protection of nuclear material rests with the carrier under control of the public authority. Penalties reinforce this administrative regime. Operational responsibility for management and control of transport operations has been entrusted by the ministry to the operational transport unit (Echelon Operationnel des Transports - EOT) of IPSN (Institute for Nuclear Protection and Safety). To guarantee en efficient protection of transport operations, the various following means are provided for: -specialized transport means; - devices for real time tracking of road vehicles; - administrative authorization and declaration procedures; -intervention capacities in case of sabotage... This set of technical means and administrative measures is completed by the existence of a body of inspectors who may control every step of the operations. (authors). 3 tabs

Environmental Baseline File National Transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harris, M.

1999-01-01

This Environmental Baseline File summarizes and consolidates information related to the national-level transportation of commercial spent nuclear fuel. Topics addressed include: shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel based on mostly truck and mostly rail shipping scenarios; transportation routing for commercial spent nuclear fuel sites and DOE sites; radionuclide inventories for various shipping container capacities; transportation routing; populations along transportation routes; urbanized area population densities; the impacts of historical, reasonably foreseeable, and general transportation; state-level food transfer factors; Federal Guidance Report No. 11 and 12 radionuclide dose conversion factors; and national average atmospheric conditions

Physical protection of export/import and transportation of nuclear material in the Slovak Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaclav, J

2002-01-01

Full text: The paper contains short overview about average amount of nuclear materials transported on the territory of the Slovak Republic in a year, and the physical protection of these nuclear materials. There are several types of transportation and export/import of nuclear materials in the SR: fresh fuel import; import of other unirradiated nuclear materials (e.g. depleted uranium, natural uranium); export of unirradiated nuclear materials (e.g. natural uranium); internal transportation of fresh fuel; internal transportation of other unirradiated nuclear materials; internal transportation of spent fuel. The main objective of the nuclear regulatory authority SR is to supervise observation of the national legislation as follows: the act no. 130 / 1998 on peaceful use of nuclear energy; UJD SR's regulation no. 186/1999 which details the physical protection of the nuclear facilities, nuclear materials, and radioactive waste (following requirements of INFCIRC 225 / Rev. 4); UJD SR's regulation no. 284 / 1999 which details conditions of nuclear material and radioactive wastes transportation. (author)

Irradiated nuclear fuel transport from Japan to Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kavanagh, M.T.; Shimoyama, S.

1976-01-01

Irradiated nuclear fuel has been transported from Japan to Europe since 1969, although U.K. experience goes back almost two decades. Both magnox and oxide fuel have been transported, and the technical requirements associated with each type of fuel are outlined. The specialized ships used by British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) for this transport are described, as well as the ships being developed for future use in the Japan trade. The ship requirements are related to the regulatory position both in the United Kingdom and internationally, and the Japanese regulatory requirements are described. Finally, specific operational experience of a Japanese reactor operator is described

Current status of sea transport of nuclear fuel materials and LLW in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitagawa, Hiroshi; Akiyama, Hideo

2000-01-01

Along with the basic policy of the nuclear fuel cycle of Japan, many fuel cycle facilities have been already constructed in Rokkasho-Mura, Aomori prefecture, such as the uranium enrichment plant, the low level waste disposal center and the receiving pool of the spent nuclear fuels for reprocessing. These facilities belong to the Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited. (JNFL). Domestic sea transport of the spent nuclear fuels (SF) has been carried out since 1977 to the Tokai Reprocessing Plant, and the first sea transport of the SF to the fuel cycle facility in Rokkasho-Mura was done in Oct, 1998 using a new exclusive ship 'Rokuei-Maru'. Sea transport of the low level radioactive wastes (LLW) has been carried out since 1992 to the Rokkasho LLW Disposal Center, and about 130,000 LLW drams were transported from the nuclear power plant sites. These sea transport have demonstrated the safety of the transport of the nuclear fuel cycle materials. It is hoped that the safe sea transport of the nuclear fuel materials will contribute to the more progress of the nuclear fuel cycle activities of Japan. (author)

Current issues in the transport of radioactive waste and spent fuel: work by the World Nuclear Transport Institute

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neau, H-J.; Bonnardel-Azzarelli, B. [World Nuclear Transport Inst., London (United Kingdom)

2014-07-01

Various kinds of radioactive waste are generated from nuclear power and fuel cycle facilities. These materials have to be treated, stored and eventually sent to a repository site. Transport of wastes between these various stages is crucial for the sustainable utilization of nuclear energy. The IAEA Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (SSR-6) have, for many decades, provided a safe and efficient framework for radioactive materials transport and continue to do so. However, some shippers have experienced that in the transport of certain specific radioactive wastes, difficulties can be encountered. For example, some materials produced in the decommissioning of nuclear facilities are unique in terms of composition or size and can be difficult to characterize as surface contaminated objects (SCO) or homogeneous. One way WNTI (World Nuclear Transport Institute) helps develop transport methodologies is through the use of Industry Working Groups, bringing together WNTI members with common interests, issues and experiences. The Back-End Transport Industry Working Group focuses on the following issues currently. - Characterization of Waste: techniques and methods to classify wastes - Large Objects: slightly contaminated large objects (ex. spent steam generators) transport - Dual Use Casks: transportable storage casks for spent nuclear fuels, including the very long term storage of spent fuel - Fissile Exceptions: new fissile exceptions provisions of revised TS-R-1 (SSR-6) The paper gives a broad overview of current issues for the packaging and transport of radioactive wastes and the associated work of the WNTI. (author)

District file of major risks for the Moselle district: B6 - The nuclear risk; B7 - The risk related to radioactive material transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-10-01

A first document addresses the nuclear risk with some generalities (definition, occurrence, consequences for people and for the environment with an indication of exposure thresholds, presentation of individual safety directives), a discussion of the nuclear risk level in the district (history, contamination threats, preventive actions for the Cattenom nuclear plant, existence of a triple barrier for radioactive product containment, other factors aimed at nuclear safety, urban development control, control of nuclear activities, information, rescue organisation, map of concerned communes). The second document addresses the risk related to radioactive material transport with some generalities (definition, occurrence, consequences for persons and goods, individual safety directive in case of road or railway accident), a more detailed analysis of the risk in the district (situation of the radioactive material transport in the district, risk history, human and environmental stakes, preventive actions, radiation protection safety challenges, safety factors, control of transports, rescue organisation)

30 years of experience in safe transportation of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, K.

2004-01-01

In April 2003, Nuclear Fuel Transport Co., Ltd. (NFT) marked the 30 th anniversary of its founding. NFT was established in 1973 and in 1978, commenced SF transport to the reprocessing plant in Tokai-mura. And then, after making preparations to transport nuclear materials to the various facilities at the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Center in Rokkasho-mura, NFT successfully started transportation of LLW (low level waste) to Rokksho-mura's LLW disposal center in 1992, domestic land transportation of HLW returned from overseas to the HLW storage center in 1995, domestic land transportation of natural hexafluoride delivered from overseas to the uranium enrichment plant in 1996, and transportation of SF to the reprocessing plant in 2000. NFT has realized an annual SF transportation capacity of 300 MTU and is currently making great company wide efforts to meet the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant's future SF annual reprocessing capacity of 800MTU. At the end of FY2003, NFT had successfully transported 560 casks (about 1,730 MTU) of SF in more than 200 voyages in total, about 160,000 drums of LLW in around 100 voyages in total. This paper introduces the record of safe transport and its experience over the past 30 years and prospect for future transport business

30 years of experience in safe transportation of nuclear materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaneko, K. [Nuclear Fuel Transport Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

2004-07-01

In April 2003, Nuclear Fuel Transport Co., Ltd. (NFT) marked the 30{sup th} anniversary of its founding. NFT was established in 1973 and in 1978, commenced SF transport to the reprocessing plant in Tokai-mura. And then, after making preparations to transport nuclear materials to the various facilities at the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Center in Rokkasho-mura, NFT successfully started transportation of LLW (low level waste) to Rokksho-mura's LLW disposal center in 1992, domestic land transportation of HLW returned from overseas to the HLW storage center in 1995, domestic land transportation of natural hexafluoride delivered from overseas to the uranium enrichment plant in 1996, and transportation of SF to the reprocessing plant in 2000. NFT has realized an annual SF transportation capacity of 300 MTU and is currently making great company wide efforts to meet the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant's future SF annual reprocessing capacity of 800MTU. At the end of FY2003, NFT had successfully transported 560 casks (about 1,730 MTU) of SF in more than 200 voyages in total, about 160,000 drums of LLW in around 100 voyages in total. This paper introduces the record of safe transport and its experience over the past 30 years and prospect for future transport business.

The French nuclear safety authority's experience with radioactive transport inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacob, E.; Aguilar, J.

2004-01-01

About 300,000 radioactive material packages are transported annually in France. Most consist of radioisotopes for medical, pharmaceutical or industrial use. On the other hand, the nuclear industry deals with the transport of fuel cycle materials (uranium, fuel assemblies, etc.) and waste from power plants, reprocessing plants and research centers. France is also a transit country for shipments such as spent fuel packages from Switzerland or Germany, which are bound for Sellafield in Great Britain. The French nuclear safety authority (DGSNR: Directorate General for Nuclear Safety and Radioprotection) has been responsible since 1997 for the safety of radioactive material transport. This paper presents DGNSR's experience with transport inspection: a feedback of key points based on 300 inspections achieved during the past five years is given

Ordinance concerning the filing of transport of nuclear fuel materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

The ordinance is defined under the law for the regulations of nuclear source materials, nuclear fuel materials and reactors and the order for execution of the law. Any person who reports the transport of nuclear fuel materials shall file four copies of a notification according to the form attached to the public safety commission of the prefecture in charge of the dispatching place. When the transportation extends over the area in charge of another public safety commission, the commission which has received the notice shall report without delay date and route of the transport, kind and quantity of nuclear fuel materials and other necessary matters to the commission concerned and hear from the latter opinions on the items informed. The designation by the ordinance includes speed of the vehicle loaded with nuclear fuel materials, disposition of an accompanying car, arrangement of the line of the loaded vehicle and accompanying and other escorting cars, location of the parking, place of unloading and temporary storage, etc. Reports concerning troubles and measures taken shall be filed in ten days to the public safety commission which has received the notification, when accidents occur on the way, such as: theft or loss of nuclear fuel materials; traffic accident; irregular leaking of nuclear fuel materials and personal trouble by the transport. (Okada, K.)

Multipurpose containers for the transport of nuclear material: The example of transport flask CF6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gualdrini, G.F.; Borgia, M.G.

1989-03-01

The present paper summarizes the design and licensing activity carried out in the frame work of an ENEA working group which was set up with the aim of developing transport flasks for radioactive and non radioactive dangerous materials. In particular the nuclear design of the multipurpose transport flask CF6 is described. The paper was presented at the seminar on 'Nuclear wastes and transport of radioactive materials' held in Bologna on June 4th and 5th 1987 under the aegis of the Department of Physics of the University of Bologna. (author)

Environmental Baseline File for National Transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

This Environmental Baseline File summarizes and consolidates information related to the national-level transportation of commercial spent nuclear fuel. Topics address include: shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel based on mostly truck and mostly rail shipping scenarios; transportation routing for commercial spent nuclear fuel sites and DOE sites; radionuclide inventories for various shipping container capacities; transportation routing; populations along transportation routes; urbanized area population densities; the impacts of historical, reasonably foreseeable, and general transportation; state-level food transfer factors; Federal Guidance Report No. 11 and 12 radionuclide dose conversion factors; and national average atmospheric conditions

Risk management of onsite transportation of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Field, J.G.; Wang, O.S.; Mercado, J.E.

1993-01-01

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site recently has undergone a significant change in mission. The focus of operations has shifted from plutonium production to environmental restoration. This transition has caused a substantial increase in quantities of nuclear waste and other hazardous materials packaged and transported onsite. In response to the escalating transportation activity, Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford), the Hanford Site operations and engineering contractor, is proposing an integrated risk assessment methodology and risk management strategy to enhance the safety of onsite packaging and transportation operations involving nuclear waste. The proposed methodology consists of three integral parts: risk assessment, risk acceptance criteria, and risk minimization. The purpose of the methodology is to ensure that the risk for each ongoing transportation activity is acceptable and to minimize the overall risk for current and future onsite operations. (authors). 2 figs., 6 refs

Risk management of onsite transportation of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Field, J.G.; Wang, O.S.; Mercado, J.E.

1993-03-01

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site recently has undergone a significant change in mission. The focus of operations has shifted from plutonium production to environmental restoration. This transition has caused a substantial increase in quantities of nuclear waste and other hazardous materials packaged and transported onsite. In response to the escalating transportation activity, Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford), the Hanford Site operations and engineering contractor, is proposing an integrated risk assessment methodology and risk management strategy to enhance the safety of onsite packaging and transportation operations involving nuclear waste. The proposed methodology consists of three integral parts: risk assessment, risk acceptance criteria, and risk minimization. The purpose of the methodology is to ensure that the risk for each ongoing transportation activity is acceptable and to minimize the overall risk for current and future onsite operations

The new context for transport of radioactive and nuclear material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anne, C.; Galtier, J.

2002-01-01

The transportation of radioactive and nuclear materials involves all modes of transportation with a predominance for road and for air. It is but a minute fraction dangerous good transportation. Around 10 millions of radioactive packages are shipped annually all over the world of which ninety percent total corresponds to shipments of radioisotopes. In spite of the small volume transported, experience, evolution of transport means and technologies, the trend to constantly improve security and safety and public acceptance have modified the transport environment. During the last few years, new evolutions have applied to the transport of radioactive and nuclear materials in various fields and especially: - Safety - Security - Logistics means - Public acceptance - Quality Assurance. We propose to examine the evolution of these different fields and their impact on transportation methods and means. (authors)

Human error prediction and countermeasures based on CREAM in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jae San

2007-02-01

Since the 1980s, in order to secure the storage capacity of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) at NPPs, SNF assemblies have been transported on-site from one unit to another unit nearby. However in the future the amount of the spent fuel will approach capacity in the areas used, and some of these SNFs will have to be transported to an off-site spent fuel repository. Most SNF materials used at NPPs will be transported by general cargo ships from abroad, and these SNFs will be stored in an interim storage facility. In the process of transporting SNF, human interactions will involve inspecting and preparing the cask and spent fuel, loading the cask onto the vehicle or ship, transferring the cask as well as storage or monitoring the cask. The transportation of SNF involves a number of activities that depend on reliable human performance. In the case of the transport of a cask, human errors may include spent fuel bundle misidentification or cask transport accidents among others. Reviews of accident events when transporting the Radioactive Material (RAM) throughout the world indicate that human error is the major causes for more than 65% of significant events. For the safety of SNF transportation, it is very important to predict human error and to deduce a method that minimizes the human error. This study examines the human factor effects on the safety of transporting spent nuclear fuel (SNF). It predicts and identifies the possible human errors in the SNF transport process (loading, transfer and storage of the SNF). After evaluating the human error mode in each transport process, countermeasures to minimize the human error are deduced. The human errors in SNF transportation were analyzed using Hollnagel's Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM). After determining the important factors for each process, countermeasures to minimize human error are provided in three parts: System design, Operational environment, and Human ability

Transport of nuclear materials: a major stake for the reprocessing-conditioning-recycling strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gautrot, J.J.

1998-01-01

As the international reference in terms of fuel cycle services, the COGEMA Group has developed a wide range of industrialized products answering to its clients needs. But, as deregulation and competition are now expanding, utilities has to be perfectly aware of the cost level of their strategic choices, and to keep these costs down. This point is especially valid in the back-end of the fuel cycle. Several leading nuclear countries around the world have chosen the reprocessing-recycling option because it ensures a economically mastered vision. In that respect, transportation reliability is consequently a basic requirement. It ensures a balanced and continuous flows of materials. Transportation system must be reliable in terms of schedule, safety or industrial aspects (i.e. dedicated packaging for road, rail, sea or air transports, maintenance aspects...). Any serious flaw in one of these three points could lead to delays, thus lessening the economic advantage for utilities. But, one must not loose sight that transportation of nuclear materials is tied to extra-technical issues, such as environmental or regulatory factors, which are fundamental for a consistent understanding of this business. The COGEMA Group, through its subsidiary Transnucleaire, possesses a dedicated transport system, widely praised for its constant commitment in terms of safety, quality and operating. This papers presents the overall back-end transportation framework and details the transport organisations as well as the main achievements of Transnucleaire when it comes to sea, road or rail back-end transports. (authors)

Demonstration of a transportable storage system for spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shetler, J.R.; Miller, K.R.; Jones, R.E.

1993-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the joint demonstration project between the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) regarding the use of a transportable storage system for the long-term storage and subsequent transport of spent nuclear fuel. SMUD's Rancho Seco nuclear generating station was shut down permanently in June 1989. After the shutdown, SMUD began planning the decommissioning process, including the disposition of the spent nuclear fuel. Concurrently, Congress had directed the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan for the use of dual-purpose casks. Licensing and demonstrating a dual-purpose cask, or transportable storage system, would be a step toward achieving Congress's goal of demonstrating a technology that can be used to minimize the handling of spent nuclear fuel from the time the fuel is permanently removed from the reactor through to its ultimate disposal at a DOE facility. For SMUD, using a transportable storage system at the Rancho Seco Independent Spent-Fuel Storage Installation supports the goal of abandoning Rancho Seco's spent-fuel pool as decommissioning proceeds

Summary report on transportation of nuclear fuel materials in Japan : transportation infrastructure, threats identified in open literature, and physical protection regulations.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cochran, John Russell; Ouchi, Yuichiro (Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Japan); Furaus, James Phillip; Marincel, Michelle K.

2008-03-01

This report summarizes the results of three detailed studies of the physical protection systems for the protection of nuclear materials transport in Japan, with an emphasis on the transportation of mixed oxide fuel materials1. The Japanese infrastructure for transporting nuclear fuel materials is addressed in the first section. The second section of this report presents a summary of baseline data from the open literature on the threats of sabotage and theft during the transport of nuclear fuel materials in Japan. The third section summarizes a review of current International Atomic Energy Agency, Japanese and United States guidelines and regulations concerning the physical protection for the transportation of nuclear fuel materials.

Transport of irradiated nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

In response to public interest in the transport by rail through London of containers of irradiated fuel elements on their way from nuclear power stations to Windscale, the Central Electricity Generating Board and British Rail held three information meetings in London in January 1980. One meeting was for representatives of London Borough Councils and Members of Parliament with a known interest in the subject, and the others were for press, radio and television journalists. This booklet contains the main points made by the principal speakers from the CEGB and BR. (The points covered include: brief description of the fuel cycle; effect of the fission process in producing plutonium and fission products in the fuel element; fuel transport; the fuel flasks; protection against accidents; experience of transporting fuel). (U.K.)

Radiological environmental impacts from transportation of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shuai Zhengqing

1994-01-01

The author describes radiological impacts from transportation of nuclear materials. RADTRAN 4.0 supplied by IAEA was adopted to evaluate radiological consequence of incident-free transportation as well as the radiological risks from vehicular accidents occurring during transportation. The results of calculation show that the collective effective dose equivalent of incident-free transportation to the public and transportation workers is 7.94 x 10 -4 man·Sv. The calculated data suggest that the environmental impacts under normal and assumed accidental conditions are acceptable

QUANTUM TRANSPORT-THEORY OF NUCLEAR-MATTER

NARCIS (Netherlands)

BOTERMANS, W; MALFLIET, R

1990-01-01

Quantum kinetic equations are derived using the Keldysh Green's function formalism to describe non-equilibrium processes in nuclear matter and nucleus-nucleus collisions. A general transport equation is proposed which includes energy spreading effects. We discuss a number of specific kinetic

Dynamics of miRNA biogenesis and nuclear transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kotipalli Aneesh

2016-12-01

Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are short noncoding RNA sequences ~22 nucleotides in length that play an important role in gene regulation-transcription and translation. The processing of these miRNAs takes place in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm while the final maturation occurs in the cytoplasm. Some mature miRNAs with nuclear localisation signals (NLS are transported back to the nucleus and some remain in the cytoplasm. The functional roles of these miRNAs are seen in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. In the nucleus, miRNAs regulate gene expression by binding to the targeted promoter sequences and affect either the transcriptional gene silencing (TGS or transcriptional gene activation (TGA. In the cytoplasm, targeted mRNAs are translationally repressed or cleaved based on the complementarity between the two sequences at the seed region of miRNA and mRNA. The selective transport of mature miRNAs to the nucleus follows the classical nuclear import mechanism. The classical nuclear import mechanism is a highly regulated process, involving exportins and importins. The nuclear pore complex (NPC regulates all these transport events like a gate keeper. The half-life of miRNAs is rather low, so within a short time miRNAs perform their function. Temporal studies of miRNA biogenesis are, therefore, useful. We have carried out simulation studies for important miRNA biogenesis steps and also classical nuclear import mechanism using ordinary differential equation (ODE solver in the Octave software.

Liability for international nuclear transport: an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, O.F.; Horbach, N.

2000-01-01

Many elements can bear on liability for nuclear damage during transport. For example, liability may depend upon a number of facts that may be categorized as follows: shipment, origin or destination of the shipment, deviation from the planed route, temporary storage incidental to carriage; content of shipment, type of nuclear material involved, whether its origin is civilian or defence-related; sites of accident, number and type of territories damaged (i.e. potential conventions involved), applicable territorial limits, exclusive economic zone, high seas, etc.; nature of damages, personal injury, property damage, damage to the means of carriage, indirect damage, preventive measures, environmental cleanup or retrieval at seas, res communis, transboundary damages etc.; victims involved, nationality and domiciles of victims; jurisdiction, flag (for ships) or national registration (for aircraft) of the transporting vessel, courts of one or more states may have (or assert) jurisdiction to hear claims, and may have to determine what law to apply to a particular accident; applicable law, the applicability laws and/or international nuclear liability conventions; the extent to which any applicable convention has been implemented or modified by domestic legislation, conflicts with the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention or other applicable international agreements, and finally, also written agreements between installation operators and carriers can define applicable law as well as responsibilities. Harmonizing nuclear liability protection and applying it to additional international shipments would be facilitated by more countries being in treaty relations with each other as soon as possible. Adherence to an international convention by more countries (including China, Russia, the United States, etc.) would promote the open flow of services and advanced technology, and better facilitate international transport. The conventions protect the public, harmonize legislation in the

Japan's regulatory and safety issues regarding nuclear materials transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, T.; Yamanaka, T.

2004-01-01

This paper focuses on the regulatory and safety issues on nuclear materials transport which the Government of Japan (GOJ) faces and needs to well handle. Background information about the status of nuclear power plants (NPP) and nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) facilities in Japan will promote a better understanding of what this paper addresses

Regulations concerning the transport of nuclear fuel materials outside the works or the enterprise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

This rule is established under the provisions of the law concerning the regulation of nuclear raw materials, nuclear fuel materials and nuclear reactors and the ordinance for its execution, and to enforce the law. Basic terms are defined, such as vehicle transport, simplified transport, nuclear fuel transport goods, exclusive loading, worker, cumulative dose and exposure radiation dose. Nuclear fuel transport goods are classified into types of L, A, BM and BU according to their radioactivities. Radiation dose rate shall not exceed 0.5 milli-rem an hour on the surface of the type L, and 200 milli-rem an hour on the surface of the type A. For the type BM, the rate shall not surpass 1,000 milli-rem an hour at the distance of 1 meter from the surface in the special test conditions. The transport goods of fissile materials must not reach criticality on the way, but also shall conform to the stipulated technical standards. The particular things contaminated by nuclear fuel materials can be transported without specifying as nuclear fuel transport goods, and their radiation dose rate shall not go beyond 0.5 milli-rem an hour on the surface. The transport by special measures, the technical standards of simplified transport and measures to be taken in danger in transit are defined, respectively.(Okada, K.)

Transport of Spent Nuclear Fuels, High and Intermediate Level Wastes: A Continuous Challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otton, C.; Blachet, L.

2009-01-01

For more than 45 years TN International has been involved in the radioactive materials transportation field. Since the beginning the used nuclear fuel transportation has been its core business. During all these years TN International, now part of AREVA, has been able to anticipate and fulfil the needs for new transport or storage casks design to fit the nuclear industry evolutions. A whole fleet of casks able to transport all the materials of the nuclear fuel cycle has been developed. In this presentation we will focus on the casks for the spent fuel, high level waste and intermediate level waste transportation. Answering to the constant evolution of the nuclear industry transport needs is a challenge that TN International faces routinely. Concerning the spent nuclear fuel transportation, TN International has developed in the early 80's a fleet of TN12 type casks fitted with several types of baskets able to safely transport all the spent fuel from the nuclear power plant or the research laboratories to AREVA La Hague plant. The current challenge is the design of a new transport cask generation taking into account the needs of the industry for the next 30 years. The replacement of the TN12 cask generation is to be scheduled as the regulations have changed and the fuel characteristics have evolved. The new generation of casks will take into account all the technical evolutions made during the TN12 thirty years of use. MOX spent fuel has now its dedicated cask: the TN112 which certificate of approval has been obtained in July 2008. This cask is able to transport 12 MOX spent fuel elements with a short cooling time. The first loading of the cask has been performed in 2008 in the EDF nuclear power plant of Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux. Concerning the high level waste such as the La Hague vitrified residues a whole fleet of casks has been developed such as the TN 28 VT dedicated to transport, the TN81 and TN85 dedicated to transport and storage. These casks have permitted the

Transportation of irradiated fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

A critique is presented of current methods of transporting spent nuclear fuel and the inadequacies of the associated contingency plans, with particular reference to the transportation of irradiated fuel through London. Anti-nuclear and pro-nuclear arguments are presented on a number of factors, including tests on flasks, levels of radiation exposure, routine transport arrangements and contingency arrangements. (U.K.)

Intercontinental nuclear transport from the private international law perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magnus, U.

2000-01-01

The aim of this paper is to give a survey on choice of law rules which apply outside the nuclear liability conventions in case of damage caused by international nuclear transports. We found a remarkable variety of solutions. Some of the solutions make it difficult or even impossible to predict in advance which substantive law in a hypothetical case would apply. These difficulties are increased by the fact that more often than not, a victim can choose where to sue and thereby also influence the final outcome of a case. As far as private international law rules apply - and as mentioned the non-ratification of the nuclear liability conventions by many nuclear states forces us to fall back on the choice of law rules in many cases - the applicable law and the hypothetical level of compensation therefore often remain uncertain when judged at the time of organisation of the nuclear transport. However, at this time the question of undertaking risks and of insurability must be decided. (author)

Transport of proximity nuclear radioactive materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This brief publication gives an overview of the international and national regulatory framework for the transport of radioactive substances, outlines progress orientations identified by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), indicates the parcel classification and shipment radiological criteria, and how to declare events occurring during the transport of radioactive substances, which number to phone in case of a radiological incident. Finally, the role of the ASN and its field of activity in matters of control are briefly presented with a table of its office addresses in France

Regulations concerning the transport of nuclear fuel materials outside the works or the enterprise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

The regulations are defined under the law for the regulations of nuclear source materials, nuclear fuel materials and reactors and the order for execution of the law. Basic concepts and terms are explained, such as: vehicle transport; easy transport; nuclear fuel material load, exclusive loading, employee, accumulative dose and exposure dose. Technical standards of vehicle transport are specified in detail on nucler fuel materials as nuclear fuel load, L,A, EM and BU type of load, nuclear fuel load of fission substances, the second and third type of fission load and materials contaminated by nuclear fuel substances to be carried not as nuclear fuel loads. Special exceptional measures to such transport and technical standards of easy transport are also designated. The application for confirmation of the transport shall be filed to the Director General of Science and Technology Agency according to the form attached with documents explaining nuclear fuel materials to be transferred, the vessel of such materials and construction, material and method of production of such a vessel, safety of nuclear materials contained, etc. Measures in dangerous situations shall be taken to fight a fire or prohibit the entrance of persons other than the staff concerned. Reports shall be presented in 10 days to the Director, when theft, loss or irregular leaking of nuclear fuel materials or personal troubles occur on the way. (Okada, K.)

Institutional issues affecting transportation of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reese, R.T.; Luna, R.E.

1980-01-01

The institutional issues affecting transportation of nuclear materials in the United States represent significant barriers to meeting future needs in the transport of radioactive waste materials to their ultimate repository. While technological problems which must be overcome to perform such movements seem to be within the state-of-the-art, the timely resolution of these institutional issues seems less assured. However, the definition of these issues, as attempted in this paper, together with systematic analysis of cause and possible solutions are the essential elements of the Transportation Technology Center's Institutional Issues Program

The transports of nuclear fuel cycle: An essential activity, safely managed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lenail, B.; Savornin, B.; Curtis, H.W.

1989-01-01

Transports associated with the nuclear fuel cycle normally use public means of transport by rail, road, sea and air and it might therefore be expected that they would be the Achilles heel of the cycle from a safety point of view. In fact, despite a few minor accidents, no radioactive releases resulting in a significant exposure of the public or the environment have occurred. On the other hand, during the last quarter, the news media have reported major spillages of crude oil and chemicals of high toxicity which have jeopardized the environment, the explosion of gas tankers with dozens of fatalities, and even the sinking of a nuclear submarine. All reports show that the radiation exposure to the public resulting from transports is negligible, i.e., far below 1% of that due to the whole nuclear industry. Similarly, the radiation exposure of transport workers has been lower than anticipated over several decades. The demonstrations and attacks by opponents of the nuclear industry against transports have been limited and have been used as an attempt to freeze the activity of different plants or disposal sites, and to focus public attention on the nuclear issue, rather than to question the fuel cycle transports themselves or the safety principles ruling them. When looking for explanations of such a favorable situation, which they should endeavour to perpetuate, without being surprised if any incident occurs, one finds two major reasons: First, the awareness by the fuel cycle operators, of the vital importance of a safe and reliable implementation of the necessary transports. Secondly, the results of assessments of safety conducted by international organizations and most countries, which have resulted in detailed international recommendations, as well as uniform national and modal regulations, thus establishing the necessary link between the basic rules for radioprotection and the needs of the Transport Industry

Probabilistic Risk Assessment on Maritime Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christian, Robby; Kang, Hyun Gook [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) management has been an indispensable issue in South Korea. Before a long term SNF solution is implemented, there exists the need to distribute the spent fuel pool storage loads. Transportation of SNF assemblies from populated pools to vacant ones may preferably be done through the maritime mode since all nuclear power plants in South Korea are located at coastal sites. To determine its feasibility, it is necessary to assess risks of the maritime SNF transportation. This work proposes a methodology to assess the risk arising from ship collisions during the transportation of SNF by sea. Its scope is limited to the damage probability of SNF packages given a collision event. The effect of transport parameters' variation to the package damage probability was investigated to obtain insights into possible ways to minimize risks. A reference vessel and transport cask are given in a case study to illustrate the methodology's application.

Human reliability and risk management in the transportation of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuler, S.; Kasperson, R.E.; Ratick, S.

1989-01-01

This paper summarizes work on human factor contributions to risks from spent nuclear fuel transportation. Human participation may have significant effects on the levels and types of risks by enabling or initiating incidents and exacerbating adverse consequences. Human errors are defined to be the result of mismatches between perceived system state and actual system state. In complex transportation systems such mismatches may be distributed in time (e.g., during different stages of design, implementation, operation, maintenance) and location (e.g., human error, its identification, and its recovery may be geographically and institutionally separate). Risk management programs may decrease the probability of undesirable events or attenuate the consequences of mismatches. This paper presents a methodology to identify the scope and types of human-task mismatches and to identify potential management options for their prevention, mitigation, or recovery. A review of transportation accident databases, in conjunction with human error models, is used to develop a taxonomy of human errors during design for the pre-identification of potential mismatches or after incidents have occurred to evaluate their causes. Risk management options to improve human reliability are identified by a matrix that relates the multiple stages of a spent nuclear fuel transportation system to management options (e.g., training, data analysis, regulation). The paper concludes with examples to illustrate how the methodology may be applied. (author)

Homogeneity of blended nuclear fuel powders after pneumatic transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smeltzer, E.E.; Skriba, M.C.; Lyon, W.L.

1982-01-01

A study of the pneumatic transport of fine (approx. 1μm) cohesive nuclear fuel powders was conducted for the U.S. Department of Energy to demonstrate the feasibility of this method of transport and to develop a design data base for use in a large scale nuclear fuel production facility. As part of this program, a considerable effort was directed at following the homogeneity of blended powders. Since different reactors require different enrichments, blending and subsequent transport are critical parts of the fabrication sequence. The various materials used represented analogs of a wide range of powders and blends that could be expected in a commercial mixed oxide fabrication facility. All UO 2 powders used were depleted and a co-precipitated master mix of (U, Th)O 2 was made specifically for this program, using thorium as an analog for plutonium. In order to determine the effect of pneumatic transport on a blended powder, samples were taken from a feeder vessel before each test, and from a receiver vessel and a few line sections after each transfer test. The average difference between the before and after degree of non-homogeneity was < 1%, for the 21 tests considered. This shows that overall, the pneumatic transport of blended, fine nuclear fuel powders is possible, with only minor unblending occurring

Goal system for comparative assessments of nuclear fuel transport under security aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behrendt, V.; Schwieren, G.

1983-01-01

Due to the great hazard potential of nuclear fuel transports the possibility always exists during transportation that either a single perpetrator or a group of perpetrators will try to get possession of the nuclear fuel. One can assume that at the end of such illegal actions there will be a politically (or otherwise) motivated extortion. Thinking about security one has to face things like sabotage, attacks from inside or outside the system, robbery and/or dispersion of the transported goods. In respect to the security of nuclear transports we carried out an investigation for the German Ministry of the Interior in order to review the different levels of security of different transport systems. This paper deals with the methodological approach, especially with the goal system and the way we executed the investigation

Notification determining technical details concerning measures for transportation of nuclear fuel materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

These provisions are established on the basis of and to enforce ''The regulation for installation and operation of reactor'', ''The regulation concerning the fabricating business of nuclear fuel'' and ''The regulations concerning the reprocessing business of spent fuel''. The terms used hereinafter are according to those used in such regulations. The limit of radioactivity concentration of things contaminated by the nuclear fuel materials which are not required to be enclosed in vessels is defined in the lists attached. In the applications for the approval of the measures concerning the transport of things remarkably difficult to be enclosed in vessels, the name and the address of the applicant, the kind, quantity, form and constitution of the thing contaminated by the nuclear fuel materials to be transported, the date and route of the transport and the measures for the prevention of injuries during the transport must be written. The limit of quantity of nuclear fuel materials classifying the performance of vessels is defined respectively in the lists attached. The radiation dose rates provided for by the Director General of the Science and Technology Agency concerning transported things and transporting apparatuses are 200 millirem per hour on the surfaces of such things and containers. The nuclear fission materials specified, for which the measures for the prevention of criticality are especially required, include uranium 233, uranium 235, plutonium 238, plutonium 239, plutonium 241, and the chemical compounds of such substances, and the nuclear fuel materials containing one or two and more of such substances, excluding the nuclear fuel materials with less than 15 grams of such uranium and plutonium. (Okada, K.)

Studies and research concerning BNFP. Nuclear spent fuel transportation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, R.T.; Maier, J.B.

1979-11-01

Currently, there are a number of institutional problems associated with the shipment of spent fuel assemblies from commercial nuclear power plants: new and conflicting regulations, embargoing of certain routes, imposition of transport safeguards, physical security in-transit, and a lack of definition of when and where the fuel will be moved. This report presents a summary of these types and kinds of problems. It represents the results of evaluations performed relative to fuel receipt at the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant. Case studies were made which address existing reactor sites with near-term spent fuel transportation needs. Shipment by either highway, rail, water, or intermodal water-rail was considered. The report identifies the impact of new regulations and uncertainty caused by indeterminate regulatory policy and lack of action on spent fuel acceptance and storage. This stagnant situation has made it impossible for industry to determine realistic transportation scenarios for business planning and financial risk analysis. A current lack of private investment in nuclear transportation equipment is expected to further prolong the problems associated with nuclear spent fuel and waste disposition. These problems are expected to intensify in the 1980's and in certain cases will make continuing reactor plant operation difficult or impossible

Transport and nuclear waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wild, E.

1999-01-01

The author assesses both past and future of nuclear waste disposal in Germany. The failure of the disposal concept is, he believes, mainly the fault of the Federal Government. On the basis of the Nuclear Energy Act, the government is obliged to ensure that ultimate-storage sites are established and operated. Up to the present, however, the government has failed - apart from the episode in Asse and Morsleben and espite existing feasible proposals in Konrad and Gorleben - to achieve this objective. This negative development is particularly evident from the projects which have had to be prematurely abandoned. The costs of such 'investment follies' meanwhile amount to several billion DM. At least 92% of the capacity in the intermediate-storage sites are at present unused. Following the closure of the ultimate-storage site in Morsleben, action must be taken to change over to long-term intermediate-storage of operational waste. The government has extensive intermediate-storage capacity at the intermediate-storage site Nord in Greifswald. There, the wate originally planned for storage in Morsleben could be intermediately stored at ERAM-rates. Nuclear waste transportation, too, could long ago have been resumed, in the author's view. For the purpose of improving the transport organisation, a new company was founded which represents exclusively the interests of the reprocessing firms at the nuclear power stations. The author's conclusion: The EVU have done their homework properly and implemented all necessary measures in order to be able to resume transport of fuel elements as soon as possible. The generating station operators favour a solution based upon agreement with the Federal Government. The EVU have already declared their willingness - in the event of unanimous agreement - to set up intermediate-storage sites near the power stations. The ponds in the generating stations, however, are unsuitable for use as intermediate-storage areas. If intermediate-storage areas for

Leukemia-Associated Nup214 Fusion Proteins Disturb the XPO1-Mediated Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Transport Pathway and Thereby the NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Shoko; Cigdem, Sadik; Okuwaki, Mitsuru; Nagata, Kyosuke

2016-07-01

Nuclear-cytoplasmic transport through nuclear pore complexes is mediated by nuclear transport receptors. Previous reports have suggested that aberrant nuclear-cytoplasmic transport due to mutations or overexpression of nuclear pore complexes and nuclear transport receptors is closely linked to diseases. Nup214, a component of nuclear pore complexes, has been found as chimeric fusion proteins in leukemia. Among various Nup214 fusion proteins, SET-Nup214 and DEK-Nup214 have been shown to be engaged in tumorigenesis, but their oncogenic mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we examined the functions of the Nup214 fusion proteins by focusing on their effects on nuclear-cytoplasmic transport. We found that SET-Nup214 and DEK-Nup214 interact with exportin-1 (XPO1)/CRM1 and nuclear RNA export factor 1 (NXF1)/TAP, which mediate leucine-rich nuclear export signal (NES)-dependent protein export and mRNA export, respectively. SET-Nup214 and DEK-Nup214 decreased the XPO1-mediated nuclear export of NES proteins such as cyclin B and proteins involved in the NF-κB signaling pathway by tethering XPO1 onto nuclear dots where Nup214 fusion proteins are localized. We also demonstrated that SET-Nup214 and DEK-Nup214 expression inhibited NF-κB-mediated transcription by abnormal tethering of the complex containing p65 and its inhibitor, IκB, in the nucleus. These results suggest that SET-Nup214 and DEK-Nup214 perturb the regulation of gene expression through alteration of the nuclear-cytoplasmic transport system. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Transport packages for nuclear material and waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

The regulations and responsibilities concerning the transport packages of nuclear materials and waste are given in the guide. The approval procedure, control of manufacturing, commissioning of the packaging and the control of use are specified. (13 refs.)

b-jet tagged nuclear modification factors in heavy ion collisions with CMS

CERN Document Server

Jung, Kurt

2014-01-01

The energy loss of jets in heavy-ion collisions is expected to depend on the flavor of the fragmenting parton. Thus, measurements of jet quenching as a function of flavor place powerful constraints on the thermodynamical and transport properties of the hot and dense medium. Measurements of the nuclear modification factors of the heavy-flavor-tagged jets in both PbPb and pPb collisions can quantify such energy loss effects. Specifically, pPb measurements provide crucial insights into the behavior of the cold nuclear matter effect, which is required to fully understand the hot and dense medium effects on jets in PbPb collisions. In this talk, we present the b-jet spectra and the first measurement of the nuclear modification factors as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity, using the high statistics pp, pPb and PbPb data taken in 2011 and 2013.

Nuclear materials transport worldwide. Greenpeace report 2. Der weltweite Atomtransport. Greenpeace Report 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stellpflug, J.

1987-01-01

This Greenpeace report shows: nuclear materials transport is an extremely hazardous business. There is no safe protection against accidents, kidnapping, or sabotage. Any moment of a day, at any place, a nuclear transport accident may bring the world to disaster, releasing plutonium or radioactive fission products to the environment. Such an event is not less probable than the MCA at Chernobyl. The author of the book in hand follows the secret track of radioactive materials around the world, from uranium mines to the nuclear power plants, from reprocessing facilities to the waste repositories. He explores the routes of transport and the risks involved, he gives the names of transport firms and discloses incidents and carelessness, tells about damaged waste drums and plutonium that 'disappeared'. He also tells about worldwide, organised resistance to such nuclear transports, explaining the Greenpeace missions on the open sea, or the 'day X' operation at the Gorleben site, informing the reader about protests and actions for a world freed from the threat of nuclear energy.

Lessons learned in communicating nuclear transportation issues - a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reilly, B.; Austin, P.

1992-01-01

Successful communication requires several key elements. They include a non-intimidating forum for exchanging information, two-way communication, advance preparation to identify what each party wants to learn, and feedback. There is no single approach that guarantees success. Factors such as technical complexity of the issue, level of support by the public, and trust and confidence among the parties all play a role in determining the most workable approach for any particular situation. This paper illustrates lessons learned by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in communicating nuclear waste disposal and transportation issues to the public

Transport description of damped nuclear reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Randrup, J.

1983-04-01

Part I is an elementary introduction to the general transport theory of nuclear dynamics. It can be read without any special knowledge of the field, although basic quantum mechanics is required for the formal derivation of the general expression for the transport coefficients. The results can also be used in a wider context than the present one. Part II gives the student an up-to-date orientation about recent progress in the understanding of the angular-momentum variables in damped reactions. The emphasis is here on the qualitative understanding of the physics rather than the, at times somewhat tedious, formal derivations

Radiation transport methods for nuclear log assessment - an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badruzzaman, A.

1996-01-01

Methods of radiation transport have been applied to well-logging problems with nuclear sources since the early 1960s. Nuclear sondes are used in identifying rock compositions and fluid properties in reservoirs to predict the porosity and oil saturation. Early computational effort in nuclear logging used diffusion techniques. As computers became more powerful, deterministic transport methods and, finally, Monte Carlo methods were applied to solve these problems in three dimensions. Recently, the application has been extended to problems with a new generation of devices, including spectroscopic sondes that measure such quantities as the carbon/oxygen ratio to predict oil saturation and logging-while-drilling (LWD) sondes that take neutron and gamma measurements as they rotate in the borehole. These measurements present conditions that will be difficult to calibrate in the laboratory

A review of tsp as one of the transportation security aspects of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiryono

2013-01-01

A review has done for the Transportation Safety Plan (TSP) as one of the aspects of safety in the transport of nuclear materials. The review is necessary to harmonize national regulations with international practice. International practice of using TSP as one of the security requirements in addition to the Radiation Protection Program as a requirement of safety in the transport of nuclear materials. TSP is intended to ensure sound implementation of the transport of nuclear materials. TSP evaluation process can be done with a prescriptive approach, performance, and combinations. TSP contains information about administrative requirements, delivery security and response planning. TSP can be used to ensure the security of the implementation of the transport of nuclear materials effectively and efficiently. BAPETEN should require the applicant to submit the TSP as one document security requirements prior approval transporting nuclear materials. BAPETEN need to define the approach to the formulation and evaluation of TSP. BAPETEN need to set up an evaluation and inspection procedures for the implementation of TSP. (author)

Single HIV-1 Imaging Reveals Progression of Infection through CA-Dependent Steps of Docking at the Nuclear Pore, Uncoating, and Nuclear Transport.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Ashwanth C; Melikyan, Gregory B

2018-04-11

The HIV-1 core consists of capsid proteins (CA) surrounding viral genomic RNA. After virus-cell fusion, the core enters the cytoplasm and the capsid shell is lost through uncoating. CA loss precedes nuclear import and HIV integration into the host genome, but the timing and location of uncoating remain unclear. By visualizing single HIV-1 infection, we find that CA is required for core docking at the nuclear envelope (NE), whereas early uncoating in the cytoplasm promotes proteasomal degradation of viral complexes. Only docked cores exhibiting accelerated loss of CA at the NE enter the nucleus. Interestingly, a CA mutation (N74D) altering virus engagement of host factors involved in nuclear transport does not alter the uncoating site at the NE but reduces the nuclear penetration depth. Thus, CA protects HIV-1 complexes from degradation, mediates docking at the nuclear pore before uncoating, and determines the depth of nuclear penetration en route to integration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aircraft transporting container for nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurakami, Jun-ichi; Kubo, Minoru.

1991-01-01

The present invention concerns an air craft transporting container for nuclear fuels. A sealing container that seals a nuclear fuel container and constitutes a sealed boundary for the transporting container is incorporated in an inner container. Shock absorbers are filled for absorbing impact shock energy in the gap between the inner container and the sealing container. The inner container is incorporated with wooden impact shock absorbers being filled so that it is situated in a substantially central portion of an external container. Partitioning cylinders are disposed coaxially in the cylindrical layer filled with wooden impact shock absorbers at an intermediate portion between the outer and the inner containers. Further, a plurality of longitudinally intersecting partitioning disks are disposed each at a predetermined distance in right and left cylindrical wooden impact shock absorbing layers which are in contact with the end face of the inner container. Accordingly, the impact shock energy can be absorbed by the wooden impact shock absorbers efficiently by a plurality of the partitioning disks and the partitioning cylinders. (I.N.)

Transverse-momentum spectra and nuclear modification factor using Boltzmann Transport Equation with flow in Pb+Pb collisions at √(s{sub NN}) = 2.76 TeV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tripathy, Sushanta; Khuntia, Arvind; Tiwari, Swatantra Kumar; Sahoo, Raghunath [Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Discipline of Physics, School of Basic Sciences, Indore (India)

2017-05-15

In the continuation of our previous work, the transverse-momentum (p{sub T}) spectra and nuclear modification factor (R{sub AA}) are derived using the relaxation time approximation of Boltzmann Transport Equation (BTE). The initial p{sub T}-distribution used to describe p + p collisions has been studied with the perturbative-Quantum Chromodynamics (pQCD) inspired power-law distribution, Hagedorn's empirical formula and with the Tsallis non-extensive statistical distribution. The non-extensive Tsallis distribution is observed to describe the complete range of the transverse-momentum spectra. The Boltzmann-Gibbs Blast Wave (BGBW) distribution is used as the equilibrium distribution in the present formalism, to describe the p{sub T}-distribution and nuclear modification factor in nucleus-nucleus collisions. The experimental data for Pb+Pb collisions at √(s{sub NN}) = 2.76 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN have been analyzed for pions, kaons, protons, K{sup *0} and φ. It is observed that the present formalism while explaining the transverse-momentum spectra up to 5 GeV/c, explains the nuclear modification factor very well up to 8 GeV/c in p{sub T} for all these particles except for protons. R{sub AA} is found to be independent of the degree of non-extensivity, q{sub pp} after p{sub T} ∝ 8 GeV/c. (orig.)

Transportation of hazardous and nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boryczka, M.; Shaver, D.

1989-01-01

Transportation of hazardous and radioactive materials is a vital part of the nation's economy. In recent years public concern over the relative safety of transporting hazardous materials has risen sharply. The United States has a long history of transporting hazardous and radioactive material; rocket propellants, commercial spent fuel, low-level and high-level radioactive waste has been shipped for years. While the track record for shipping these materials is excellent, the knowledge that hazardous materials are passing through communities raises the ire of citizens and local governments. Public outcry over shipments containing hazardous cargo has been especially prominent when shippers have attempted to transport rocket propellants or spent nuclear fuel. Studies of recent shipments have provided insight into the difficulties of shipping in a politically charged environment, the major issues of concern to citizens, and some of the more successful methods of dealing with public concerns. This paper focuses on lessons learned from these studies which include interviews with shippers, carriers, and regulators

The new context for transport of radioactive nuclear material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anne, Catherine; Galtier, Jerome

2001-01-01

The transportation of radioactive and nuclear materials, involves all modes of transportation (road, air, sea, rail) with predominance for road and for air (air for radioisotopes). In this paper we examine the impact of new evolutions in the fields of safety, security, logistics means, public acceptance and quality assurance

Transportation capabilities study of DOE-owned spent nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clark, G.L.; Johnson, R.A.; Smith, R.W. [Packaging Technology, Inc., Tacoma, WA (United States); Abbott, D.G.; Tyacke, M.J. [Lockheed Idaho Technologies Co., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

1994-10-01

This study evaluates current capabilities for transporting spent nuclear fuel owned by the US Department of Energy. Currently licensed irradiated fuel shipping packages that have the potential for shipping the spent nuclear fuel are identified and then matched against the various spent nuclear fuel types. Also included are the results of a limited investigation into other certified packages and new packages currently under development. This study is intended to support top-level planning for the disposition of the Department of Energy`s spent nuclear fuel inventory.

Comprehensive transportation risk assessment system based on unit-consequence factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biwer, B.M.; Monette, F.A.; LePoire, D.J.; Chen, S.Y.

1994-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement requires a comprehensive transportation risk analysis of radioactive waste shipments for large shipping campaigns. Thousands of unique shipments involving truck and rail transport must be analyzed; a comprehensive risk analysis is impossible with currently available methods. Argonne National Laboratory developed a modular transportation model that can handle the demands imposed by such an analysis. The modular design of the model facilitates the simple addition/updating of transportation routes and waste inventories, as required, and reduces the overhead associated with file maintenance and quality assurance. The model incorporates unit-consequences factors generated with the RADTRAN 4 transportation risk analysis code that are combined with an easy-to-use, menu-driven interface on IBM-compatible computers running under DOS. User selection of multiple origin/destination site pairs for the shipment of multiple radioactive waste inventories is permitted from pop-up lists. Over 800 predefined routes are available among more than 30 DOE sites and waste inventories that include high-level waste, spent nuclear fuel, transuranic waste, low-level waste, low-level mixed waste, and greater-than-Class C waste

Institutional support to the nuclear power based on transportable installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuznetsov, V.P.; Cherepnin, Y.S.

2010-01-01

Existing nuclear power uses large-power nuclear plants (more than 1,000 MWe) and enriched uranium fuel ( 2 35 U ). Each plant is treated as an exclusive costly project. As a result, large NPPs are operated predominantly in highly developed big countries. In many countries, construction of large power units is not reasonable because of the economic conditions and national specifics. This calls for the use of small- and medium-power nuclear plants (SMPNP), especially transportable nuclear installations (TNI). TNI feature small power (up to 100 MWe); serial production, and transportability. Small- and medium-power nuclear plants could serve to produce electricity and heat; perform water desalination; provide temporary and emergency energy supply. The authors discuss some findings of the studies carried out on the various aspects of the TNI life, as well as the legal and institutional support to their development, construction and operation. The studies have been performed in the framework of the INPRO Action Plan

Costs for insurance of civil responsibility for nuclear damage during transportation of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amelina, M.E.; Arsent'ev, S.V.; Molchanov, A.S.

2009-01-01

The article considers the method of calculation of rates for insurance of civil responsibility for nuclear damage during transportation of nuclear materials, which can minimize the insurer's costs for this type of insurance in situation when there is no statistics available and it is not possible to calculate the insurance rate by the traditional means using the probability theory

Two Differential Binding Mechanisms of FG-Nucleoporins and Nuclear Transport Receptors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piau Siong Tan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Summary: Phenylalanine-glycine-rich nucleoporins (FG-Nups are intrinsically disordered proteins, constituting the selective barrier of the nuclear pore complex (NPC. Previous studies showed that nuclear transport receptors (NTRs were found to interact with FG-Nups by forming an “archetypal-fuzzy” complex through the rapid formation and breakage of interactions with many individual FG motifs. Here, we use single-molecule studies combined with atomistic simulations to show that, in sharp contrast, FG-Nup214 undergoes a coupled reconfiguration-binding mechanism when interacting with the export receptor CRM1. Association and dissociation rate constants are more than an order of magnitude lower than in the archetypal-fuzzy complex between FG-Nup153 and NTRs. Unexpectedly, this behavior appears not to be encoded selectively into CRM1 but rather into the FG-Nup214 sequence. The same distinct binding mechanisms are unperturbed in O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine-modified FG-Nups. Our results have implications for differential roles of distinctly spatially distributed FG-Nup⋅NTR interactions in the cell. : Archetypal-fuzzy complexes found in most FG-Nucleoporin⋅nuclear transport receptor complexes allow fast yet specific nuclear transport. Tan et al. show that FG-Nup214, located at the periphery of the nuclear pore complex, binds to CRM1⋅RanGTP via a coupled reconfiguration-binding mechanism, which can enable different functionalities e.g., cargo release. Keywords: intrinsically disordered protein, glycosylation, FG-Nup, nuclear transport receptors, binding mechanism, single-molecule FRET, molecular dynamics simulations

Estimated consequences from severe spent nuclear fuel transportation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnish, J.J.; Monette, F.; LePoire, D.; Biwer, B.M.

1996-01-01

The RISKIND software package is used to estimate radiological consequences of severe accident scenarios involving the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. Radiological risks are estimated for both a collective population and a maximally exposed individual based on representative truck and rail cask designs described in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) modal study. The estimate of collective population risk considers all possible environmental pathways, including acute and long-term exposures, and is presented in terms of the 50-y committed effective dose equivalent. Radiological risks to a maximally exposed individual from acute exposure are estimated and presented in terms of the first year and 50-y committed effective dose equivalent. Consequences are estimated for accidents occurring in rural and urban population areas. The modeled pathways include inhalation during initial passing of the radioactive cloud, external exposure from a reduction of the cask shielding, long-term external exposure. from ground deposition, and ingestion from contaminated food (rural only). The major pathways and contributing radionuclides are identified, and the effects of possible mitigative actions are discussed. The cask accident responses and the radionuclide release fractions are modeled as described in the NRC modal study. Estimates of severe accident probabilities are presented for both truck and rail modes of transport. The assumptions made in this study tend to be conservative; however, a set of multiplicative factors are identified that can be applied to estimate more realistic conditions

Current trends in nuclear material transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravenscroft, Norman; Oshinowo, Franchone

1997-01-01

The business of radioactive material transportation has evolved considerably in the past 40 years. Current practices reflect extensive international experience in handling radioactive cargo within a mature and tested regulatory framework. Nevertheless, new developments continue to have an impact on how shipments of nuclear material are planned and carried out. Entities involved in the transport of radioactive materials must keep abreast of these developments and work together to find innovative solutions to ensure that safe, smooth transport activities may continue. Several recent trends in the regulatory environment and political atmosphere require attention. There are four key trends that we'll be examining today: 1) the reduction in the pool of available commercial carriers; 2) routing restrictions; 3) package validation issues; and 4) increasing political sensitivities. Careful planning and cooperative measures are necessary to alleviate problems in each of these areas. (author)

Planned reliability in the transport and installation of large nuclear components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bieler, L.

1988-01-01

The transport and installation of heavy and bulky large components require detailed planning of all jobs and activities, trained and experienced personnel and corresponding technical equipment for reliable and quality-assured implementation. The correct approach to the planning and implementation of such transports and installations has been confirmed by years of successful performance of these jobs e.g. in reactor pressure vessels and steam generators for nuclear power plants. Large components for nuclear power plants are truly extreme examples but will be all the better suited for demonstrating the problems inherent in transport and installation. (orig.) [de

Nuclear-electrolytic hydrogen as a transportation fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeLuchi, M.A.

1989-01-01

Hydrogen is a very attractive transportation fuel in three important ways: it is the least polluting fuel that can be used in an internal combustion engine, it produces no greenhouse gases, and it is potentially available anywhere there is water and a clean source of power. The prospect of a clean, widely available transportation fuel has motivated much of the research on hydrogen fuels. This paper is a state-of-the art review of the production, storage, performance, environmental impacts, safety, and cost of nuclear-electrolytic hydrogen for highway vehicles

Transport in biosphere of radionuclides released from finally disposed nuclear waste - background information for transport and dose model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hulmi, R.; Savolainen, I.

1981-07-01

An outline is made about the biosphere transport and dose models employed in the estimation of doses due to releases from finally disposed nuclear waste. The models often divide into two parts; the first one describes the transport of radionuclides in those parts of biosphere where the time scale is large (e.g. soil, sea and sea sediment), the second part of the model describes the transport of nuclides in the systems where the time scale is small (e.g. food chains, plants and animals). The description of biosphere conditions includes remarkable uncertainty due to the complexity of the biosphere and its ecosystems. Therefore studies of scenario type are recommended: some values of parametres describing the conditions are assumed, and the consequences are estimated by using these values. The effect of uncertainty in various factors on the uncertainty of final results should be investigated with the employment of alternative scenarios and parametric sensitivity studies. In addition to the ordinary results, intermediate results should be presented. A proposal for the structure of a transport and dose program based on dynamic linear compartment model is presented and mathematical solution alternatives are studied also

Supporting system in emergency response plan for nuclear material transport accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagome, Y.; Aoki, S.

1993-01-01

As aiming to provide the detailed information concerning nuclear material transport accidents and to supply it to the concerned organizations by an online computer, the Emergency Response Supporting System has been constructed in the Nuclear Safety Technology Center, Japan. The system consists of four subsystems and four data bases. By inputting initial information such as name of package and date of accident, one can obtain the appropriate initial response procedures and related information for the accident immediately. The system must be useful for protecting the public safety from nuclear material transport accidents. But, it is not expected that the system shall be used in future. (J.P.N.)

Integrated Radiation Transport and Nuclear Fuel Performance for Assembly-Level Simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clarno, Kevin T [ORNL; Hamilton, Steven P [ORNL; Philip, Bobby [ORNL; Berrill, Mark A [ORNL; Sampath, Rahul S [ORNL; Allu, Srikanth [ORNL; Pugmire, Dave [ORNL; Dilts, Gary [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Banfield, James E [ORNL

2012-02-01

The Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP) Nuclear Fuel Performance code (AMPFuel) is focused on predicting the temperature and strain within a nuclear fuel assembly to evaluate the performance and safety of existing and advanced nuclear fuel bundles within existing and advanced nuclear reactors. AMPFuel was extended to include an integrated nuclear fuel assembly capability for (one-way) coupled radiation transport and nuclear fuel assembly thermo-mechanics. This capability is the initial step toward incorporating an improved predictive nuclear fuel assembly modeling capability to accurately account for source-terms and boundary conditions of traditional (single-pin) nuclear fuel performance simulation, such as the neutron flux distribution, coolant conditions, and assembly mechanical stresses. A novel scheme is introduced for transferring the power distribution from the Scale/Denovo (Denovo) radiation transport code (structured, Cartesian mesh with smeared materials within each cell) to AMPFuel (unstructured, hexagonal mesh with a single material within each cell), allowing the use of a relatively coarse spatial mesh (10 million elements) for the radiation transport and a fine spatial mesh (3.3 billion elements) for thermo-mechanics with very little loss of accuracy. In addition, a new nuclear fuel-specific preconditioner was developed to account for the high aspect ratio of each fuel pin (12 feet axially, but 1 4 inches in diameter) with many individual fuel regions (pellets). With this novel capability, AMPFuel was used to model an entire 17 17 pressurized water reactor fuel assembly with many of the features resolved in three dimensions (for thermo-mechanics and/or neutronics), including the fuel, gap, and cladding of each of the 264 fuel pins; the 25 guide tubes; the top and bottom structural regions; and the upper and lower (neutron) reflector regions. The final, full assembly calculation was executed on Jaguar using 40,000 cores in under 10 hours to model over 162

Criticality Calculations of Fresh LEU and MOX Assemblies for Transport and Storage at the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goluoglu, S.

2001-01-11

Transportation of low-enriched uranium (LEU) and mixed-oxide (MOX) assemblies to and within the VVER-1000-type Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant is investigated. Effective multiplication factors for fresh fuel assemblies on the railroad platform, fresh fuel assemblies in the fuel transportation vehicle, and fresh fuel assemblies in the spent fuel storage pool are calculated. If there is no absorber between the units, the configurations with all MOX assemblies result in higher effective multiplication factors than the configurations with all LEU assemblies when the system is dry. When the system is flooded, the configurations with all LEU assemblies result in higher effective multiplication factors. For normal operating conditions, effective multiplication factors for all configurations are below the presumed upper subcritical limit of 0.95. For an accident condition of a fully loaded fuel transportation vehicle that is flooded with low-density water (possibly from a fire suppression system), the presumed upper subcritical limit is exceeded by configurations containing LEU assemblies.

Japan's regulatory and safety issues regarding nuclear materials transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saito, T. [Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan, Tokyo (Japan); Yamanaka, T. [Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, Government of Japan, Tokyo (Japan)

2004-07-01

This paper focuses on the regulatory and safety issues on nuclear materials transport which the Government of Japan (GOJ) faces and needs to well handle. Background information about the status of nuclear power plants (NPP) and nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) facilities in Japan will promote a better understanding of what this paper addresses.

Negative transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) by nuclear TFAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Eun Jin; Kang, Young Cheol; Park, Wook-Ha; Jeong, Jae Hoon; Pak, Youngmi Kim

2014-01-01

Highlights: • TFAM localizes in nuclei and mitochondria of neuronal cells. • Nuclear TFAM does not bind the Tfam promoter. • Nuclear TFAM reduced the Tfam promoter activity via suppressing NRF-1 activity. • A novel self-negative feedback regulation of Tfam gene expression is explored. • FAM may play different roles depending on its subcellular localizations. - Abstract: The nuclear DNA-encoded mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) is synthesized in cytoplasm and transported into mitochondria. TFAM enhances both transcription and replication of mitochondrial DNA. It is unclear, however, whether TFAM plays a role in regulating nuclear gene expression. Here, we demonstrated that TFAM was localized to the nucleus and mitochondria by immunostaining, subcellular fractionation, and TFAM-green fluorescent protein hybrid protein studies. In HT22 hippocampal neuronal cells, human TFAM (hTFAM) overexpression suppressed human Tfam promoter-mediated luciferase activity in a dose-dependent manner. The mitochondria targeting sequence-deficient hTFAM also repressed Tfam promoter activity to the same degree as hTFAM. It indicated that nuclear hTFAM suppressed Tfam expression without modulating mitochondrial activity. The repression required for nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1), but hTFAM did not bind to the NRF-1 binding site of its promoter. TFAM was co-immunoprecipitated with NRF-1. Taken together, we suggest that nuclear TFAM down-regulate its own gene expression as a NRF-1 repressor, showing that TFAM may play different roles depending on its subcellular localizations

Transport of large particles released in a nuclear accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poellaenen, R.; Toivonen, H.; Lahtinen, J.; Ilander, T.

1995-10-01

Highly radioactive particulate material may be released in a nuclear accident or sometimes during normal operation of a nuclear power plant. However, consequence analyses related to radioactive releases are often performed neglecting the particle nature of the release. The properties of the particles have an important role in the radiological hazard. A particle deposited on the skin may cause a large and highly non-uniform skin beta dose. Skin dose limits may be exceeded although the overall activity concentration in air is below the level of countermeasures. For sheltering purposes it is crucial to find out the transport range, i.e. the travel distance of the particles. A method for estimating the transport range of large particles (aerodynamic diameter d a > 20 μm) in simplified meteorological conditions is presented. A user-friendly computer code, known as TROP, is developed for fast range calculations in a nuclear emergency. (orig.) (23 refs., 13 figs.)

Transport of large particles released in a nuclear accident

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poellaenen, R; Toivonen, H; Lahtinen, J; Ilander, T

1995-10-01

Highly radioactive particulate material may be released in a nuclear accident or sometimes during normal operation of a nuclear power plant. However, consequence analyses related to radioactive releases are often performed neglecting the particle nature of the release. The properties of the particles have an important role in the radiological hazard. A particle deposited on the skin may cause a large and highly non-uniform skin beta dose. Skin dose limits may be exceeded although the overall activity concentration in air is below the level of countermeasures. For sheltering purposes it is crucial to find out the transport range, i.e. the travel distance of the particles. A method for estimating the transport range of large particles (aerodynamic diameter d{sub a} > 20 {mu}m) in simplified meteorological conditions is presented. A user-friendly computer code, known as TROP, is developed for fast range calculations in a nuclear emergency. (orig.) (23 refs., 13 figs.).

EDF, a utility and its own needs in the field of transport of nuclear materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouin, P.; Mignot, E.; Hoang, L.P.

1989-01-01

As one of the most important producers of nuclear electricity in the world, EDF is concerned by all the aspects of the transport of nuclear materials and more particularly by those related to the nuclear fuel cycle. EDF is not itself a specialist in this field and most of the transports along the nuclear fuel cycle is done for their own account by their usual partners such as COGEMA or TRANSNUCLEAIRE. Since the beginning of the French nuclear program, they have generally used for these transports casks that already exist on the market and which were well suited to their needs. Nevertheless, new and specific needs appeared during the progress of their nuclear program and have lead them to: study and build new casks or packages, use existing casks for new purposes, develop a device for the measurement of fuel assemblies burn up, develop a software to optimize the evacuation of irradiated fuel for reprocessing. The purpose of this paper is to describe these realization but as a preliminary, they will present briefly the importance of the transport of nuclear materials for EDF

25 CFR 170.900 - What is the purpose of the provisions relating to transportation of hazardous and nuclear waste?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... transportation of hazardous and nuclear waste? 170.900 Section 170.900 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS... and Nuclear Waste Transportation § 170.900 What is the purpose of the provisions relating to transportation of hazardous and nuclear waste? Sections 170.900 through 170.907 on transportation of nuclear and...

Recent developments in the regulation of nuclear transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grella, A.W.

1978-01-01

In the past four years, almost all nations and international or intergovernmental transport organizations have effected transitions from the 1967 to 1973 IAEA standards as their basis for regulatory requirements for the safe transport of radioactive materials. One major exception to this transition is the USA itself, where this transition has not yet taken place. Major amendments to revise 49 CFR Parts 100-199 of the Department of Transportation regulations and 10 CFR Part 71 of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations are required to effect this transition. The notices of proposed rulemaking to effect this transition in the USA are expected to be published by DOT and NRC concurrently sometime in 1978. Final amendments can be expected later, after the public comment period on the notices and considerations of those comments. This paper summarizes the status of current thinking on US adoption of the 1973 IAEA standards, as well as the status of adoption of those standards by international intergovernmental organizations, such as the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization, International Civil Aviation Organization, etc. A number of the differences between the expected US regulations and other regulations based on the 1973 IAEA standards are explained. This paper also discusses a number of other events or matters which have been taking place in the US in the past four years which have or may have an effect on transport of nuclear materials and its regulation, including air transport of plutonium, rail transport of spent fuel and other regulations by state or political subdivisions. The paper also discusses changes to US regulations accomplished in the past four years, which are not related to 1973 IAEA standards, as well as some other possible areas where regulatory proposals might be anticipated, such as control of radiation exposures to certain transport workers and other matters

Regulatory Framework for the Safe and Secure Transport of Nuclear Material in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konnai, A.; Shibasaki, N.; Ikoma, Y.; Kato, M.; Yamauchi, T.; Iwasa, T.

2016-01-01

Regulations for nuclear material transport in Japan are based on international regulations. Safety and security regulations, however, have sometime different aspects which have caused a conflict of operations. This paper aims to introduce framework of safety and security regulations for nuclear material transport in Japan, and shows some issues in cooperation of these regulations. (author)

Executive summary of safeguards systems concepts for nuclear material transportation. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldonado, O.C.; Kevany, M.; Rodney, D.; Pitts, D.; Mazur, M.

1977-09-01

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission contracted with System Development Corporation to develop integrated system concepts for the safeguard of special strategic nuclear materials (SSNM), which include plutonium, uranium 233 and uranium 235 of at least 20 percent enrichment, against malevolent action during interfacility transport. This executive summary outlines the conduct and findings of the project. The study was divided into three major subtasks: (1) The development of adversary action sequences; (2) The assessment of the vulnerability of the transport of nuclear materials to adversary action; (3) The development of conceptual safeguards system design requirements to reduce vulnerabilities

Leak-Path Factor Analysis for the Nuclear Materials Storage Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaffer, C.; Leonard, M.

1999-01-01

Leak-path factors (LPFs) were calculated for the Nuclear Materials Storage Facility (NMSF) located in the Plutonium Facility, Building 41 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Technical Area 55. In the unlikely event of an accidental fire powerful enough to fail a container holding actinides, the subsequent release of oxides, modeled as PuO 2 aerosols, from the facility and into the surrounding environment was predicted. A 1-h nondestructive assay (NDA) laboratory fire accident was simulated with the MELCOR severe accident analysis code. Fire-driven air movement along with wind-driven air infiltration transported a portion of these actinides from the building. This fraction is referred to as the leak-path factor. The potential effect of smoke aerosol on the transport of the actinides was investigated to verify the validity of neglecting the smoke as conservative. The input model for the NMSF consisted of a system of control volumes, flow pathways, and surfaces sufficient to model the thermal-hydraulic conditions within the facility and the aerosol transport data necessary to simulate the transport of PuO 2 particles. The thermal-hydraulic, heat-transfer, and aerosol-transport models are solved simultaneously with data being exchanged between models. A MELCOR input model was designed such that it would reproduce the salient features of the fire per the corresponding CFAST calculation. Air infiltration into and out of the facility would be affected strongly by wind-driven differential pressures across the building. Therefore, differential pressures were applied to each side of the building according to guidance found in the ASHRAE handbook using a standard-velocity head equation with a leading multiplier to account for the orientation of the wind with the building. The model for the transport of aerosols considered all applicable transport processes, but the deposition within the building clearly was dominated by gravitational settling

Human factors in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swain, A.D.

1981-01-01

This report describes some of the human factors problems in nuclear power plants and the technology that can be employed to reduce those problems. Many of the changes to improve the human factors in existing plants are inexpensive, and the expected gain in human reliability is substantial. The human factors technology is well-established and there are practitioners in most countries that have nuclear power plants. (orig.) [de

Role of zinc finger structure in nuclear localization of transcription factor Sp1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Tatsuo; Azumano, Makiko; Uwatoko, Chisana; Itoh, Kohji; Kuwahara, Jun

2009-01-01

Transcription factor Sp1 is localized in the nucleus and regulates gene expression. Our previous study demonstrated that the carboxyl terminal region of Sp1 containing 3-zinc finger region as DNA binding domain can also serve as nuclear localization signal (NLS). However, the nuclear transport mechanism of Sp1 has not been well understood. In this study, we performed a gene expression study on mutant Sp1 genes causing a set of amino acid substitutions in zinc finger domains to elucidate nuclear import activity. Nuclear localization of the GFP-fused mutant Sp1 proteins bearing concomitant substitutions in the first and third zinc fingers was highly inhibited. These mutant Sp1 proteins had also lost the binding ability as to the GC box sequence. The results suggest that the overall tertiary structure formed by the three zinc fingers is essential for nuclear localization of Sp1 as well as dispersed basic amino acids within the zinc fingers region.

Spent nuclear fuel transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondrat'ev, A.N.; Kosarev, Yu.A.; Yulikov, E.I.

1977-01-01

The paper considers the problems of shipping spent fuel from nuclear power stations to reprocessing plants and also the principal ways of solving these problems with a view to achieving maximum economy and safety in transport. The increase in the number of nuclear power plants in the USSR will entail an intensification of spent-fuel shipments. Higher burnup and the need to reduce cooling time call for heavier and more complex shipping containers. The problem of shipping spent fuel should be tackled comprehensively, bearing in mind the requirements of safety and economy. One solution to these problems is to develop rational and cheap designs of such containers. In addition, the world-wide trend towards more thorough protection of the environment against pollution and of the health of the population requires the devotion of constant attention to improving the reliability and safety of shipments. The paper considers the prospects for nuclear power development in the USSR and in other member countries of the CMEA (1976-1980), the composition and design of some Soviet packaging assemblies, the appropriate cooling time for spent fuel from thermal reactor power stations, procedures for reducing fuel-shipping costs, some methodological problems of container calculation and design, and finally problems of testing and checking containers on test rigs. (author)

Factors affecting nuclear development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, G.H.; Girouard, P.

1995-01-01

Among the factors affecting nuclear development, some depend more or less on public authorities, but many are out of public authorities control (foreign policies, market and deregulation, socials and environmental impacts, public opinion). As far as possible, the following study tries to identify those factors. (D.L.). 2 photos

Training on Transport Security of Nuclear/Radioactive Materials for Key Audiences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pope, Ronald; Liu, Yung; Shuler, J.M.

2016-01-01

Beginning in 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Packaging Certification Program (PCP), Office of Packaging and Transportation, Office of Environmental Management has sponsored a series of three training courses on Security of Nuclear and Other Radioactive Materials during Transport. These courses were developed and hosted by Argonne National Laboratory staff with guest lecturers from both the U.S. and international organizations and agencies including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), DOE national laboratories, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI), and the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS). Each of the three courses held to date were one-week in length. The courses delved in detail into the regulatory requirements for transport security, focusing on international and U.S.-domestic requirements and guidance documents. Lectures, in-class discussions and small group exercises, including tabletop (TTX) and field exercises were designed to enhance the learning objectives for the participants. For example, the field exercise used the ARG-US radio frequency identification (RFID) remote surveillance system developed by Argonne for DOE/PCP to track and monitor packages in a mock shipment, following in-class exercises of developing a transport security plan (TSP) for the mock shipment, performing a readiness review and identifying needed corrective actions. Participants were able to follow the mock shipment on the webpage in real time in the ARG-US Command Center at Argonne including “staged” incidents that were designed to illustrate the importance of control, command, communication and coordination in ensuring transport security. Great lessons were learned based on feedback from the participant’s course evaluations with the series of the courses. Since the

Power peaking nuclear reliability factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, H.A.; Pegram, J.W.; Mays, C.W.; Romano, J.J.; Woods, J.J.; Warren, H.D.

1977-11-01

The Calculational Nuclear Reliability Factor (CNRF) assigned to the limiting power density calculated in reactor design has been determined. The CNRF is presented as a function of the relative power density of the fuel assembly and its radial local. In addition, the Measurement Nuclear Reliability Factor (MNRF) for the measured peak hot pellet power in the core has been evaluated. This MNRF is also presented as a function of the relative power density and radial local within the fuel assembly

Transport code and nuclear data in intermediate energy region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, Akira; Odama, Naomitsu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Maekawa, F.; Ueki, K.; Kosaka, K.; Oyama, Y.

1998-11-01

We briefly reviewed the problems of intermediate energy nuclear data file and transport codes in connection with processing of the data. This is a summary of our group in the task force on JENDL High Energy File Integral Evaluation (JHEFIE). In this article we stress the necessity of the production of intermediate evaluated nuclear data file up to 3 GeV for the application of accelerator driven transmutation (ADT) system. And also we state the necessity of having our own transport code system to calculate the radiation fields using these evaluated files from the strategic points of view to keep our development of the ADT technology completely free from other conditions outside of our own such as imported codes and data with poor maintenance or unknown accuracy. (author)

Transport code and nuclear data in intermediate energy region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, Akira; Odama, Naomitsu; Maekawa, F.; Ueki, K.; Kosaka, K.; Oyama, Y.

1998-01-01

We briefly reviewed the problems of intermediate energy nuclear data file and transport codes in connection with processing of the data. This is a summary of our group in the task force on JENDL High Energy File Integral Evaluation (JHEFIE). In this article we stress the necessity of the production of intermediate evaluated nuclear data file up to 3 GeV for the application of accelerator driven transmutation (ADT) system. And also we state the necessity of having our own transport code system to calculate the radiation fields using these evaluated files from the strategic points of view to keep our development of the ADT technology completely free from other conditions outside of our own such as imported codes and data with poor maintenance or unknown accuracy. (author)

Factorization of Transport Coefficients in Macroporous Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shapiro, Alexander; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

2000-01-01

We prove the fundamental theorem about factorization of the phenomenological coefficients for transport in macroporous media. By factorization we mean the representation of the transport coefficients as products of geometric parameters of the porous medium and the parameters characteristic...

Specific transport and storage solutions: Waste management facing current and future stakes of the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deniau, Helene; Gagner, Laurent; Gendreau, Francoise; Presta, Anne

2006-01-01

With major projects ongoing or being planned, and also with the daily management of radioactive waste from nuclear facilities, the role of transport and/or storage packaging has been often overlooked. Indeed, the packaging development process and transport solutions implemented are a key part of the waste management challenge: protection of people and environment. During over four decades, the AREVA Group has developed a complete and coherent system for the transport of waste produced by nuclear industries. The transport solutions integrate the factors to consider, as industrial transportation needs, various waste forms, associated hazards and current regulations. Thus, COGEMA LOGISTICS has designed, licensed and manufactured a large number of different transport, storage and dual purpose cask models for residues and all kinds of radioactive wastes. The present paper proposes to illustrate how a company acting both as a cask designer and a carrier is key to the waste management issue and how it can support the waste management policy of nuclear producers through their operational choices. We will focus on the COGEMA LOGISTICS technical solutions implemented to guarantee safe and secure transportation and storage solutions. We will describe different aspects of the cask design process, insisting on how it enables to fulfill both customer needs and regulation requirements. We will also mention the associated services developed by the AREVA Business Unit Logistics (COGEMA LOGISTICS, TRANSNUCLEAR, MAINCO, and LEMARECHAL CELESTIN) in order to manage transportation of liquid and solid waste towards interim or final storage sites. The paper has the following contents: About radioactive waste; - Radioactive waste classification; - High level activity waste and long-lived intermediate level waste; - Long-lived low level waste; - Short-lived low- and intermediate level waste; - Very low level waste; - The radioactive waste in nuclear fuel cycle; - Packaging design and

Calmodulin-dependent nuclear import of HMG-box family nuclear factors: importance of the role of SRY in sex reversal.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Gurpreet; Delluc-Clavieres, Aurelie; Poon, Ivan K H; Forwood, Jade K; Glover, Dominic J; Jans, David A

2010-08-15

The HMG (high-mobility group)-box-containing chromatin-remodelling factor SRY (sex-determining region on the Y chromosome) plays a key role in sex determination. Its role in the nucleus is critically dependent on two NLSs (nuclear localization signals) that flank its HMG domain: the C-terminally located 'beta-NLS' that mediates nuclear transport through Impbeta1 (importin beta1) and the N-terminally located 'CaM-NLS' which is known to recognize the calcium-binding protein CaM (calmodulin). In the present study, we examined a number of missense mutations in the SRY CaM-NLS from human XY sex-reversed females for the first time, showing that they result in significantly reduced nuclear localization of GFP (green fluorescent protein)-SRY fusion proteins in transfected cells compared with wild-type. The CaM antagonist CDZ (calmidazolium chloride) was found to significantly reduce wild-type SRY nuclear accumulation, indicating dependence of SRY nuclear import on CaM. Intriguingly, the CaM-NLS mutants were all resistant to CDZ's effects, implying a loss of interaction with CaM, which was confirmed by direct binding experiments. CaM-binding/resultant nuclear accumulation was the only property of SRY found to be impaired by two of the CaM-NLS mutations, implying that inhibition of CaM-dependent nuclear import is the basis of sex reversal in these cases. Importantly, the CaM-NLS is conserved in other HMG-box-domain-containing proteins such as SOX-2, -9, -10 and HMGN1, all of which were found for the first time to rely on CaM for optimal nuclear localization. CaM-dependent nuclear translocation is thus a common mechanism for this family of important transcription factors.

Activity transport in nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narasimhan, S.V.

2000-01-01

The chemistry of the primary coolant is such that the general material loss is immeasurably low. However, the generation of radioactive corrosion products in the coolant, their transportation and distribution to different out of core surfaces occur irrevocably through the life cycle of the reactor. This phenomena leading to the build up of radiation field, which is unique to the nuclear reactor systems, is the only major problem of any significance. Minimization of this phenomenon can be done by many ways. The processes involved in the mechanism of activity transport are quite complex and are not at all thoroughly understood. The codes that have been developed so far use many empirical coefficients for some of the rate processes, which are either partially justified by simulated experimental studies or supported theoretically. In a multi-metal system like that of the reactor, the corrosion rates or release rates need not be similar especially in reactors like PHWRs. The mechanisms involved in the formation of protective oxide coating are quite complex to model in a simplified manner. The paper brings out some these features involved in the activity transport modeling and analyses the need for extensive field related experimental work to substantiate the model. (author)

Existing experimental criticality data applicable to nuclear-fuel-transportation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bierman, S.R.

1983-02-01

Analytical techniques are generally relied upon in making criticality evaluations involving nuclear material outside reactors. For these evaluations to be accepted the calculations must be validated by comparison with experimental data for a known set of conditions having physical and neutronic characteristics similar to those conditions being evaluated analytically. The purpose of this report is to identify those existing experimental data that are suitable for use in verifying criticality calculations on nuclear fuel transportation systems. In addition, near term needs for additional data in this area are identified. Of the considerable amount of criticality data currently existing, that are applicable to non-reactor systems, those particularly suitable for use in support of nuclear material transportation systems have been identified and catalogued into the following groups: (1) critical assemblies of fuel rods in water; (2) critical assemblies of fuel rods in water containing soluble neutron absorbers; (3) critical assemblies containing solid neutron absorber; (4) critical assemblies of fuel rods in water with heavy metal reflectors; and (5) critical assemblies of fuel rods in water with irregular features. A listing of the current near term needs for additional data in each of the groups has been developed for future use in planning criticality research in support of nuclear fuel transportation systems. The criticality experiments needed to provide these data are briefly described and identified according to priority and relative cost of performing the experiments

10 CFR 70.20a - General license to possess special nuclear material for transport.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false General license to possess special nuclear material for transport. 70.20a Section 70.20a Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DOMESTIC LICENSING OF... transport. (a) A general license is issued to any person to possess formula quantities of strategic special...

Status and future aspects of nuclear fuel cycle transports in the Federal Republic of Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blechschmidt, M.; Keese, H.

1977-01-01

The transport practices in the Federal Republic of Germany for materials of the nuclear fuel cycle are discussed. Particularly containers and modes of transport for UF 6 , fresh and spent fuel elements, plutonium and radwaste are described, with main emphasis on transport to reprocessing and waste storage facilities. In most cases nuclear materials have to be shipped across the borders because at present neither an enrichment nor an industrial reprocessing plant exists in the Federal Republic of Germany. Transports are therefore carried out according to international standards, such as the IAEA recommendations laid down in legal traffic regulations. Control and physical protection are being exercised on the basis of national regulations. The paper summarizes the experience gained in performing quite a number of various shipments and deals with the application of the relevant transport regulations. It also gives a brief outlook on future aspects, such as the increasing transport volume, and transport problems related to decommissioning and the operation of a nuclear fuel cycle center

Transport of nuclear material under the 1971 Brussels Convention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lagorce, M.

1975-01-01

The legal regime in force before entry into force of the 1971 Brussels Convention relating to civil liability for the maritime carriage of nuclear material created serious difficulties for maritime carriers, regarding both the financial risks entailed and restrictions on enjoyment of the rights granted by civil liability conventions. The 1971 Convention exonerates from liability any person likely to be held liable for nuclear damage under maritime law, provided another person is liable under the nuclear conventions or an equivalent national law. A problem remaining is that of compensation of nuclear damage to the means of transport for countries not having opted for re-inclusion of such damage in the nuclear law regime; this does not apply however to countries having ratified the Convention to date. A feature of the latter is that it establishes as extensively as possible the priority of nuclear law over maritime law. Furthermore the new regime continues to preserve efficiently the interests of victims of nuclear incidents. It is therefore to be hoped that insurers will no longer hesitate to cover international maritime carriage of nuclear material [fr

Electrodriven selective transport of Cs+ using chlorinated cobalt dicarbollide in polymer inclusion membrane: a novel approach for cesium removal from simulated nuclear waste solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaudhury, Sanhita; Bhattacharyya, Arunasis; Goswami, Asok

2014-11-04

The work describes a novel and cleaner approach of electrodriven selective transport of Cs from simulated nuclear waste solutions through cellulose tri acetate (CTA)/poly vinyl chloride (PVC) based polymer inclusion membrane. The electrodriven cation transport together with the use of highly Cs+ selective hexachlorinated derivative of cobalt bis dicarbollide, allows to achieve selective separation of Cs+ from high concentration of Na+ and other fission products in nuclear waste solutions. The transport selectivity has been studied using radiotracer technique as well as atomic emission spectroscopic technique. Transport studies using CTA based membrane have been carried out from neutral solution as well as 0.4 M HNO3, while that with PVC based membrane has been carried out from 3 M HNO3. High decontamination factor for Cs+ over Na+ has been obtained in all the cases. Experiment with simulated high level waste solution shows selective transport of Cs+ from most of other fission products also. Significantly fast Cs+ transport rate along with high selectivity is an interesting feature observed in this membrane. The current efficiency for Cs+ transport has been found to be ∼100%. The promising results show the possibility of using this kind of electrodriven membrane transport methods for nuclear waste treatment.

Equipment transporter for nuclear steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayes, L.R.

1987-01-01

A transporter is described for use in a steam generator of a nuclear power installation. The generator is essentially a heat exchanger having a vertically extended shell. Across the lower portion extends a horizontal tube sheet having an upper surface which supports a bundle of vertically extending tubes forming a limited annular space with the inside of the shell wall and the upper surface. An opening of limited dimensions through the shell wall gains manual access to the limited annular space. The transporter has means for locating and removing solid debris from the upper surface of the tube sheet in the annular space and has a means for assembly and disassembly of the transporter so that it may be manually passed through the shell opening to and from a position on the upper surface of the tube sheet in the annular space. The transporter includes: a body; at least three wheels mounted on the body for engaging the upper surface of the tube sheet; a first motor mounted on the body drivingly connected to the wheels for moving the transporter along the upper surface of the tube sheet in the annular space; a remotely operated means on the body for locating solid debris on the upper surface of the tube sheet; and means for securing and removing solid debris on the upper surface of the tube sheet located by the means for locating

Spent nuclear fuel transport: Problem state and analysis of modern approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nosovs'kij, A.V.; Yatsenko, M.V.

2018-01-01

The paper presents the review of international and national experience related to transport of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and trends in the development of transport containers. The analysis covers the vectors for the future improvement of packaging and the regulatory framework on SNF transport in Ukraine and other countries. The tasks for future research were identified. The results of this research will be used during the operation of the CSNSF.

Pair production from nuclear collisions and cosmic ray transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norbury, John W

2006-01-01

Modern cosmic ray transport codes, that are capable of use for a variety of applications, need to include all significant atomic, nuclear and particle reactions at a variety of energies. Lepton pair production from nucleus-nucleus collisions has not been included in transport codes to date. Using the methods of Baur, Bertulani and Baron, the present report provides estimates of electron-positron pair production cross sections for nuclei and energies relevant to cosmic ray transport. It is shown that the cross sections are large compared to other typical processes such as single neutron removal due to strong or electromagnetic interactions. Therefore, lepton pair production may need to be included in some transport code applications involving MeV electrons. (brief report)

New safety and security requirements for the transport of nuclear and other radioactive materials in Hungary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katona, T.; Horvath, K.; Safar, J.

2016-01-01

In addition to the promulgation of mode-specific regulations of international transport of dangerous goods, some Hungarian governmental and ministerial decrees impose further conditions upon the transport of nuclear and other radioactive materials. One of these ministerial decrees on the transport, carriage and packaging of radioactive materials is under revision and it will require • approval of emergency response plan (including security and safety contingency plan); • report on transport incidents and accidents for classifying them in accordance with the INES scale; • the competent authority to request experts’ support for the approval of package designs, radioactive material designs and shipments. Regarding the security of the transport of nuclear and other radioactive materials a new Hungarian governmental decree and a related guidance are about to be published which will supply additional requirements in the field of the transport security especially concerning radioactive materials, implementing - among others - IAEA recommendations of the NSS No9 and No14. The main and relevant features of the Hungarian nuclear regulatory system and the details of both new decrees regarding the safety and security issues of transport of nuclear and other radioactive materials will be discussed. (author)

Transportation of failed or damaged foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Messick, C.E.; Mustin, T.P.; Massey, C.D.

1998-01-01

Since resuming the Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel (FRR SNF) Acceptance Program in 1996, the Program has had to deal with difficult issues associated with the transportation of failed or damaged spent fuel. In several instances, problems with failed or damaged fuel have prevented the acceptance of the fuel at considerable cost to both the Department of Energy (DOE) and research reactor operators. In response to the problems faced by the Acceptance Program, DOE has undertaken significant steps to better define the spent fuel acceptance criteria. DOE has worked closely with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to address failed or damaged research reactor spent fuel and to identify cask certificate issues which must be resolved by cask owners and foreign regulatory authorities. The specific issues associated with the transport of Materials Testing Reactor (MTR)-type FRR SNF will be discussed. The information presented will include U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulatory issues, cask certificate issues, technical constraints, and lessons learned. Specific information will also be provided on the latest efforts to revise DOE's Appendix B, Transport Package (Cask) Acceptance Criteria. The information presented in this paper will be important to foreign research reactor operators, shippers, and cask vendors, so that appropriate amendments to the Certificate of Compliance for spent fuel casks can be submitted in a timely manner to facilitate the safe and scheduled transport of FRR SNF

Dual Liability for Nuclear Damage in Conventions and Finnish Legislation in the Field of Transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manninen, J.

1986-01-01

The exception made in the 1960 Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy to the otherwise absolute channelling of liability in order to avoid conflicts with the then existing international agreements in the field of transport is briefly described. The dual liability created by this provision is studied, as well as the question whether and when the victim might prefer to base his claim on a transport agreement instead of the Paris Convention. The so-called nuclear clauses in the new agreements in the transport field are analysed. The problems caused by the absence of a nuclear clause in the Guatemala City and Montreal Protocols, amending the Warsaw Convention relating to international air carriage are noted. Finally the relationship between nuclear liability legislation and transport legislation in Finland, as well as the cases where a dual liability existed at the time of the ratification of the Paris Convention and the changes which have taken place since then are described. (NEA) [fr

Surface sensitivity of nuclear-knock-out form factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fratamico, G.

1984-01-01

A numerical calculation has been performed to investigate the sensitivity of nuclear-knock-out form factors to nuclear-surface behaviour of bound-state wave functions. The result of our investigation suggests that one can extract the bound-state behaviour at the surface from experimental information on nuclear-knock-out form factors

Spent Nuclear Fuel Transportation Risk Assessment Methodology for Homeland Security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teagarden, Grant A.; Canavan, Kenneth T.; Nickell, Robert E.

2006-01-01

In response to increased interest in risk-informed decision making regarding terrorism, EPRI was selected by U.S. DHS and ASME to develop and demonstrate a nuclear sector specific methodology for owner / operators to utilize in performing a Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection (RAMCAP) assessment for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The objective is to characterize SNF transportation risk for risk management opportunities and to provide consistent information for DHS decision making. The method uses a characterization of risk as a function of Consequence, Vulnerability, and Threat. Worst reasonable case scenarios characterize risk for a benchmark set of threats and consequence types. A trial application was successfully performed and implementation is underway by one utility. (authors)

Biomechanics of the transport barrier in the nuclear pore complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, George J; Fassati, Ariberto; Hoogenboom, Bart W

2017-08-01

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the selective gateway through which all molecules must pass when entering or exiting the nucleus. It is a cog in the gene expression pathway, an entrance to the nucleus exploited by viruses, and a highly-tuned nanoscale filter. The NPC is a large proteinaceous assembly with a central lumen occluded by natively disordered proteins, known as FG-nucleoporins (or FG-nups). These FG-nups, along with a family of soluble proteins known as nuclear transport receptors (NTRs), form the selective transport barrier. Although much is known about the transport cycle and the necessity of NTRs for chaperoning cargo molecules through the NPC, the mechanism by which NTRs and NTR•cargo complexes translocate the selective transport barrier is not well understood. How can disordered FG-nups and soluble NTRs form a transport barrier that is selective, ATP-free, and fast? In this work, we review various mechanical approaches - both experimental and theoretical/computational - employed to better understand the morphology of the FG-nups, and their role in nucleocytoplasmic transport. Recent experiments on FG-nups tethered to planar surfaces, coupled with quantitative modelling work suggests that FG-nup morphologies are the result of a finely balanced system with significant contributions from FG-nup cohesiveness and entropic repulsion, and from NTR•FG-nup binding avidity; whilst AFM experiments on intact NPCs suggest that the FG-nups are sufficiently cohesive to form condensates in the centre of the NPC lumen, which may transiently dissolve to facilitate the transport of larger cargoes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transport of radioactive materials on public roads - with regard to the authorizations granted to the Nuclear Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berger, H.U.

1992-10-01

This report shall be a help for scientific and technical personal of the nuclear research center in the choice of the modalities of the transport of radioactive materials on public roads in accordance to regulations and authorizations. Not only the atomic law, the radiation protection ordinance and the ordinance on dangerous goods on roads, which are binding in any case, are regarded in this report but also as the scope and the impositions of the transport authorization of the nuclear research center as the internal instructions of the nuclear research center. With regard to the transport of nuclear fuel material only the cases of transport exempted of authorization and transport of such kinds waste containing nuclear fuel material treated where the waste has a density at most of 15g/cm 3 or where the package contains at most 15g of nuclear fuel material. The reader is guided by dialogue (pretty much as a book for' programmed learning') to the solution of his special problem of transport. In order to narrow down the size of this report, all technical or administrative details are treated in 11 brochures, which are published as technical supplements of this report. These supplements are available on request. (orig.) [de

Nuclear geometry effect and transport coefficient in semi-inclusive lepton-production of hadrons off nuclei

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Na Liu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Hadron production in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of leptons from nuclei is an ideal tool to determine and constrain the transport coefficient in cold nuclear matter. The leading-order computations for hadron multiplicity ratios are performed by means of the SW quenching weights and the analytic parameterizations of quenching weights based on BDMPS formalism. The theoretical results are compared to the HERMES positively charged pions production data with the quarks hadronization occurring outside the nucleus. With considering the nuclear geometry effect on hadron production, our predictions are in good agreement with the experimental measurements. The extracted transport parameter from the global fit is shown to be qˆ=0.74±0.03 GeV2/fm for the SW quenching weight without the finite energy corrections. As for the analytic parameterization of BDMPS quenching weight without the quark energy E dependence, the computed transport coefficient is qˆ=0.20±0.02 GeV2/fm. It is found that the nuclear geometry effect has a significant impact on the transport coefficient in cold nuclear matter. It is necessary to consider the detailed nuclear geometry in studying the semi-inclusive hadron production in deep inelastic scattering on nuclear targets.

Human factors in nuclear power plant operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swain, A.D.

1980-08-01

This report describes some of the human factors problems in nuclear power plants and the technology that can be employed to reduce those problems. Many of the changes to improve the human factors in existing plants are inexpensive, and the expected gain in human reliability is substantial. The human factors technology is well-established and there are practitioners in most countries that have nuclear power plants

The permission of transport of irradiated nuclear fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klomberg, T.J.M.

2000-01-01

In July and October 2000 the Dutch government granted permits for the transportation of irradiated nuclear fuel elements. The environmental organization Greenpeace objected against the permit, but that was rejected by the Dutch Council of State. A brief overview is given of the judgements and the state-of-the-art with respect to the transportation of the elements from Dutch reactors and storage facilities in Petten, Dodewaard and Borssele to Cogema in La Hague, France and BNFL in Sellafield, England

Transportation systems to support the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilmot, E.L.; Philpott, R.E.

1985-01-01

Late in 1982, the United States Congress enacted legislation for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. The policy, embodied in Public Law 97-425 and referred to as the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), mandates that the Department of Energy (DOE) be responsible for the transport of commercial spent fuel and defense high-level waste from their points of origin to facilities constructed under provisions of the NWPA. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the preliminary transportation policies and plans developed by the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), within the DOE, to respond to the NWPA mandate

Vulnerability Analysis Considerations for the Transportation of Special Nuclear Material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicholson, Lary G.; Purvis, James W.

1999-01-01

The vulnerability analysis methodology developed for fixed nuclear material sites has proven to be extremely effective in assessing associated transportation issues. The basic methods and techniques used are directly applicable to conducting a transportation vulnerability analysis. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the same physical protection elements (detection, delay, and response) are present, although the response force plays a dominant role in preventing the theft or sabotage of material. Transportation systems are continuously exposed to the general public whereas the fixed site location by its very nature restricts general public access

Transport of nuclear used fuel and waste materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neau, H.J. [World Nuclear Transport Institute, London (United Kingdom)

2015-07-01

20 millions consignments of radioactive materials are routinely transported annually on public roads, railways and ships. 5% of these are nuclear fuel cycle related. International Atomic Energy Agency Regulations have been in force since 1961. The sector has an excellent safety record spanning over 50 years. Back end transport covers the operations concerned with spent fuel that leaves reactors and wastes. Since 1971, there have been 70,000 shipments of used fuel (i.e. over 80,000 tonnes) with no damage to property or person. The excellent safety record spanning over 50 years praised every year by the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency. More than 200 sea voyages over a distance of more than 8 million kilometres of transport of used fuel or high-level wastes.

Nuclear fact book

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hill, O. F.; Platt, A. M.; Robinson, J. V. [comps

1983-05-01

This reference provides significant highlights and summary facts in the following areas: general energy; nuclear energy; nuclear fuel cycle; uranium supply and enrichment; nuclear reactors; spent fuel and advanced repacking concepts; reprocessing; high-level waste; gaseous waste; transuranic waste; low-level waste; remedial action; transportation; disposal; radiation information; environment; legislation; socio-political aspects; conversion factors; and a glossary. (GHT)

A Fuzzy Modeling Approach to Road Transport with Application to a Case of Spent Nuclear Fuel Transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marseguerra, Marzio; Zio, Enrico; Bianchi, Mauro

2004-01-01

In this paper, we propose a general fuzzy inference approach to building a model of hazardous road transport that relates given traffic, weather, and vehicle-speed conditions to the accident rate. The development of the model is discussed in detail, and its validation is provided with reference to literature data regarding the transport of spent nuclear fuel to its final confinement repository

Draft environmental impact statement on a proposed nuclear weapons nonproliferation policy concerning foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel: Volume 2, Appendix E, Evaluation of human health effects of overland transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

This Appendix provides an overview of the approach used to assess the human health risks that may result from the overland transportation of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel. The Appendix includes discussion of the scope of the assessment, analytical methods used for the risk assessment (i.e., computer models), important assessment assumptions, determination of potential transportation routes, and presents the results of the assessment. In addition, to aid in the understanding and interpretation of the results, specific arm of uncertainty are described, with an emphasis an how the uncertainties may affect comparisons of the alternatives. he approach used in this Appendix is modeled after that used in the Programmatic Spent Nuclear Fuel Management and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SNF ampersand INEL Draft EIS) (DOE, 1994b). The SNF ampersand INEL Draft EIS did not perform as detailed an analysis on the specific actions taken for foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel because of the breadth necessary to analyze the entire spent fuel management program. However, the fundamental assumptions used in this analysis are consistent with those used in the SNF ampersand INEL Draft EIS (DOE, 1994b), and the same computer codes and generic release and accident data are used. The risk assessment results are presented in this Appendix in terms of ''Per-shipment'' risk factors, as well as for the total risks associated with each alternative. Per-shipment risk factors provide an estimate of the risk from a single spent nuclear fuel shipment between a specific origin and destination. They are calculated for all possible origin and destination pairs for each spent nuclear fuel type. The total risks for a given alternative are found by multiplying the expected number of shipments by the appropriate per-shipment risk factors. This approach provides maximum flexibility for determining the risks for a large number of potential

Nuclear terrorism risk analysis using game theory. Case study of sea transportation of MOX fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakatani, Eri; Tanaka, Satoru; Choi, Jor-Shan

2010-01-01

While considerable attention and resources have been directed towards improving nuclear security in Japan in response to the threat of nuclear terrorism, the transport of nuclear material raises concern by the public as indicated in the recent return of MOX fuel from Europe. This concern cannot be adequately addressed by the government through communications with the public because of the confidential nature of such transport. Also, it remains a challenge for adequately assessing the nuclear terrorism risk because many key parameters associated with such assessment cannot be derived from statistical data and reflect actors' intentions unlike assessment on natural disasters. This study proposes an assessment methodology which introduces game theory to deduce the correlations between those key parameters and can be used to analyze the nuclear terrorism risk, both quantitatively and qualitatively for the civilian use of nuclear power. Risk will be calculated by Monte Carlo methods based on probability distributions set for actors' utilities. A case-study of transporting the MOX fuel by sea is also included. (author)

Public Opinion shifts to the favour of nuclear energy due to steam generator transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lengar, I.; Nemec, T.

2000-01-01

In late August and early September of 1999, nuclear energy topics occupied a central place in the Slovenian media because of the transport of two new steam generators to the Krsko nuclear power plant, and also due to the protest action of an Austrian Green peace group. Before these events, the public opinion in Slovenia was not in favour or nuclear energy ;and Green peace had a good reputation. In September it has lost much credibility because of their clumsy :action of protest, and in just one month this caused a shift of public opinion in Slovenia towards support of Slovenian's only nuclear power plant. The Green peace protest action occurred during the transport of the two new steam generators to Krsko. By replacement of the old steam generators the operation of the Krsko NPP will be extended until 2023. The transport envoy travelled during the first half of September '99 across a considerable part of Slovene territory, passing by the capital of Ljubljana. (authors)

Nuclear fuel particles in the environment - characteristics, atmospheric transport and skin doses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poellaenen, R.

2002-05-01

In the present thesis, nuclear fuel particles are studied from the perspective of their characteristics, atmospheric transport and possible skin doses. These particles, often referred to as 'hot' particles, can be released into the environment, as has happened in past years, through human activities, incidents and accidents, such as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. Nuclear fuel particles with a diameter of tens of micrometers, referred to here as large particles, may be hundreds of kilobecquerels in activity and even an individual particle may present a quantifiable health hazard. The detection of individual nuclear fuel particles in the environment, their isolation for subsequent analysis and their characterisation are complicated and require well-designed sampling and tailored analytical methods. In the present study, the need to develop particle analysis methods is highlighted. It is shown that complementary analytical techniques are necessary for proper characterisation of the particles. Methods routinely used for homogeneous samples may produce erroneous results if they are carelessly applied to radioactive particles. Large nuclear fuel particles are transported differently in the atmosphere compared with small particles or gaseous species. Thus, the trajectories of gaseous species are not necessarily appropriate for calculating the areas that may receive large particle fallout. A simplified model and a more advanced model based on the data on real weather conditions were applied in the case of the Chernobyl accident to calculate the transport of the particles of different sizes. The models were appropriate in characterising general transport properties but were not able to properly predict the transport of the particles with an aerodynamic diameter of tens of micrometers, detected at distances of hundreds of kilometres from the source, using only the current knowledge of the source term. Either the effective release height has been higher

Analytical benchmarks for nuclear engineering applications. Case studies in neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The developers of computer codes involving neutron transport theory for nuclear engineering applications seldom apply analytical benchmarking strategies to ensure the quality of their programs. A major reason for this is the lack of analytical benchmarks and their documentation in the literature. The few such benchmarks that do exist are difficult to locate, as they are scattered throughout the neutron transport and radiative transfer literature. The motivation for this benchmark compendium, therefore, is to gather several analytical benchmarks appropriate for nuclear engineering applications under one cover. We consider the following three subject areas: neutron slowing down and thermalization without spatial dependence, one-dimensional neutron transport in infinite and finite media, and multidimensional neutron transport in a half-space and an infinite medium. Each benchmark is briefly described, followed by a detailed derivation of the analytical solution representation. Finally, a demonstration of the evaluation of the solution representation includes qualified numerical benchmark results. All accompanying computer codes are suitable for the PC computational environment and can serve as educational tools for courses in nuclear engineering. While this benchmark compilation does not contain all possible benchmarks, by any means, it does include some of the most prominent ones and should serve as a valuable reference. (author)

Radioactive materials and nuclear fuel transport requirements in Poland in the light of international regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musialowicz, T.

1977-01-01

National regulations for the transport of radioactive materials and nuclear fuel in Poland are discussed. Basic transport requirements and regulations, transport experience including transport accidents and emergency service are described. The comparison with international regulations is given

Nanoscale stiffness topography reveals structure and mechanics of the transport barrier in intact nuclear pore complexes

Science.gov (United States)

Bestembayeva, Aizhan; Kramer, Armin; Labokha, Aksana A.; Osmanović, Dino; Liashkovich, Ivan; Orlova, Elena V.; Ford, Ian J.; Charras, Guillaume; Fassati, Ariberto; Hoogenboom, Bart W.

2015-01-01

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the gate for transport between the cell nucleus and the cytoplasm. Small molecules cross the NPC by passive diffusion, but molecules larger than ∼5 nm must bind to nuclear transport receptors to overcome a selective barrier within the NPC. Although the structure and shape of the cytoplasmic ring of the NPC are relatively well characterized, the selective barrier is situated deep within the central channel of the NPC and depends critically on unstructured nuclear pore proteins, and is therefore not well understood. Here, we show that stiffness topography with sharp atomic force microscopy tips can generate nanoscale cross-sections of the NPC. The cross-sections reveal two distinct structures, a cytoplasmic ring and a central plug structure, which are consistent with the three-dimensional NPC structure derived from electron microscopy. The central plug persists after reactivation of the transport cycle and resultant cargo release, indicating that the plug is an intrinsic part of the NPC barrier. Added nuclear transport receptors accumulate on the intact transport barrier and lead to a homogenization of the barrier stiffness. The observed nanomechanical properties in the NPC indicate the presence of a cohesive barrier to transport and are quantitatively consistent with the presence of a central condensate of nuclear pore proteins in the NPC channel.

RISKIND: A computer program for calculating radiological consequences and health risks from transportation of spent nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuan, Y.C. [Square Y, Orchard Park, NY (United States); Chen, S.Y.; LePoire, D.J. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Assessment and Information Sciences Div.; Rothman, R. [USDOE Idaho Field Office, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

1993-02-01

This report presents the technical details of RISIUND, a computer code designed to estimate potential radiological consequences and health risks to individuals and the collective population from exposures associated with the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. RISKIND is a user-friendly, semiinteractive program that can be run on an IBM or equivalent personal computer. The program language is FORTRAN-77. Several models are included in RISKIND that have been tailored to calculate the exposure to individuals under various incident-free and accident conditions. The incidentfree models assess exposures from both gamma and neutron radiation and can account for different cask designs. The accident models include accidental release, atmospheric transport, and the environmental pathways of radionuclides from spent fuels; these models also assess health risks to individuals and the collective population. The models are supported by databases that are specific to spent nuclear fuels and include a radionudide inventory and dose conversion factors.

RISKIND: A computer program for calculating radiological consequences and health risks from transportation of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Y.C.; Chen, S.Y.; LePoire, D.J.

1993-02-01

This report presents the technical details of RISIUND, a computer code designed to estimate potential radiological consequences and health risks to individuals and the collective population from exposures associated with the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. RISKIND is a user-friendly, semiinteractive program that can be run on an IBM or equivalent personal computer. The program language is FORTRAN-77. Several models are included in RISKIND that have been tailored to calculate the exposure to individuals under various incident-free and accident conditions. The incidentfree models assess exposures from both gamma and neutron radiation and can account for different cask designs. The accident models include accidental release, atmospheric transport, and the environmental pathways of radionuclides from spent fuels; these models also assess health risks to individuals and the collective population. The models are supported by databases that are specific to spent nuclear fuels and include a radionudide inventory and dose conversion factors

The VENUS-7 benchmarks. Results from state-of-the-art transport codes and nuclear data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zwermann, Winfried; Pautz, Andreas; Timm, Wolf

2010-01-01

For the validation of both nuclear data and computational methods, comparisons with experimental data are necessary. Most advantageous are assemblies where not only the multiplication factors or critical parameters were measured, but also additional quantities like reactivity differences or pin-wise fission rate distributions have been assessed. Currently there is a comprehensive activity to evaluate such measure-ments and incorporate them in the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments. A large number of such experiments was performed at the VENUS zero power reactor at SCK/CEN in Belgium in the sixties and seventies. The VENUS-7 series was specified as an international benchmark within the OECD/NEA Working Party on Scientific Issues of Reactor Systems (WPRS), and results obtained with various codes and nuclear data evaluations were summarized. In the present paper, results of high-accuracy transport codes with full spatial resolution with up-to-date nuclear data libraries from the JEFF and ENDF/B evaluations are presented. The comparisons of the results, both code-to-code and with the measured data are augmented by uncertainty and sensitivity analyses with respect to nuclear data uncertainties. For the multiplication factors, these are performed with the TSUNAMI-3D code from the SCALE system. In addition, uncertainties in the reactivity differences are analyzed with the TSAR code which is available from the current SCALE-6 version. (orig.)

Transportation of failed or damaged foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Messick, Charles E.; Mustin, Tracy P.; Massey, Charles D.

1999-01-01

Since initiating the Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel (FRR SNF) Acceptance Program in 1996, the Program has had to deal with difficult issues associated with the transportation of failed or damaged spent fuel. In several instances, problems with failed or damaged fuel have prevented the acceptance of the fuel at considerable cost to both the Department of Energy and research reactor operators. In response to the problems faced by the Acceptance Program, DOE has undertaken significant steps to better define the spent fuel acceptance criteria. DOE has worked closely with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to address failed or damaged research reactor spent fuel causing a degradation of the fuel assembly exposing fuel meat and to identify cask certificate issues which must be resolved by cask owners and foreign regulatory authorities. The specific issues and implementation challenges associated with the transport of MTR type FRR SNF will be discussed. The information presented will include U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulatory issues, cask certificate issues, technical constraints, implementation status, and lessons learned. Specific information will also be provided on the latest efforts to revise DOE's Appendix B, Transport Package (Cask) Acceptance Criteria. The information presented in this paper will be of interest to foreign research reactor operators, shippers, and cask vendors in evaluating the condition of their fuel to ensure it can be transported in accordance with appropriate cask certificate requirements. (author)

Human factors in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pack, R.W.

1978-01-01

The Electric Power Research Institute has started research in human factors in nuclear power plants. One project, completed in March 1977, reviewed human factors problems in operating power plants and produced a report evaluating those problems. A second project developed computer programs for evaluating operator performance on training simulators. A third project is developing and evaluating control-room design approaches. A fourth project is reviewing human factors problems associated with power-plant maintainability and instrumentation and control technician activities. Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary specialty concerned with influencing the design of equipment systems, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable operator performance. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has undertaken four projects studying the application of human factors engineering principles to nuclear power plants. (author)

Third party liability insurance for international transport of nuclear substances in countries party to the Paris Convention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacroix, F.

1977-01-01

The number of international transports of radioactive materials has been increasing at an accelerating rate for several years. These transports are subject to specific safety rules which must be complied with in order to obtain nuclear third party liability cover. In general nuclear transports are insured under a policy which differs from that for installations. Transport policy criteria have been harmonized to some extent, in particular, in the frame of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. Certificates established by the competent national authorities testifying to the existence of insurance must in principle be approved by the countries crossed which are parties to the Paris Convention. (NEA) [fr

Sea transport of used nuclear fuel and radiactive disposals to a Swedish central store

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-10-01

Sea transport of used nuclear fuel and radioactive disposals to a Swedish central store. A vessel for transporting used nuclear fuel and radioactive disposals from the power stations at Ringhals, Barsebaeck, Simpevarp and Forsmark to a central store has been projected. Safety aspects, technical and economical aspects have been taken into consideration with regard to the actual volume of goods to be transported. Three different types of vessels are presented and a specification is given for the main alternative. A safety study of the main alternative is shown, regarding collision safety, fire risks and fire extinguishing equipment. (author)

Importance of human factors on nuclear installations safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caruso, G.J.

1990-01-01

Actually, installations safety and, in particular the nuclear installations infer a strong incidence in human factors related to the design and operation of such installations. In general, the experience aims to that the most important accidents have happened as result of the components' failures combination and human failures in the operation of safety systems. Human factors in the nuclear installations may be divided into two areas: economy and human reliability. Human factors treatments for the safety evaluation of the nuclear installations allow to diagnose the weak points of man-machine interaction. (Author) [es

Application of the nuclear gages in dynamic sedimentology for the solid transport study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamdasni, Y.

1994-02-01

The problems caused by the solid particle transport in rivers, dams, harbors, estuaries and in navigation channels have considerable economical consequences. The technical difficulties met when trying to limit or manage these problems are very important because of lack of knowledge. The nuclear gages and the radioactive tracers can be the measurement and monitoring means which, associated to the conventional techniques, permit to develop strongly the knowledge in the solid transport field. This report gives the modes of solid transport and the problems caused by these transports and exposes the physical properties of the fine sediments and their behavior under the hydrodynamic effects. In the same way, it deals with the theory of the nuclear gages, often applied in dynamic sedimentology and gives some examples of their applications. 29 refs., 35 figs., 5 tabs. (F.M.)

Regional, national and international security requirements for the transport of nuclear cargo by sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booker, P.A.; Barnwell, I.

2004-01-01

Since the beginning of the nuclear age in the 1940's, the world has focused on the immense possibilities of nuclear power with both its destructive and productive capabilities. The civil nuclear industry in the UK, as in most nuclear weapons states, grew from the military facilities built in the post war years under the political climate of the Cold War. In the early years of the industry, civil and defence nuclear facilities were inextricably linked both in public perceptions and the regulatory infrastructure under which they operated. The nuclear arms race and the spread of communism overshadowed people's perceptions of there being two separate uses of nuclear material. This was a double edged sword which initially allowed the industry to develop largely unhindered by public concerns but latterly meant the industry could not break away from its roots and to many is still perceived as a dangerous and destructive force. Regulatory frameworks governing all aspects of the industry have developed both nationally and internationally driven by valid public concerns, political agendas and an international consensus that the unregulated use of nuclear material has catastrophic possibilities on an international scale. With the internationalisation of the civil nuclear industry and the costs associated with developing facilities to fully support each stage of the fuel cycle, from enrichment, fuel manufacturing, reprocessing and waste remediation, it became inevitable that a transport infrastructure would develop to make best use of the facilities. Regulations, both national and international are implicit in ensuring the security of nuclear material in transit. Due to the physical size of many of the irradiated fuel packages and implications of the changes to transport safety regulations, international transports of nuclear material, other than within mainland Europe, is predominantly carried out by sea

Regional, national and international security requirements for the transport of nuclear cargo by sea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Booker, P.A.; Barnwell, I. [Marine Operations, BNFL International Transport and British Nuclear Group Security (United Kingdom)

2004-07-01

Since the beginning of the nuclear age in the 1940's, the world has focused on the immense possibilities of nuclear power with both its destructive and productive capabilities. The civil nuclear industry in the UK, as in most nuclear weapons states, grew from the military facilities built in the post war years under the political climate of the Cold War. In the early years of the industry, civil and defence nuclear facilities were inextricably linked both in public perceptions and the regulatory infrastructure under which they operated. The nuclear arms race and the spread of communism overshadowed people's perceptions of there being two separate uses of nuclear material. This was a double edged sword which initially allowed the industry to develop largely unhindered by public concerns but latterly meant the industry could not break away from its roots and to many is still perceived as a dangerous and destructive force. Regulatory frameworks governing all aspects of the industry have developed both nationally and internationally driven by valid public concerns, political agendas and an international consensus that the unregulated use of nuclear material has catastrophic possibilities on an international scale. With the internationalisation of the civil nuclear industry and the costs associated with developing facilities to fully support each stage of the fuel cycle, from enrichment, fuel manufacturing, reprocessing and waste remediation, it became inevitable that a transport infrastructure would develop to make best use of the facilities. Regulations, both national and international are implicit in ensuring the security of nuclear material in transit. Due to the physical size of many of the irradiated fuel packages and implications of the changes to transport safety regulations, international transports of nuclear material, other than within mainland Europe, is predominantly carried out by sea.

Sampling and transport of paraffin waste form from CWDS of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J. M.; Hwang, J. H.; Kim, C. R.; Park, J. W.

2000-01-01

Sampling and transport of paraffin waste form from concentrated waste drying system (CWDS) of domestic nuclear power plant were performed to collect the leaching characteristic data for the disposal of radioactive waste. Transport was performed according to the national regulations and the internal rules of the nuclear power plant. The sample of paraffin waste form was classified as L type package according to the regulation and radiation exposure of operator was measured in the range of 6 to 12 mrem that was less than the estimated amount

A Transportation Risk Assessment Tool for Analyzing the Transport of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste to the Proposed Yucca Mountain Repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Best, Ralph; Winnard, T.; Ross, S.; Best, R.

2001-01-01

The Yucca Mountain Transportation Database was developed as a data management tool for assembling and integrating data from multiple sources to compile the potential transportation impacts presented in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada (DEIS). The database uses the results from existing models and codes such as RADTRAN, RISKIND, INTERLINE, and HIGHWAY to estimate transportation-related impacts of transporting spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from commercial reactors and U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities to Yucca Mountain. The source tables in the database are compendiums of information from many diverse sources including: radionuclide quantities for each waste type; route and route characteristics for rail, legal-weight truck, heavy haul. truck, and barge transport options; state-specific accident and fatality rates for routes selected for analysis; packaging and shipment data by waste type; unit risk factors; the complex behavior of the packaged waste forms in severe transport accidents; and the effects of exposure to radiation or the isotopic specific effects of radionclides should they be released in severe transportation accidents. The database works together with the codes RADTRAN (Neuhauser, et al, 1994) and RISKlND (Yuan, et al, 1995) to calculate incident-free dose and accident risk. For the incident-free transportation scenario, the database uses RADTRAN and RISKIND-generated data to calculate doses to offlink populations, onlink populations, people at stops, crews, inspectors, workers at intermodal transfer stations, guards at overnight stops, and escorts, as well as non-radioactive pollution health effects. For accident scenarios, the database uses RADTRAN-generated data to calculate dose risks based on ingestion, inhalation, resuspension, immersion (cloudshine), and groundshine as

Distinct hydrophobic “patches” in the N- and C-tails of beta-catenin contribute to nuclear transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, Manisha; Jamieson, Cara; Lui, Christina [Center for Cancer Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145 (Australia); Henderson, Beric R., E-mail: beric.henderson@sydney.edu.au [Center for Cancer Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145 (Australia)

2016-11-01

β-catenin is a key mediator of Wnt signaling and its deregulated nuclear accumulation can drive cancer progression. While the central armadillo (Arm) repeats of β-catenin stimulate nuclear entry, the N- and C-terminal “tail” sequences are thought to regulate turnover and transactivation. We show here that the N- and C-tails are also potent transport sequences. The unstructured tails of β-catenin, when individually fused to a GFP-reporter, could enter and exit the nucleus rapidly in live cells. Proximity ligation assays and pull-down assays identified a weak interaction between the tail sequences and the FG-repeats of nucleoporins, consistent with a possible direct translocation of β-catenin through the nuclear pore complex. Extensive alanine mutagenesis of the tail sequences revealed that nuclear translocation of β-catenin was dependent on specific uniformly distributed patches of hydrophobic residues, whereas the mutagenesis of acidic amino acids had no effect. Moreover, the mutation of hydrophobic patches within the N-tail and C-tail of full length β-catenin reduced nuclear transport rate and diminished its ability to activate transcription. We propose that the tail sequences can contribute to β-catenin transport and suggest a possible similar role for hydrophobic unstructured regions in other proteins. - Highlights: • We show that the N- and C-tails of beta-catenin possess nuclear transport activity. • Nuclear transport of the N- or C-tails requires specific hydrophobic amino acids. • Mutagenesis of the N-terminus diminished nuclear entry of full-length beta-catenin. • We propose the N-tail contributes to beta-catenin nuclear entry and transactivation.

Informational system to assist decision making at spent nuclear fuel transportation from VVER-440, VVER-1000 and RBMK-1000 nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuryndin, A.V.; Kirkin, A.M.; Stroganov, A.A.

2012-01-01

The developed informational system provides an automated estimations of nuclear and radiation safety parameters during spent nuclear fuel transportation from WWER-440 and WWER-1000 and RBMK-1000 nuclear power plants to the nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and allows us to determine the optimum cask loading from the dose rates distribution outside of protection point of view [ru

Human factor problem in nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshino, Kenji; Fujimoto, Junzo

1999-01-01

Since a nuclear power plant accident at Threemile Island in U.S.A. occurred in March, 1979, twenty years have passed. After the accident, the human factor problem became focussed in nuclear power, to succeed its research at present. For direct reason of human error, most of factors at individual level or work operation level are often listed at their center. Then, it is natural that studies on design of a machine or apparatus suitable for various human functions and abilities and on improvement of relationship between 'human being and machine' and 'human being and working environment' are important in future. Here was, as first, described on outlines of the human factor problem in a nuclear power plant developed at a chance of past important accident, and then was described on educational training for its countermeasure. At last, some concrete researching results obtained by human factor research were introduced. (G.K.)

The climatogenetic factors and the transport network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasile MAXIM

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The article analyses the climatogenic factors and how they influence the transport system (network of the Republic of Moldova. The following climatogenetic factors were analysed: dynamic, physical-geographic, etc. as well as some specific climatic elements as the temperature of the air, cloud amount, humidity, direction and speed of the wind. As a conclusion it can be mentioned that when tracing the terrestrial transport system it is necessary to take into consideration the climatic factors which directly influence this field of human activity.

Considerations in the selection of transport modes for spent nuclear fuel shipments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daling, P.M.; McNair, G.W.; Andrews, W.B.

1985-07-01

This paper discusses the factors associated with selecting a particular transport mode for spent fuel shipments. These factors include transportation costs, economics of potential transportation accidents, risk/safety of spent fuel transportation, routing alternatives, shipping cask handling capabilities, and shipping cask availability. Data needed to estimate transportation costs and risks are presented and discussed. The remaining factors are discussed qualitatively and can be used as guidance for selecting a particular transport mode. 15 refs., 3 tabs

Proposed nuclear weapons nonproliferation policy concerning foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel: Appendix C, marine transport and associated environmental impacts. Volume 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

This is Appendix C to a Draft Environmental Statement on a Proposed Nuclear Weapon Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel. Shipment of any material via ocean transport entails risks to both the ship's crew and the environment. The risks result directly from transportation-related accidents and, in the case of radioactive or other hazardous materials, also include exposure to the effects of the material itself. This appendix provides a description of the approach used to assess the risks associated with the transport of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel from a foreign port to a U.S. port(s) of entry. This appendix also includes a discussion of the shipping configuration of the foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel, the possible types of vessels that could be used to make the shipments, the risk assessment methodology (addressing both incident-free and accident risks), and the results of the analyses. Analysis of activities in the port(s) is described in Appendix D. The incident-free and accident risk assessment results are presented in terms of the per shipment risk and total risks associated with the basic implementation of Management Alternative 1and other implementation alternatives. In addition, annual risks from incident-free transport are developed

Probabilistic risk assessment on maritime spent nuclear fuel transportation (Part II: Ship collision probability)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christian, Robby; Kang, Hyun Gook

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a methodology to assess and reduce risks of maritime spent nuclear fuel transportation with a probabilistic approach. Event trees detailing the progression of collisions leading to transport casks’ damage were constructed. Parallel and crossing collision probabilities were formulated based on the Poisson distribution. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data were processed with the Hough Transform algorithm to estimate possible intersections between the shipment route and the marine traffic. Monte Carlo simulations were done to compute collision probabilities and impact energies at each intersection. Possible safety improvement measures through a proper selection of operational transport parameters were investigated. These parameters include shipment routes, ship's cruise velocity, number of transport casks carried in a shipment, the casks’ stowage configuration and loading order on board the ship. A shipment case study is presented. Waters with high collision probabilities were identified. Effective range of cruising velocity to reduce collision risks were discovered. The number of casks in a shipment and their stowage method which gave low cask damage frequencies were obtained. The proposed methodology was successful in quantifying ship collision and cask damage frequency. It was effective in assisting decision making processes to minimize risks in maritime spent nuclear fuel transportation. - Highlights: • Proposes a probabilistic framework on the safety of spent nuclear fuel transportation by sea. • Developed a marine traffic simulation model using Generalized Hough Transform (GHT) algorithm. • A transportation case study on South Korean waters is presented. • Single-vessel risk reduction method is outlined by optimizing transport parameters.

Institutional interactions in developing a transportation system under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denny, S.H.

1986-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes that the success of its efforts to develop and operate a system for transporting nuclear waste under the provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) depends in large measure on the effectiveness of Departmental interactions with the affected parties. To ensure the necessary network of communication, the DOE is establishing lines of contact with those who are potential participants in the task of developing the policies and procedures for the NWPA transportation system. In addition, a number of measures have been initiated to reinforce broad-based involvement in program development. The Transportation Institutional Plan provides a preliminary road map of DOE's projected interactions over the next decade and is discussed in this paper

Nuclear fuel particles in the environment - characteristics, atmospheric transport and skin doses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poellaenen, R

2002-05-01

In the present thesis, nuclear fuel particles are studied from the perspective of their characteristics, atmospheric transport and possible skin doses. These particles, often referred to as 'hot' particles, can be released into the environment, as has happened in past years, through human activities, incidents and accidents, such as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986. Nuclear fuel particles with a diameter of tens of micrometers, referred to here as large particles, may be hundreds of kilobecquerels in activity and even an individual particle may present a quantifiable health hazard. The detection of individual nuclear fuel particles in the environment, their isolation for subsequent analysis and their characterisation are complicated and require well-designed sampling and tailored analytical methods. In the present study, the need to develop particle analysis methods is highlighted. It is shown that complementary analytical techniques are necessary for proper characterisation of the particles. Methods routinely used for homogeneous samples may produce erroneous results if they are carelessly applied to radioactive particles. Large nuclear fuel particles are transported differently in the atmosphere compared with small particles or gaseous species. Thus, the trajectories of gaseous species are not necessarily appropriate for calculating the areas that may receive large particle fallout. A simplified model and a more advanced model based on the data on real weather conditions were applied in the case of the Chernobyl accident to calculate the transport of the particles of different sizes. The models were appropriate in characterising general transport properties but were not able to properly predict the transport of the particles with an aerodynamic diameter of tens of micrometers, detected at distances of hundreds of kilometres from the source, using only the current knowledge of the source term. Either the effective release height has

Pre-transport factors affecting the welfare of cattle during road transport for slaughter – a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronika Šímová

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In terms of animal welfare, transport per se is very important in the course of the transportation process and transport duration is considered as one of the determining factors, however, the phase that precedes the actual transport is also of great importance (and often even more important as to stress induction. This pre-transport phase includes many aspects, such as on-farm handling, rearing conditions, assembly of animals, classifying, weighing, repenning in a new environment, re-grouping, mixing with unfamiliar animals, and handling at loading, which is regarded as the most significant factor affecting animal welfare. Therefore, the present work focuses on the factors that play a role during this phase. Those factors are naturally interconnected and their adverse consecutive effects on animal welfare can hardly be separated.

Nuclear Energy and Synthetic Liquid Transportation Fuels

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Richard

2012-10-01

This talk will propose a plan to combine nuclear reactors with the Fischer-Tropsch (F-T) process to produce synthetic carbon-neutral liquid transportation fuels from sea water. These fuels can be formed from the hydrogen and carbon dioxide in sea water and will burn to water and carbon dioxide in a cycle powered by nuclear reactors. The F-T process was developed nearly 100 years ago as a method of synthesizing liquid fuels from coal. This process presently provides commercial liquid fuels in South Africa, Malaysia, and Qatar, mainly using natural gas as a feedstock. Nuclear energy can be used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen as well as to extract carbon dioxide from sea water using ion exchange technology. The carbon dioxide and hydrogen react to form synthesis gas, the mixture needed at the beginning of the F-T process. Following further refining, the products, typically diesel and Jet-A, can use existing infrastructure and can power conventional engines with little or no modification. We can then use these carbon-neutral liquid fuels conveniently long into the future with few adverse environmental impacts.

Experiences in certification of packages for transportation of fresh nuclear fuel in the context of new safety requirements established by IAEA regulations (IAEA-96 regulations, ST-1) for air transportation of nuclear materials (requirements to C-type packages)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudai, V.I.; Kovtun, A.D.; Matveev, V.Z.; Morenko, A.I.; Nilulin, V.M.; Shapovalov, V.I.; Yakushev, V.A.; Bobrovsky, V.S.; Rozhkov, V.V.; Agapov, A.M.; Kolesnikov, A.S. [Russian Federal Nuclear Centre - All-Russian Research Inst. of Experimental Physics, Sarov (Russian Federation)]|[JSC ' ' MSZ' ' , Electrostal (Russian Federation)]|[JSC ' ' NPCC' ' , Novosibirsk (Russian Federation)]|[Minatom of Russia, Moscow (Russian Federation)]|[Gosatomnadzor of Russia, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2004-07-01

Every year in Russia, a large amount of domestic and international transportation of fresh nuclear fuel (FNF) used in Russian and foreign energy and research atomic reactors and referred to fissile materials based on IAEA Regulations is performed. Here, bulk transportation is performed by air, and it concerns international transportation in particular. According to national ''Main Regulations for Safe Transport and physical Protection of Nuclear Materials (OPBZ- 83)'' and ''Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials'' of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA Regulations), nuclear and radiation security under normal (accident free) and accident conditions of transport must be completely provided by the package design. In this context, high requirements to fissile packages exposed to heat and mechanical loads in transport accidents are imposed. A long-standing experience in accident free transportation of FM has shown that such approach to provide nuclear and radiation security pays for itself completely. Nevertheless, once in 10 years the International Atomic Energy Agency on every revision of the ''Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials'' places more stringent requirements upon the FM and transportation thereof, resulting from the objectively increasing risk associated with constant rise in volume and density of transportation, and also strained social and economical situation in a number of regions in the world. In the new edition of the IAEA Regulations (ST-1), published in 1996 and brought into force in 2001 (IAEA-96 Regulations), the requirements to FM packages conveyed by aircraft were radically changed. These requirements are completely presented in new Russian ''Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Materials'' (PBTRM- 2004) which will be brought into force in the time ahead.

Proposed nuclear weapons nonproliferation policy concerning foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel: Appendix B, foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel characteristics and transportation casks. Volume 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-03-01

This is Appendix B of a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel. It discusses relevant characterization and other information of foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel that could be managed under the proposed action. It also discusses regulations for the transport of radioactive materials and the design of spent fuel casks

Plasticity of an ultrafast interaction between nucleoporins and nuclear transport receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Milles, Sigrid; Mercadante, Davide; Aramburu, Iker Valle; Jensen, Malene Ringkjøbing; Banterle, Niccolò; Koehler, Christine; Tyagi, Swati; Clarke, Jane; Shammas, Sarah L; Blackledge, Martin; Gräter, Frauke; Lemke, Edward A

2015-10-22

The mechanisms by which intrinsically disordered proteins engage in rapid and highly selective binding is a subject of considerable interest and represents a central paradigm to nuclear pore complex (NPC) function, where nuclear transport receptors (NTRs) move through the NPC by binding disordered phenylalanine-glycine-rich nucleoporins (FG-Nups). Combining single-molecule fluorescence, molecular simulations, and nuclear magnetic resonance, we show that a rapidly fluctuating FG-Nup populates an ensemble of conformations that are prone to bind NTRs with near diffusion-limited on rates, as shown by stopped-flow kinetic measurements. This is achieved using multiple, minimalistic, low-affinity binding motifs that are in rapid exchange when engaging with the NTR, allowing the FG-Nup to maintain an unexpectedly high plasticity in its bound state. We propose that these exceptional physical characteristics enable a rapid and specific transport mechanism in the physiological context, a notion supported by single molecule in-cell assays on intact NPCs. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human factors in nuclear safety oversight

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, K.

1989-01-01

The mission of the nuclear safety oversight function at the Savannah River Plant is to enhance the process and nuclear safety of site facilities. One of the major goals surrounding this mission is the reduction of human error. It is for this reason that several human factors engineers are assigned to the Operations assessment Group of the Facility Safety Evaluation Section (FSES). The initial task of the human factors contingent was the design and implementation of a site wide root cause analysis program. The intent of this system is to determine the most prevalent sources of human error in facility operations and to assist in determining where the limited human factors resources should be focused. In this paper the strategy used to educate the organization about the field of human factors is described. Creating an awareness of the importance of human factors engineering in all facets of design, operation, and maintenance is considered to be an important step in reducing the rate of human error

Analysis of the risk of transporting spent nuclear fuel by train

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elder, H.K.

1981-09-01

This report uses risk analyses to analyze the safety of transporting spent nuclear fuel for commercial rail shipping systems. The rail systems analyzed are those expected to be used in the United States when the total electricity-generating capacity by nuclear reactors is 100 GW in the late 1980s. Risk as used in this report is the product of the probability of a release of material to the environment and the consequences resulting from the release. The analysis includes risks in terms of expected fatalities from release of radioactive materials due to transportation accidents involving PWR spent fuel shipped in rail casks. The expected total risk from such shipments is 1.3 x 10/sup -4/ fatalities per year. Risk spectrums are developed for shipments of spent fuel that are 180 days and 4 years out-of-reactor. The risk from transporting spent fuel by train is much less (by 2 to 4 orders of magnitude) than the risk to society from other man-caused events such as dam failure.

Novel nuclear-encoded proteins interacting with a plastid sigma factor, Sig1, in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Science.gov (United States)

Morikawa, Kazuya; Shiina, Takashi; Murakami, Shinya; Toyoshima, Yoshinori

2002-03-13

Sigma factor binding proteins are involved in modifying the promoter preferences of the RNA polymerase in bacteria. We found the nuclear encoded protein (SibI) that is transported into chloroplasts and interacts specifically with the region 4 of Sig1 in Arabidopsis. SibI and its homologue, T3K9.5 are novel proteins, which are not homologous to any protein of known function. The expression of sibI was tissue specific, light dependent, and developmentally timed. We suggest the transcriptional regulation by sigma factor binding proteins to function in the plastids of higher plant.

Spent nuclear fuel and high level radioactive waste transportation. White paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-06-01

The High-Level Radioactive Waste Committee of the Western Interstate Energy Board has been involved in a year-long cooperative project with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop an information base on the transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) so that western states can be constructive and informed participants in the repository program under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). The historical safety record of transportation of HLW and spent fuel is excellent; no release of these radioactive materials has ever occurred during transportation. Projected shipments under the NWPA will, however, greatly exceed current shipments in the US. For example, over the past five years, 119 metric tons of civilian spent fuel have been shipped in this country, while shipments to the first and second repository are each expected to peak at 3000 metric tons per year. The Committee believes that the successful development and operation of a national HLW/spent fuel transportation system can best be accomplished through an open process based on the common sense approach of taking all reasonable measures to minimize public risk and performing whatever actions are reasonably required to promote public acceptance. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the Department of Energy further the goals of the NWPA by developing a Comprehensive Transportation Plan which adopts a systematic, comprehensive, and integrated approach to resolving all spent fuel and HLW transportation issues in a timely manner. The suggested scope of such a plan is discussed in this White paper. Many of the suggested elements of such a plan are similar to those being developed by the Department of energy for inclusion in the Department's Transportation Institutional Plan

Harmonisation of criticality assessments of packages for the transport of fissile nuclear fuel cycle materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farrington, L.

2004-01-01

The transport of fissile nuclear fuel cycle materials is an international business, and for international shipments the regulations require a package to be certified by each country through or into which the consignment is to be transported. This raises a number of harmonisation issues, which have an important bearing on transport activities. National authorities carry out independent reviews of the criticality safety of packages containing fissile materials but the underlying assumptions used in the calculations can differ, and the outcome is that implementation of the regulations is not uniform. A single design may require multiple criticality analyses to obtain base approval and foreign validations. When several competent authorities are involved, the approval and validation process of package design can often become a time-consuming, expensive and unpredictably lengthy process that can have a significant detrimental effect upon the businesses involved. The characteristics of the fissile nuclear fuel cycle materials transported by the various countries have much in common and so have the designs of the packages to contain them. A greater degree of standardisation should allow criticality safety to be assessed consistently and efficiently with benefits for the nuclear transport industry and the regulatory bodies. (author)

Harmonisation of criticality assessments of packages for the transport of fissile nuclear fuel cycle materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farrington, L.

2004-01-01

The transport of fissile nuclear fuel cycle materials is an international business and for international shipments the regulations require a package to be certified by each country through or into which the consignment is to be transported. This raises a number of harmonisation issues, which have an important bearing on transport activities. National authorities carry out independent reviews of criticality safety of packages containing fissile materials but the underlying assumptions used in the calculations can differ, and the outcome is that implementation of the regulations is not uniform. A single design may require multiple criticality analyses to obtain base approval and foreign validations. When several Competent Authorities are involved, the approval and validation process of package design can often become time consuming, expensive and an unpredictably lengthy process that can have a significant detrimental effect upon the businesses involved. The characteristics of the fissile nuclear fuel cycle materials transported by the various countries have much in common and so have the designs of the packages to contain them. A greater degree of standardisation should allow criticality safety to be assessed consistently and efficiently with benefits for the nuclear transport industry and the regulatory bodies

The transport of fuel assemblies. New containers for transport the used nuclear material in Juzbado factory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

Juzbado Manufacturing Facility is designed to be versatile and flexible. It is manufactured different kind of fuel assemblies PWR, BWR and VVER, beginning by the uranium oxide coming from the conversion facilities. The transport of these products (radioactive material fissile) requires the availability of different kind of packages; our models variety is similar to the big manufacturers. It is required a depth knowledge of the licensing process, approvals, manufacturing and handling instruction to be confident. Moreover, the recently changes on the Transport Regulations and the demands for the approval by the Competent Authorities have required the renovation of most of the package designs for the transport of radioactive material fissile worldwide. ENUSA assumed time ago this renovation and it is nowadays in the pick moment of this process. If we also consider the complexity on the management of multimodal international transportations, the Logistic task for the transport of nuclear material associated to the Juzbado factory results in a real changeling area. (Author)

Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha and Nuclear Factor-kappa B Gene Variants in Sepsis.

Science.gov (United States)

Acar, Leyla; Atalan, Nazan; Karagedik, E Hande; Ergen, Arzu

2018-01-20

The humoral system is activated and various cytokines are released due to infections in tissues and traumatic damage. Nuclear factor-kappa B dimers are encoded by nuclear factor-kappa B genes and regulate transcription of several crucial proteins of inflammation such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha. To investigate the possible effect of polymorphisms on tumour necrosis factor-alpha serum levels with clinical and prognostic parameters of sepsis by determining the nuclear factor-kappa B-1-94 ins/del ATTG and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (-308 G/A) gene polymorphisms and tumour necrosis factor-alpha serum levels. Case-control study. Seventy-two patients with sepsis and 104 healthy controls were included in the study. In order to determine the polymorphisms of nuclear factor-kappa B-1-94 ins/del ATTG and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (-308 G/A), polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was performed and serum tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We observed no significant differences in tumour necrosis factor-alpha serum levels between the study groups. In the patient group, an increase in the tumour necrosis factor-alpha serum levels in patients carrying the tumour necrosis factor-alpha (-308 G/A) A allele compared to those without the A allele was found to be statistically significant. Additionally, an increase in the tumour necrosis factor-alpha serum levels in patients carrying tumour necrosis factor-alpha (-308 G/A) AA genotype compared with patients carrying the AG or GG genotypes was statistically significant. No significant differences were found in these 2 polymorphisms between the patient and control groups (p>0.05). Our results showed the AA genotype and the A allele of the tumour necrosis factor-alpha (-308 G/A) polymorphism may be used as a predictor of elevated tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels in patients with sepsis.

Transportation research activities in support of nuclear waste management programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, G.C. Jr.; Cashwell, J.W.; Jefferson, R.M.

1983-01-01

Transportation Technology Center has been conducting a wide range of technical research activities to assure the ability to transport radioactive materials in a safe, reliable manner. These activities include tasks in basic, analysis methodology and system research areas. Recently, the requirements of defense waste shipments have served as a focal point for development tasks with the expectation that they would serve as a precursor for commercial activities. The passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act has placed additional responsibility on the Department of Energy for concerns involving the shipments of civilian materials. The development of additional research responsibilities is expected to proceed concurrently with the evolution of the transportation mission plan for civilian spent fuel and high-level wastes

Release of radioactive materials from nuclear power plants. Report No. 2. Dispersion mechanisms, transport paths, and concentration factors for radionuclides in the cooling water recipient

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rygg, B.

The discharge of radioactive materials in the cooling water from a nuclear power plant may involve consequences for the interests involved in the recipient and its organisms. Of special interest is the transport of radionuclides in water, sediments, and organisms to man. The most important elements are H, Na, P, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Sr, Mo, Ru, I, Cs, and Ce. Metals with high affinity for organic material will be sorbed to sediments rich in organic material, while other elements will be enriched in algaes and arrive in the sediment through decay or excrement. Elements in particulate form will normally precipitate. Ions will generally not be enriched in sediments. Marine organisms may take up nuclides directly from the water and from food. The concentration factor is dependent on the chemical properties of the element and the physiology of the organism. The occurrence of elements in water and organisms in the Oslofjord district is poorly known and tables have therefore been derived from literature data to indicate the concentration factors to be expected

Nevada commercial spent nuclear fuel transportation experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-09-01

The purpose of this report is to present an historic overview of commercial reactor spent nuclear fuel (SNF) shipments that have occurred in the state of Nevada, and to review the accident and incident experience for this type of shipments. Results show that between 1964 and 1990, 309 truck shipments covering approximately 40,000 miles moved through Nevada; this level of activity places Nevada tenth among the states in the number of truck shipments of SNF. For the same period, 15 rail shipments moving through the State covered approximately 6,500 miles, making Nevada 20th among the states in terms of number of rail shipments. None of these shipments had an accident or an incident associated with them. Because the data for Nevada are so limited, national data on SNF transportation and the safety of truck and rail transportation in general were also assessed

Concerning the order of the Ministry of Transport for the amendment to part of the Rules for the Vehicle Transportation of Nuclear Fuel, the Rules for Ship Transportation and Storage of Dangerous Objects, and the Rules for the Enforcement of the Aviation Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The Ministry of Transport is planning to make amendments to the Rules for the Vehicle Transportation of Nuclear Fuel, the Rules for Ship Transportation and Storage of Dangerous objects, and the Rules for the Enforcement of the Aviation Act, on the basis of results of a study carried out by the Working Group for the Protection of Nuclear Material, the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan. The planned amendments to the Rules for the Vehicle Transportation of Nuclear Fuel cover the locking and sealing of containers, the development of transportation plans, the arrangement and operations of responsible persons and guards for its transportation, and improvement in the communications and liaison system. The amendments to the Rules for Ship Transportation and Storage of Dangerous Objects are related to the range of nuclear fuel substances to be protected, the measures to be taken for their protection during transportation by ship, the approval by the Minister of Transport, and the notification to the Regional Maritime Safety Headquarters. The planned amendments to the Rules for the Enforcement of the Aviation Act cover the range of nuclear fuel substances to be protected, etc. (N.K.)

Human Factor on Gravelines Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duboc, Gerard

1998-01-01

In a first part, the documents describes the commitments by EDF nuclear power plan operations to demands made by the Safety Authority regarding actions in the field of human factors (concerns expressed by the Authority, in-depth analysis, positions on different points raised by the Authority). In a second part, it presents the various actions undertaken in the Gravelines nuclear power station regarding human factors: creation of an 'operator club' (mission and objectives, methods and means, first meetings, tracking file), development of risk analysis strategy, setting up of a human factor engineering mission and example of action in case of a significant event

Proposal for guidelines for the physical protection of nuclear materials, plants and transports in Denmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-03-01

The guidelines are based on recommendations in the IAEA's ''Physical Protection of Nuclear Material,'' INFCIRC/225/rev.1. In accordance with practice in other countries, the guidelines give more detailed requirements for the protection of reactor plants than those given in the IAEA's present recommendations, which put more emphasis on the protection of nuclear materials. The measures to be taken for nuclear plants, or nuclear transports, are proposed made to fit the potential risk that the more closely defined actions imply. It is suggested that the more detailed rules for the scope of the protection of plants or materials should be laid down by the National Agency on the basis of recommendations made by the Inspectorate of Nuclear Installations, which in turn are based on the safety documentation of the plant/material owners. It is further proposed that the National Agency, again on a recommendation from the Inspectorate, should lay down more detailed guidelines for the reporting of changes in stocks or transports of nuclear materials. (author)

Nuclear elastic scattering effects on fusion product transport in compact tori

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeVeaux, J.; Greenspan, E.; Miley, G.H.

1980-01-01

This paper seeks to advance previous work including the effects of nuclear elastic scattering (NES) on fusion-product transport. We have found that NES may dominate the slowing-down process for high-temperature, advance-fuel plasmas which burn Cat.D or D- 3 He. A modified version of the Monte Carlo fusion product transport code, MCFRM, was used to evaluate the effects of NES on discrete fusion-product orbits in the FRM

Nuclear safety regulation on nuclear safety equipment activities in relation to human and organizational factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Tianshu

2013-01-01

Based on years of knowledge in nuclear safety supervision and experience of investigating and dealing with violation events in repair welding of DFHM, this paper analyzes major faults in manufacturing and maintaining activities of nuclear safety equipment in relation to human and organizational factors. It could be deducted that human and organizational factors has definitely become key features in the development of nuclear energy and technology. Some feasible measures to reinforce supervision on nuclear safety equipment activities have also been proposed. (author)

Legal Framework and Best Practice for Improving Transport Security of Radioactive and Nuclear Materials in Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilijas, B.; Medakovic, S.

2012-01-01

Security of transporting radioactive and nuclear materials always poses a demanding task to the holder of the authorization or beneficiary, and especially transporter. Very strict and precise legal framework must be done for this purpose, yet it has not be too complicated to create a great problems in practice. The best balance between efficiency and simplicity should be achieved. In Croatia on power is 'The Dangerous Goods Transport Act' which stipulates the conditions for the carriage of dangerous goods in individual transport modes, obligations of persons participating in the carriage, requirements for packaging and vehicles, conditions for the appointment of safety advisers and safety adviser's rights and duties, competence and conditions for the implementation of training programs for persons participating in transport, competence of the state authorities related to such carriage and supervision of the implementation of the Act. Besides this Act, which regulates the issue in more general way, in preparation is a new 'Ordinance on Physical Security Measures for Radioactive Sources, Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities'. The intention of this Ordinance, in the part dealing with transport, is to bring specific approach, in accordance with IAEA guides, forwarding the most of obligations to the holder of the authorization or beneficiary and transporter, leaving state regulatory bodies mostly supervising role. In practice this can create some problems in the beginning, but with rising security awareness and after some experience collected, this can be the best way to achieve satisfactory security, yet not slowing down and complicating regular jobs with radioactive and nuclear materials.(author).

The significance of human factors in nuclear activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weil, L.; Berg, H.P.

1999-01-01

Human factors is an aspect increasingly investigated in the last few years in efforts and programmes for enhancing the operational safety of nuclear systems. Methodology has been elaborated for analysis and evaluation of human reliability, or development of instruments supporting the decisions to be taken by the operators at the man-control room interface of nuclear installations, as well as initial approaches to introduce organisational factors which may influence the man-machine function allocation, and thus are an element of the safety culture concept. The significance of human factors in nuclear activities, as well as activities at the national and international level for optimisation of the man-machine interface and the man-organisation interface are discussed. (orig./CB) [de

Decree no 2007-1557 from November 2, 2007, relative to basic nuclear facilities and to the nuclear safety control of nuclear materials transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-11-01

This decree concerns the enforcement of articles 5, 17 and 36 of the law 2006-686 from June 13, 2006, relative to the transparency and safety in the nuclear domain. A consultative commission of basic nuclear facilities is established. The decree presents the general dispositions relative to basic nuclear facilities, the dispositions relative to their creation and operation, to their shutdown and dismantling. It precises the dispositions in the domain of public utility services, administrative procedures and sanctions. It stipulates also the particular dispositions relative to other facilities located in the vicinity of nuclear facilities, relative to the use of pressure systems, and relative to the transport of radioactive materials. (J.S.)

Human factors in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hennig, J.; Bohr, E.

1976-04-01

This annotated bibliography is a first attempt to give a survey of the kind of literature which is relevant for the ergonomic working conditions in nuclear power plants. Such a survey seems to be useful in view of the fact that the 'factor human being' comes recently more and more to the fore in nuclear power plants. In this context, the necessity is often pointed out to systematically include our knowledge of the performance capacity and limits of human beings when designing the working conditions for the personnel of nuclear power plants. For this reason, the bibliography is so much intended for the ergonomics experts as for the experts of nuclear engineering. (orig./LN) [de

Studies and research concerning BNFP. Nuclear transportation studies related to use of the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, R.T.

1981-11-01

It will be necessary to transport radioactive material on a routine basis if the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant (BNFP) is to be utilized. This report examines the current and projected status of transport of high-level nuclear material, with particular application directed toward the operation of the BNFP. The current domestic US status is one of comparative inactivity in the movement of utility spent fuel. Pending the successful disposition of fuel cycle options such as either Away-from-Reactor (AFR) storage or reprocessing, spent fuel transport to the BNFP will be dormant through the mid-1980's. If fuel movement is initiated, the primary areas of concern will be the maze of local, state, and federal regulations on routing, the availability of spent fuel casks, and the logistic concerns of fuel loading and unloading capability at the reactor and the BNFP. The report examines the application of overweight truck (OWT) shipments of spent fuel casks patterned on current European practice. Overweight shipments, whether by truck or intermodal movement (rail or barge combined with truck shipment), can have a significant impact on resolving logistics problems. It seems obvious from our studies that OWT casks will be utilized, along with legal weight truck and rail shipment. Water transport was also examined. It appears that this mode will only be used in the event that highway and rail problems are insuperable

Storage, handling and internal transport of radioactive materials (fuel elements excepted) in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-06-01

The rule applies to storage and handling as well as to transport within the plant and to the exchange of - solid radioactive wastes, - liquid radioactive wastes, except for those covered by the rule KTA 3603, - radioactive components and parts which are planned to be mounted and dismounted until shutdown of the plant, - radioactive-contaminated tools and appliances, - radioactive preparations. The rule is to be applied within the fenced-in sites of stationary nuclear power plants with LWR or HTR including their transport load halls, as fas as these are situated so as to be approachable from the nuclear power station by local transport systems. (orig./HP) [de

Department of Energy (DOE) system for the transportation of strategic quantities of special nuclear material (SQ SNM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickason, D.P.

1978-01-01

Since 1947 DOE and its predecessor agencies, AEC and ERDA, have moved nuclear materials by a variety of commercial and government transportation modes. In the late 1960's world-wide terrorism and other dissident activities prompted the then-AEC to review its procedures for safeguarding SNM. These reviews resulted in immediate and long-range programs for improvement of overall safeguards. Domestic transportation of completed nuclear weapons and SNM used in the weapons program was selected for special consideration. In the early 1970's AEC started the development of a Safe Secure Trailer (SST) to transport nuclear weapons and nuclear components and the development and installation of a high frequency (HF) communications system to assure continuous radio contact between selected highway and rail shipments and Headquarters, Albuquerque Operations (ALO). Late 1974 AEC directed ALO to develop a transportation system to extend weapons-level protection to all AEC SQ SNM shipments and to consolidate, manage, and operate this system. As of September 1976 all SQ SNM was being transported in the Safe Secure DOE (then ERDA) transportation safeguards system, composed of the following principal elements: (1) Transport equipment consisting of Safe Secure Trailers and specially modified towing tractors; Safe Secure Railcars and specially modified escort coaches; and specially designed highway escort vehicles. (2) An automated high-frequency digital radio system that enables continuous communications between the transporting equipment and central control. (3) A courier force that operates all transport equipment (except aircraft and rail power units) and mobile communications equipment; provides armed protection for shipments; and assures proper safety en route. (4) A central Headquarters staff that plans, executes, and controls shipments and directs, manages, and operates the system

Study of a conceptual nuclear-energy center at Green River, Utah: site-specific transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-10-01

The objective of the following report is to assess the adequacy of the local and regional transportation network for handling traffic, logistics, and the transport of major power plant components to the Utah Nuclear Energy Center (UNEC) Horse Bench site. The discussion is divided into four parts: (1) system requirements; (2) description of the existing transportation network; (3) evaluation; (4) summary and conclusions

The human factor in the nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colas, Armand

1998-01-01

After having evoked the progressive reduction and stabilization of significant incidents occurring every year in French nuclear power plants, and the challenges faced by nuclear energy (loss of public confidence, loss of competitiveness), and then outlined the importance of safety to overcome these challenges, the author comments EDF's approach to the human factor. He first highlights the importance of information and communication towards the population. He briefly discusses the meaning of human factors for the nuclear industry, sometimes perceived as the contribution people to the company's safety and performance. He comments the evolution observed in the perception of human error in different industrial or technical environments and situations, and outlines what is at stake to reduce the production of faults and organize a 'hunt for latent defects'

The contribution of human factors to risks from radioactive material transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blenkin, J.J.; Ridsdale, E.; Wilkinson, H.L.

1998-01-01

The use of probabilistic risk assessment to assess the safety of radioactive material transport operations is well accepted. However, quantitative risk assessment of radioactive material transport operations have generally not explicitly considered human factors in estimating risks. Given the high profile of human factors as the root cause of many serious transport incidents omission of an explicit consideration of human factors in a risk assessment could lead to assessments losing credibility. In addition, scrutiny of radioactive material transport incident databases reveals a large number of operational incidents and minor accidents that would have been avoided if more attention had been paid to human factors aspects, and provides examples of instances where improvements have been achieved. This paper examines the areas of radioactive material transport risk assessments (both qualitative and quantitative) which could be strengthened by further examination of the impact of human errors. It is concluded that a more complete and detailed understanding of the effects of human factors on the risks from radioactive material transport operations has been obtained. Quality assurance has a key part to play in ensuring that packages are correctly manufactured and prepared for transport. Risk assessments of radioactive material transport operations can be strengthened by concentrating on the key human factors effects. (authors)

Land and Water Use, CO2 Emissions, and Worker Radiological Exposure Factors for the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brett W Carlsen; Brent W Dixon; Urairisa Pathanapirom; Eric Schneider; Bethany L. Smith; Timothy M. AUlt; Allen G. Croff; Steven L. Krahn

2013-08-01

The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Fuel Cycle Technologies program is preparing to evaluate several proposed nuclear fuel cycle options to help guide and prioritize Fuel Cycle Technology research and development. Metrics are being developed to assess performance against nine evaluation criteria that will be used to assess relevant impacts resulting from all phases of the fuel cycle. This report focuses on four specific environmental metrics. • land use • water use • CO2 emissions • radiological Dose to workers Impacts associated with the processes in the front-end of the nuclear fuel cycle, mining through enrichment and deconversion of DUF6 are summarized from FCRD-FCO-2012-000124, Revision 1. Impact estimates are developed within this report for the remaining phases of the nuclear fuel cycle. These phases include fuel fabrication, reactor construction and operations, fuel reprocessing, and storage, transport, and disposal of associated used fuel and radioactive wastes. Impact estimates for each of the phases of the nuclear fuel cycle are given as impact factors normalized per unit process throughput or output. These impact factors can then be re-scaled against the appropriate mass flows to provide estimates for a wide range of potential fuel cycles. A companion report, FCRD-FCO-2013-000213, applies the impact factors to estimate and provide a comparative evaluation of 40 fuel cycles under consideration relative to these four environmental metrics.

Factor of radioactive waste on nuclear power program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syed Abdul Malik Syed Zain

2009-01-01

Global warming phenomena and rising oil prices have brought the excitement of open space use of nuclear power. Arguments in favor of this technology range in terms of more environmentally friendly, energy diversification and cost efficiency has prompted the government to widen the choice of nuclear power be considered as a serious alternative. Despite the attractive factors to the use of these powers, there are also factors that stem from the continued development of nuclear power. These include the factor of safety, security, security of fuel supply, and public attention is often associated with radioactive waste management. This article attempts to debate specific to radioactive waste management factors that impact on public acceptance of a country's nuclear power program, especially in Malaysia. Starting from the absence of radioactive waste management policy to model uncertainty of the landfill and complications in selecting a repository site shows the basic infrastructure is still lacking. In addition, previous experience handling thorium waste has not reached a final settlement after several years of implementation. It reinforced the perception about the level of public confidence in the competence and attitude of local workers who are not very encouraging to pursue this advanced.

Risk assessment for transportation of radioactive materials and nuclear explosives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauss, D.B.; Wilson, R.K.; Hartman, W.F.

1991-01-01

Sandia National Laboratories has the lead technical role for probabilistic risk assessments of transportation of nuclear weapons, components, and special nuclear material in support of the US Department of Energy. The emphasis of the risk assessments is on evaluating the probability of inadvertent disposal of radioactive material and the consequences of such a release. This paper will provide an overview of the methodology being developed for the risk assessment and will discuss the interpretation and use of the results. The advantages and disadvantages of using risk assessment as an alternative to performance-based criteria for packaging will be described. 2 refs., 1 fig

Nuclear materials transportation workshops: USDOE outreach to local governments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

To provide direct outreach to local governments, the Transportation Management Division of the United States Department of Energy asked the Urban Consortium and its Energy Task Force to assemble representatives for two workshops focusing on the transport of nuclear materials. The first session, for jurisdictions east of the Mississippi River, was held in New Orleans on May 5--6, 1988; the second was conducted on June 6--7, 1988 in Denver for jurisdictions to the west. Twenty local government professionals with management or operational responsibility for hazardous materials transportation within their jurisdictions were selected to attend each workshop. The discussions identified five major areas of concern to local government professionals; coordination; training; information resources; marking and placarding; and responder resources. Integrated federal, state, and local levels of government emerged as a priority coordination issue along with the need for expanded availability of training and training resources for first-reponders

RISKIND: A computer program for calculating radiological consequences and health risks from transportation of spent nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yuan, Y.C. [Square Y Consultants, Orchard Park, NY (US); Chen, S.Y.; Biwer, B.M.; LePoire, D.J. [Argonne National Lab., IL (US)

1995-11-01

This report presents the technical details of RISKIND, a computer code designed to estimate potential radiological consequences and health risks to individuals and the collective population from exposures associated with the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. RISKIND is a user-friendly, interactive program that can be run on an IBM or equivalent personal computer under the Windows{trademark} environment. Several models are included in RISKIND that have been tailored to calculate the exposure to individuals under various incident-free and accident conditions. The incident-free models assess exposures from both gamma and neutron radiation and can account for different cask designs. The accident models include accidental release, atmospheric transport, and the environmental pathways of radionuclides from spent fuels; these models also assess health risks to individuals and the collective population. The models are supported by databases that are specific to spent nuclear fuels and include a radionuclide inventory and dose conversion factors. In addition, the flexibility of the models allows them to be used for assessing any accidental release involving radioactive materials. The RISKIND code allows for user-specified accident scenarios as well as receptor locations under various exposure conditions, thereby facilitating the estimation of radiological consequences and health risks for individuals. Median (50% probability) and typical worst-case (less than 5% probability of being exceeded) doses and health consequences from potential accidental releases can be calculated by constructing a cumulative dose/probability distribution curve for a complete matrix of site joint-wind-frequency data. These consequence results, together with the estimated probability of the entire spectrum of potential accidents, form a comprehensive, probabilistic risk assessment of a spent nuclear fuel transportation accident.

RISKIND: A computer program for calculating radiological consequences and health risks from transportation of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Y.C.; Chen, S.Y.; Biwer, B.M.; LePoire, D.J.

1995-11-01

This report presents the technical details of RISKIND, a computer code designed to estimate potential radiological consequences and health risks to individuals and the collective population from exposures associated with the transportation of spent nuclear fuel. RISKIND is a user-friendly, interactive program that can be run on an IBM or equivalent personal computer under the Windows trademark environment. Several models are included in RISKIND that have been tailored to calculate the exposure to individuals under various incident-free and accident conditions. The incident-free models assess exposures from both gamma and neutron radiation and can account for different cask designs. The accident models include accidental release, atmospheric transport, and the environmental pathways of radionuclides from spent fuels; these models also assess health risks to individuals and the collective population. The models are supported by databases that are specific to spent nuclear fuels and include a radionuclide inventory and dose conversion factors. In addition, the flexibility of the models allows them to be used for assessing any accidental release involving radioactive materials. The RISKIND code allows for user-specified accident scenarios as well as receptor locations under various exposure conditions, thereby facilitating the estimation of radiological consequences and health risks for individuals. Median (50% probability) and typical worst-case (less than 5% probability of being exceeded) doses and health consequences from potential accidental releases can be calculated by constructing a cumulative dose/probability distribution curve for a complete matrix of site joint-wind-frequency data. These consequence results, together with the estimated probability of the entire spectrum of potential accidents, form a comprehensive, probabilistic risk assessment of a spent nuclear fuel transportation accident

Factors influencing chemical durability of nuclear waste glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Xiangdong; Bates, J.K.

1993-01-01

A short summary is given of our studies on the major factors that affect the chemical durability of nuclear waste glasses. These factors include glass composition, solution composition, SA/V (ratio of glass surface area to the volume of solution), radiation, and colloidal formation. These investigations have enabled us to gain a better understanding of the chemical durability of nuclear waste glasses and to accumulate.a data base for modeling the long-term durability of waste glass, which will be used in the risk assessment of nuclear waste disposal. This knowledge gained also enhances our ability to formulate optimal waste glass compositions

Nuclear Export of Messenger RNA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Katahira

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Transport of messenger RNA (mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is an essential step of eukaryotic gene expression. In the cell nucleus, a precursor mRNA undergoes a series of processing steps, including capping at the 5' ends, splicing and cleavage/polyadenylation at the 3' ends. During this process, the mRNA associates with a wide variety of proteins, forming a messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP particle. Association with factors involved in nuclear export also occurs during transcription and processing, and thus nuclear export is fully integrated into mRNA maturation. The coupling between mRNA maturation and nuclear export is an important mechanism for providing only fully functional and competent mRNA to the cytoplasmic translational machinery, thereby ensuring accuracy and swiftness of gene expression. This review describes the molecular mechanism of nuclear mRNA export mediated by the principal transport factors, including Tap-p15 and the TREX complex.

Nuclear Export of Messenger RNA

Science.gov (United States)

Katahira, Jun

2015-01-01

Transport of messenger RNA (mRNA) from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is an essential step of eukaryotic gene expression. In the cell nucleus, a precursor mRNA undergoes a series of processing steps, including capping at the 5' ends, splicing and cleavage/polyadenylation at the 3' ends. During this process, the mRNA associates with a wide variety of proteins, forming a messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) particle. Association with factors involved in nuclear export also occurs during transcription and processing, and thus nuclear export is fully integrated into mRNA maturation. The coupling between mRNA maturation and nuclear export is an important mechanism for providing only fully functional and competent mRNA to the cytoplasmic translational machinery, thereby ensuring accuracy and swiftness of gene expression. This review describes the molecular mechanism of nuclear mRNA export mediated by the principal transport factors, including Tap-p15 and the TREX complex. PMID:25836925

Transportation of radioactive wastes from nuclear fuel cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-09-01

This paper discusses current and foreseen radioactive waste transportation systems as they apply to the INFCE Working Group 7 study. The types of wastes considered include spent fuel, which is treated as a waste in once-through fuel cycles; high-, medium-, and low-level waste; and gaseous waste. Regulatory classification of waste quantities and containers applicable to these classifications are discussed. Radioactive wastes are presently being transported in a safe and satisfactory manner. None of the INFCE candidate fuel cycles pose any extraordinary problems to future radioactive waste transportation and such transportation will not constitute a decisive factor in the choice of a preferred fuel cycle

Design analysis of various transportation package options for BN-350 SNF in terms of nuclear radiation safety in planning for long-terms dry storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aisabekov, A.Z.; Mukenova, S.A.; Tur, E.S.; Tsyngaev, V.M.

2004-01-01

Full text: This effort is performed under the BN-350 reactor facility decommissioning project. One of the project tasks - spent nuclear fuel handling - includes the following: fuel packaging into sealed canisters, transportation of the canisters in multi-seat metallo-concrete containers and placement of the containers for a long-term dry storage. The goal of this effort is to computationally validate nuclear and radiation safety of the SNF containers placed for storage both under normal storage conditions and probable accident situations. The basic unit structure and design configurations are presented: assemblies, canisters, transportation containers. The major factors influencing nuclear and radiation safety are presented: fuel burn-up, enrichment, fabrication tolerance, types of fuel assemblies, configuration of assemblies in the canister and canisters in the container, background of assemblies placed in the reactor and cooling pool. Conditions under which the SNF containers will be stored are described and probable accident situations are listed. Proceeding from the conservatism principle, selection of the assemblies posing the greatest nuclear hazard is validated. A neutron effective multiplication factor is calculated for the SNF containers under the normal storage conditions and for the case of emergency. The effective multiplication factor is shown to be within a standard value of 0.95 in any situation. Based on the experimental data on assembly and canister dose rates, canisters posing the highest radiation threat are selected. Activities of sources and gamma-radiation spectral composition are calculated. Distribution of the dose rate outside the containers both under the normal storage conditions and accident situations are calculated. The results obtained are analyzed

77 FR 34194 - Advance Notification to Native American Tribes of Transportation of Certain Types of Nuclear Waste

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-11

... Notification to Native American Tribes of Transportation of Certain Types of Nuclear Waste AGENCY: Nuclear... fuel and certain nuclear wastes for any shipment that passes within or across their reservations. The... irradiated reactor fuel and certain nuclear waste passing through or across the boundary of their States...

Human and organizational factors in nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, A.; Barrientos, M.; Gil, B.

2015-01-01

Nuclear installations are socio technical systems where human and organizational factors, in both utilities and regulators, have a significant impact on safety. Three Mile Island (TMI) accident, original of several initiatives in the human factors field, nevertheless became a lost opportunity to timely acquire lessons related to the upper tiers of the system. Nowadays, Spanish nuclear installations have integrated in their processes specialists and activities in human and organizational factors, promoted by the licensees After many years of hard work, Spanish installations have achieved a better position to face new challenges, such as those posed by Fukushima. With this experience, only technology-centered action plan would not be acceptable, turning this accident in yet another lost opportunity. (Author)

Uranium, a factor limiting nuclear energy?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohnemus, J.

2006-01-01

Nuclear power has been back as a topic of public debate since early this year. A special subject under discussion is the extension of nuclear power plant life. Hardly had it been on the agenda, when interested parties announced that this step was impossible because uranium reserves were no longer sufficient. A variety of terms are being used in this discussion without their meaning being taken into account: stocks, resources, and reserves. To clarify the situation, this article outlines important aspects of short and long term uranium supplies, and analyzes their meaning. Here are some of the most important issues under consideration: - For what period of time is there really enough uranium? - Is uranium becoming the limiting factor in the use of nuclear power? - Is uranium really a 'sustainable' energy resource? - Will higher prices extend the range? - What is the influence of the price of uranium on the cost of electricity generation? Among other results, it is found that comprehensive sources of low-price uranium and nuclear fuels are, or can be made, available worldwide. Consequently, the 'range' is beyond the time frames currently mentioned, also as a function of technological factors, i.e. reaching several hundred years. It is also important to note that nuclear power - ensures greater independence of volatile imported sources, - guarantees reliably low electricity prices, - has a huge potential of environmental protection, and - is a clean source of energy. (orig.)

Uranium, a factor limiting nuclear energy?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Nuclear power has been back as a topic of public debate since early this year. A special subject under discussion is the extension of nuclear power plant life. Hardly had it been on the agenda, when interested parties announced that this step was impossible because uranium reserves were no longer sufficient. A variety of terms are being used in this discussion without their meaning being taken into account: stocks, resources, and reserves. To clarify the situation, this article outlines important aspects of short and long term uranium supplies, and analyzes their meaning. Here are some of the most important issues under consideration: - For what period of time is there really enough uranium? - Is uranium becoming the limiting factor in the use of nuclear power? - Is uranium really a 'sustainable' energy resource? - Will higher prices extend the range? - What is the influence of the price of uranium on the cost of electricity generation? Among other results, it is found that comprehensive sources of low-price uranium and nuclear fuels are, or can be made, available worldwide. Consequently, the 'range' is beyond the time frames currently mentioned, also as a function of technological factors, i.e. reaching several hundred years. It is also important to note that nuclear power - ensures greater independence of volatile imported sources, - guarantees reliably low electricity prices, - has a huge potential of environmental protection, and - is a clean source of energy. (orig./GL)

Assembly for transport and storage of radioactive nuclear fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, G.

1978-01-01

The invention concerns the self-control of coolant deficiencies on the transport of spent fuel elements from nuclear reactors. It guarantees that drying out of the fuel elements is prevented in case of a change of volume of the fluid contained in storage tanks and accumulators and serving as coolant and shielding medium. (TK) [de

Nuclear Liability and Insurance Protection for Nuclear Transport Accidents Involving Non-Contracting EU States: An assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horbach, N. L. J. T.

2006-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of the possible complications and consequences with respect to nuclear liability and insurance protection applicable in respect of transport activities resulting in damage suffered and/or accidents occurring in EU States that are not party to the Paris Convention. It looks at the different legal aspects (jurisdiction, applicable law, liability amounts, reciprocity) should the revised Vienna and Paris Convention become applicable in comparison with the unrevised Conventions. Within Europe, a large number of States are party to the 1960 Paris Convention and the 1963 Brussels Supplementary Convention, providing liability and insurance protection, in general, up to a limit of 300 million SDRs (or even higher). In principle, such protection is confined to nuclear incidents occurring and nuclear damage suffered in the territory of Contracting Parties, including, as recommended, the high seas, unless the legislation of the Installation State determines otherwise (Article 2). The geographical scope of application of the Paris Convention would thus vary according to the law of the Installation State. However, some EU States never became party to the Paris Convention, and are not bound by its the liability principles (notably, channelling of liability), such as Austria, Luxembourg and Ireland. Transport accidents involving these countries might therefore result in liability claims outside the treaty liability regime against operators, suppliers, carriers or persons involved and for types of damages different from those currently covered by the Paris Convention (e.g., environmental damage). It is uncertain to what extent liability insurance of the installation operators would provide adequate protection and whether related damage claims can be enforceable. In addition, a number of newly entered EU States are party to the Vienna Convention, which, although bound by liability principles basically similar to those of the Paris Convention, will

Transportation research activities in support of nuclear waste management programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, G.C.; Luna, R.E.; Jefferson, R.M.; Wowak, W.E.

1983-01-01

The Transportation Technology Center has been conducting a wide range of technical and non-technical research activities to assure the ability to transport radioactive materials in a safe, reliable, and publicly acceptable manner. These activities include tasks in Information and Intergovernmental issues, Safety Assessment and Environmental Analysis and Technology Development. Until recently, the requirements of defense waste shipments have served as a focal point for development tasks with the expectation that they would serve as a precursor for commercial activities. The passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act has placed additional responsibility on DOE for concerns involving the shipments of civilian materials. The development of additional research responsibilities is expected to proceed concurrently with the evolution of the transportation mission plan for civilian spent fuel and high-level wastes

Development of human factors engineering guide for nuclear power project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Dangshi; Sheng Jufang

1997-01-01

'THE PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR APPLICATION OF HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING TO NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT (First Draft, in Chinese)', which was developed under a research program sponsored by National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) is described briefly. It is hoped that more conscious, more systematical and more comprehensive application of Human Factors Engineering to the nuclear power projects from the preliminary feasibility studies up to the commercial operation will benefit the safe, efficient and economical operations of nuclear power plants in China

Transport, acceptance, storage and handling of the itens of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The norm aiming to establish the requirements applied to workers or organizations which participate of the activities of transport, acceptance, storage and handling of important itens for safety of nuclear power plants, is presented. The established requirements treat of protection and control necessary to assure that the quality of important itens for safety be it preserved from the end of fabrication until their incorporation to nuclear power plant. (M.C.K.) [pt

Postulated accident scenarios for the on-site transport of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morandin, G.; Sauve, R.

2004-01-01

Once a spent fuel container is loaded with spent fuel it typically travels on-site to a processing building for permanent lid attachment. During on-site transport a lid clamp is utilized to ensure the container lid remains in place. The safe on-site transport of spent nuclear fuel must rely on the structural integrity of the transport container and system of transport. Regard for on-site traffic and safe, efficient travel routes are important and manageable with well thought-out planning. Non-manageable incidences, such as flying debris from tornado force winds or postulated blasts in proximity to the transport container, that may result in high velocity impact and shock loading on the transport system must be considered. This paper consists of simulations that consider these types of postulated accident scenarios using detailed nonlinear finite element techniques

Minaret, a deterministic neutron transport solver for nuclear core calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moller, J-Y.; Lautard, J-J., E-mail: jean-yves.moller@cea.fr, E-mail: jean-jacques.lautard@cea.fr [CEA - Centre de Saclay , Gif sur Yvette (France)

2011-07-01

We present here MINARET a deterministic transport solver for nuclear core calculations to solve the steady state Boltzmann equation. The code follows the multi-group formalism to discretize the energy variable. It uses discrete ordinate method to deal with the angular variable and a DGFEM to solve spatially the Boltzmann equation. The mesh is unstructured in 2D and semi-unstructured in 3D (cylindrical). Curved triangles can be used to fit the exact geometry. For the curved elements, two different sets of basis functions can be used. Transport solver is accelerated with a DSA method. Diffusion and SPN calculations are made possible by skipping the transport sweep in the source iteration. The transport calculations are parallelized with respect to the angular directions. Numerical results are presented for simple geometries and for the C5G7 Benchmark, JHR reactor and the ESFR (in 2D and 3D). Straight and curved finite element results are compared. (author)

Minaret, a deterministic neutron transport solver for nuclear core calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moller, J-Y.; Lautard, J-J.

2011-01-01

We present here MINARET a deterministic transport solver for nuclear core calculations to solve the steady state Boltzmann equation. The code follows the multi-group formalism to discretize the energy variable. It uses discrete ordinate method to deal with the angular variable and a DGFEM to solve spatially the Boltzmann equation. The mesh is unstructured in 2D and semi-unstructured in 3D (cylindrical). Curved triangles can be used to fit the exact geometry. For the curved elements, two different sets of basis functions can be used. Transport solver is accelerated with a DSA method. Diffusion and SPN calculations are made possible by skipping the transport sweep in the source iteration. The transport calculations are parallelized with respect to the angular directions. Numerical results are presented for simple geometries and for the C5G7 Benchmark, JHR reactor and the ESFR (in 2D and 3D). Straight and curved finite element results are compared. (author)

The transport of radioactive materials, paying special attention to nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blechschmidt, M.

1977-06-01

The transport of radioactive materials, particularly within the nuclear fuel cycle, is of increasing importance, and is more than ever a matter of public debate. This report provides information concerning the necessary physical, technical and administrative precautions which must be taken to ensure protection of the environment. The international standard of requirements for the packing of the materials is emphasized, as in many cases, transports cross national borders. The relatively comprehensive list of references can be used for the study of details. (orig.) [de

Legal, institutional, and political issues in transportation of nuclear materials at the back end of the LWR nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lippek, H.E.; Schuller, C.R.

1979-03-01

A study was conducted to identify major legal and institutional problems and issues in the transportation of spent fuel and associated processing wastes at the back end of the LWR nuclear fuel cycle. (Most of the discussion centers on the transportation of spent fuel, since this activity will involve virtually all of the legal and institutional problems likely to be encountered in moving waste materials, as well.) Actions or approaches that might be pursued to resolve the problems identified in the analysis are suggested. Two scenarios for the industrial-scale transportation of spent fuel and radioactive wastes, taken together, high-light most of the major problems and issues of a legal and institutional nature that are likely to arise: (1) utilizing the Allied General Nuclear Services (AGNS) facility at Barnwell, SC, as a temporary storage facility for spent fuel; and (2) utilizing AGNS for full-scale commercial reprocessing of spent LWR fuel

Legal, institutional, and political issues in transportation of nuclear materials at the back end of the LWR nuclear fuel cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lippek, H.E.; Schuller, C.R.

1979-03-01

A study was conducted to identify major legal and institutional problems and issues in the transportation of spent fuel and associated processing wastes at the back end of the LWR nuclear fuel cycle. (Most of the discussion centers on the transportation of spent fuel, since this activity will involve virtually all of the legal and institutional problems likely to be encountered in moving waste materials, as well.) Actions or approaches that might be pursued to resolve the problems identified in the analysis are suggested. Two scenarios for the industrial-scale transportation of spent fuel and radioactive wastes, taken together, high-light most of the major problems and issues of a legal and institutional nature that are likely to arise: (1) utilizing the Allied General Nuclear Services (AGNS) facility at Barnwell, SC, as a temporary storage facility for spent fuel; and (2) utilizing AGNS for full-scale commercial reprocessing of spent LWR fuel.

Nuclear Waste Transportation Safety Act of 1979. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Ninety-Sixth Congress, first session on S. 535, July 18-20, 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1980-01-01

The Nuclear Waste Transportation Safety Act of 1979 provides for the safe transportation of nuclear waste and nuclear fuel. The issues evaluated during the hearing included: (1) The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 conveyed to the NRC the prior existing authority of the former Atomic Energy Commission to regulate transportation of radioactive nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The Hazardous Material Transportation Act of 1974 consolidated within the Department of Transportation the regulatory authority for safety and transportation of all hazardous substances, including radioactive materials; should consultation and coordination between these regulating authorities continue to be used. (2) The specific areas of transportation regulation involved in this combination; (3) Should the Department of Transportation (DOT) become a separate office; (4) Is security against theft and sabotage necessary and realistically attainable; (5) Should DOT be responsible for assuring a coordinated Federal-State emergency response plan for possible nuclear related transportation emergencies; and (6) Is the Federal grant program of S. 535 necessary and adequate

Transport of radioactive substances; Der Transport radioaktiver Stoffe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-12-15

The report on the transport of radioactive substances covers the following topics: facts on radioactive materials transport, safety of the transport of radioactive substances, legal regulations and guidelines: a multiform but consistent system, transport of nuclear fuels, safety during the transport of nuclear fuel, future transport of spent fuel elements and high-level radioactive wastes in Germany.

Program strategy document for the Nuclear Materials Transportation Technology Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jefferson, R.M.

1979-07-01

A multiyear program plan is presented which describes the program of the Nuclear Materials Transportation Technology Center (TIC) at Sandia Laboratories. The work element plans, along with their corresponding work breakdown structures, are presented for TTC activities in the areas of Technology and Information Center, Systems Development, Technology, and Institutional Issues for the years from 1979 to 1985

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission human factors program plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-04-01

The purpose of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Human Factors Program Plan is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design and operation of nuclear facilities. This revised plan addresses human factors issues related to the operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The three issues of concern are (1) the activities planned to provide the technical bases to resolve the remaining tasks related to human factors as described in NUREG-0660, The NRC Action Plan Developed as a Result of the TMI-2 Accident, and NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements; (2) the need to address the additional human factors efforts that were identified during implementation of the Action Plan; and (3) the actual fulfillment of those developmental activities specified in Revision 1 of this plan. The plan represents a systematic approach for addressing high priority human factors concerns important to NPP safety in FY 1986 through 1987

Safety demonstration analyses at JAERI for severe accident during overland transport of fresh nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomura, Yasushi; Kitao, Kohichi; Karasawa, Kiyonori; Yamada, Kenji; Takahashi, Satoshi; Watanabe, Kohji; Okuno, Hiroshi; Miyoshi, Yoshinori

2005-01-01

It is expected in the near future that more and more fresh nuclear fuel will be transported in a variety of transport packages to cope with increasing demand from nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Accordingly, safety demonstration analyses are planned and conducted at JAERI under contract with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. These analyses are conducted in a four year plan from 2001 to 2004 to verify integrity of packaging against leakage of radioactive material in the case of a severe accident postulated to occur during transportation, for the purpose of gaining acceptance of such nuclear fuel activities. In order to create the accident scenarios, actual transportation routes were surveyed, accident or incident records were tracked, international radioactive material transport regulations such as IAEA rules were investigated and thus, accident conditions leading to mechanical damages and thermal failure were determined to characterize the scenarios. As a result, the worst-case conditions of run-off-the-road accidents were set up to define the impact against a concrete or asphalt surface. For fire accident scenarios to be set up, collisions were assumed to occur with an oil tanker carrying lots of inflammable material in open air, or with a commonly used two-ton-truck inside a tunnel without ventilation. Then the cask models were determined for these safety demonstration analyses to represent those commonly used for fresh nuclear fuel transported throughout Japan. Following the postulated accident scenarios, the mechanical damages were analyzed by using the general-purpose finite element code LS-DYNA with three-dimensional elements. It was found that leak tightness of the package be maintained even in the severe impact scenario. Then the thermal safety was analyzed by using the general-purpose finite element code ABAOUS with three-dimensional elements to describe cask geometry. As a result of the thermal analyses, the integrity of the containment

Intracellular calcium levels can regulate Importin-dependent nuclear import

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaur, Gurpreet; Ly-Huynh, Jennifer D.; Jans, David A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • High intracellular calcium inhibits Impα/β1- or Impβ1-dependent nuclear protein import. • The effect of Ca 2+ on nuclear import does not relate to changes in the nuclear pore. • High intracellular calcium can result in mislocalisation of Impβ1, Ran and RCC1. - Abstract: We previously showed that increased intracellular calcium can modulate Importin (Imp)β1-dependent nuclear import of SRY-related chromatin remodeling proteins. Here we extend this work to show for the first time that high intracellular calcium inhibits Impα/β1- or Impβ1-dependent nuclear protein import generally. The basis of this relates to the mislocalisation of the transport factors Impβ1 and Ran, which show significantly higher nuclear localization in contrast to various other factors, and RCC1, which shows altered subnuclear localisation. The results here establish for the first time that intracellular calcium modulates conventional nuclear import through direct effects on the nuclear transport machinery

Intracellular calcium levels can regulate Importin-dependent nuclear import

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaur, Gurpreet; Ly-Huynh, Jennifer D.; Jans, David A., E-mail: David.Jans@monash.edu

2014-07-18

Highlights: • High intracellular calcium inhibits Impα/β1- or Impβ1-dependent nuclear protein import. • The effect of Ca{sup 2+} on nuclear import does not relate to changes in the nuclear pore. • High intracellular calcium can result in mislocalisation of Impβ1, Ran and RCC1. - Abstract: We previously showed that increased intracellular calcium can modulate Importin (Imp)β1-dependent nuclear import of SRY-related chromatin remodeling proteins. Here we extend this work to show for the first time that high intracellular calcium inhibits Impα/β1- or Impβ1-dependent nuclear protein import generally. The basis of this relates to the mislocalisation of the transport factors Impβ1 and Ran, which show significantly higher nuclear localization in contrast to various other factors, and RCC1, which shows altered subnuclear localisation. The results here establish for the first time that intracellular calcium modulates conventional nuclear import through direct effects on the nuclear transport machinery.

Neutron transport. Physics and calculation of nuclear reactors with applications to pressurized water reactors and fast neutron reactors. 2 ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bussac, J.; Reuss, P.

1985-01-01

This book presents the main physical bases of neutron theory and nuclear reactor calculation. 1) Interactions of neutrons with matter and basic principles of neutron transport; 2) Neutron transport in homogeneous medium and the neutron field: kinetic behaviour, slowing-down, resonance absorption, diffusion equation, processing methods; 3) Theory of a reactor constituted with homogeneous zones: critical condition, kinetics, separation of variables, calculation and neutron balance of the fundamental mode, one-group and multigroup theories; 4) Study of heterogeneous cell lattices: fast fission factor, resonance absorption, thermal output factor, diffusion coefficient, computer codes; 5) Operation and control of reactors: perturbation theory, reactivity, fuel properties evolution, poisoning by fission products, calculation of a reactor and fuel management; 6) Study of some types of reactors: PWR and fast breeder reactors, the main reactor types of the present French program [fr

Nuclear elastic scattering effects on fusion product transport in the FRM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeVeaux, J.C.; Greenspan, E.; Miley, G.H.

1981-01-01

Large energy transfer (LET) events such as nuclear elastic scatterng (NES) are shown to have significant effects on fusion product transport in the field-reversed mirror. The method used and preliminary results obtained from the study on NES effects on f/sub p/ orbits are described

Impact of nuclear 'pasta' on neutrino transport in collapsing stellar cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonoda, Hidetaka; Watanabe, Gentaro; Sato, Katsuhiko; Takiwaki, Tomoya; Yasuoka, Kenji; Ebisuzaki, Toshikazu

2007-01-01

Nuclear 'pasta', nonspherical nuclei in dense matter, is predicted to occur in collapsing supernova cores. We show how pasta phases affect the neutrino transport cross section via weak neutral current using several nuclear models. This is the first calculation of the neutrino opacity of the phases with rod-like and slab-like nuclei taking account of finite temperature effects, which are well described by the quantum molecular dynamics. We also show that pasta phases can occupy 10-20% of the mass of supernova cores in the later stage of the collapse

On-site transportation and handling of uranium-233 special nuclear material: Preliminary hazards and accident analysis. Final

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solack, T.; West, D.; Ullman, D.; Coppock, G.; Cox, C.

1995-01-01

U-233 Special Nuclear Material (SNM) currently stored at the T-Building Storage Areas A and B must be transported to the SW/R Tritium Complex for repackaging. This SNM is in the form of oxide powder contained in glass jars which in turn are contained in heat sealed double polyethylene bags. These doubled-bagged glass jars have been primarily stored in structural steel casks and birdcages for approximately 20 years. The three casks, eight birdcages, and one pail/pressure vessel will be loaded onto a transport truck and moved over an eight day period. The Preliminary Hazards and Accident Analysis for the on-site transportation and handling of Uranium-233 Special Nuclear Material, documented herein, was performed in accordance with the format and content guidance of DOE-STD-3009-94, Preparation Guide for US Department of Energy Nonreactor Nuclear Facility Safety Analysis Reports, dated July 1994, specifically Chapter Three, Hazard and Accident Analysis. The Preliminary Hazards Analysis involved detailed walkdowns of all areas of the U-233 SNM movement route, including the T-Building Storage Area A and B, T-Building truck tunnel, and the roadway route. Extensive discussions were held with operations personnel from the Nuclear Material Control Group, Nuclear Materials Accountability Group, EG and G Mound Security and the Material Handling Systems Transportation Group. Existing documentation related to the on-site transportation of hazardous materials, T-Building and SW/R Tritium Complex SARs, and emergency preparedness/response documentation were also reviewed and analyzed to identify and develop the complete spectrum of energy source hazards

Transportation infrastructure upgrades in the South: A compilation of state plans for construction near nuclear reactor sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-03-01

There are currently 27 nuclear reactor sites located in the southern region. In many instances, the most practicable modes of transportation of spent nuclear fuel from these sites we through the use of highway and rail systems. These two transportation modes have important differences that affect their applicability; chief among these, perhaps, is the fact that while highway systems are publicly owned and maintained rail lines are owned by private entities. For this reason, track condition and maintenance, usage rates and other aspects of rail transport can vary widely. This report reviews southern state, department plans for infrastructure upgrades in the vicinity of nuclear reactor sites. This report includes a summary of planned modifications to bridges, access highways, and rail spurs (where applicable) over the next five years. The information contained herein was gathered from interviews with officials within state departments of transportation. With few exceptions, the contact person was an official within the departmental planning division

Order of 26 March 1982 on the protection and control of nuclear materials during transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

This Order was made in implementation of Act No. 80-572 of 25th July 1980 on protection and control of nuclear materials and in particular, of Decree No. 81-512 of 12th May 1981, which was itself made in pursuance of the Act. In accordance with the Decree, this Order determines the rules applicable to the protection and control of nuclear materials in course of carriage, especially in connection with the supervision of the conditions in which such transport is carried out and the authorities warned in case of an incident, accident or any occurrence whatsoever which is likely to delay or jeopardize execution of the planned transport operation or protection of the nuclear material concerned. (NEA) [fr

Questions raised on transport of nuclear material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lubinska, A.

1984-01-01

Public opinion is demanding safer rules for the shipment of radioactive materials since the recent collision and sinking of a French freighter carrying uranium hexafluoride. At issue is the secrecy of the cargo, the delay in releasing information to the public and salvage crews, and the use of unmarked trucks. The nuclear industry points out that no recent incidents have led to the loss of human life, but there is concern among European Community members that a number of countries have yet to ratify international conventions and agreements on hazardous materials transport, that none of these agreements are mandatory, and that none address the transfrontier movement of waste materials

Heat resistant materials and their feasibility issues for a space nuclear transportation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olsen, C.S.

1991-01-01

A number of nuclear propulsion concepts based on solid-core nuclear propulsion are being evaluated for a nuclear propulsion transportation system to support the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) involving the reestablishment of a manned lunar base and the subsequent exploration of Mars. These systems will require high-temperature materials to meet the operating conditions with appropriate reliability and safety built into these systems through the selection and testing of appropriate materials. The application of materials for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) systems and the feasibility issues identified for their use will be discussed. Some mechanical property measurements have been obtained, and compatibility tests were conducted to help identify feasibility issues. 3 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs

Tritium transport around nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Sweet, C.W.

1981-01-01

The transport and cycling of tritium around nuclear facilities is reviewed with special emphasis on studies at the Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina. These studies have shown that the rate of deposition from the atmosphere, the site of deposition, and the subsequent cycling are strongly influenced by the compound with which the tritium is associated. Tritiated hydrogen is largely deposited in the soil, while tritiated water is deposited in the greatest quantity in the vegetation. Tritiated hydrogen is converted in the soil to tritiated water that leaves the soil slowly, through drainage and transpiration. Tritiated water deposited directly to the vegetation leaves the vegetation more rapidly after exposure. Only a small part of the tritium entering the vegetation becomes bound in organic molecules. However, it appears tht the existence of soil organic compounds with tritium concentrations greater than the equilibrium concentration in the associated water can be explained by direct metabolism of tritiated hydrogen in vegetation

Tritium transport around nuclear faciliteis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Sweet, C.W.

1982-01-01

The transport and cycling of tritium around nuclear facilities is reviewed with special emphasis on studies at the Savannah River Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina. These studies have shown that the rate of deposition from the atmosphere, the site of deposition, and the subsequent cycling are strongly influenced by the compound with which the tritium is associated. Tritiated hydrogen is largely deposited in the soil, while tritiated water is deposited in the greatest quantity in the vegetation. Tritiated hydrogen is converted in the soil to tritiated water that leaves the soil slowly, through drainage and transpiration. Tritiated water deposited directly to the vegetation leaves the vegetation more rapidly after exposure. Only a small part of the tritium entering the vegetation becomes bound in organic molecules. However, it appears that the existence of soil organic compounds with tritium concentrations greater than the equilibrium concentration in the associated water can be explained by direct metabolism of tritiated hydrogen in vegetation. (J.P.N.)

Transport of nuclear waste flows - a modelling and simulation approach - 59136

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, Jonathan F.W.; Biggs, Simon R.; Fairweather, Michael; Yao, Jun; Young, James

2012-01-01

The task of implementing safer and more efficient processing and transport techniques in the handling of nuclear wastes made up of liquid-solid mixtures provides a challenging and interesting area of research. The radioactive nature of nuclear waste means that it is difficult to perform experimental studies of its transport. In contrast, the use of modelling and simulation techniques can help to elucidate the physics that underpin such flows and provide valuable insights into common problems associated with their transport, as well as assisting in the focusing of experimental research. Two phase solid-liquid waste-forms are commonplace within the nuclear reprocessing industry. Currently, there is waste, e.g., in the form of a solid-liquid slurry in cooling ponds and liquid flows containing suspensions of solid particles feature heavily in the treatment and disposal of this waste. With nuclear waste in the form of solid-liquid sludges it is important to understand the nature of the flow, with particular interest in the settling characteristics of the particulate waste material. Knowledge of the propensity of pipe flows to form solid beds is important in avoiding unwanted blockages in pipelines and pumping systems. In cases where the formation of a solid bed is unavoidable, it is similarly important to know how the modified cross-sectional area of the pipe, due to the presence of a bed, will affect particle behaviour through the creation of secondary flows effects that are also common to square duct flows. A greater understanding of particle deposition in square ducts and pipes of circular cross-section is also of significant and broad industrial relevance, with flows containing particulates prevalent throughout the nuclear, pharmaceutical, chemical, mining and agricultural industries. A greater understanding of particle behaviour in square ducts and circular pipes with variable bed height is the focus of this current work. The more computationally expensive but

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission human-factors program plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-08-01

The purpose of the NRC Human Factors Program Plan is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design, operation, and maintenance of nuclear facilities. This initial plan addresses nuclear power plants (NPP) and describes (1) the technical assistance and research activities planned to provide the technical bases for the resolution of the remaining human factors related tasks described in NUREG-0660, The NRC Action Plan Developed as a Result of the TMI-2 Accident, and NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements, and (2) the additional human factors efforts identified during implementation of the Action Plan that should receive NRC attention. The plan represents a systematic and comprehensive approach for addressing human factors concerns important to NPP safety in the FY-83 through FY-85 time frame

For a few dollars more: Public trust and the case for transporting nuclear waste in dedicated trains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glickman, T.S.; Golding, D.

1991-01-01

The debate about the use of dedicated trains for shipping spent fuel and high-level nuclear waste has been going on for the past l5 years. The nuclear industry and its regulatory agencies would like to consider the case closed. The recent passage of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Act of 1990, however, opens the door once more, giving the railroads and other proponents of dedicated trains another chance to present their case. This paper argues that earlier conclusions favoring regular trains over dedicated trains were based on incomplete cost and risk information and neglected other factors which are not technical, but social and institutional in nature. The paper finds that the additional cost of a dedicated system is lower than previously thought and concludes that it is a small price to pay for reduced public opposition and increased levels of trust

Organizational factors in nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilpert, Bernhard

2000-01-01

The overall picture of factors which contributed to the event presents a panorama of a NPP where organizational and managerial characteristics were intricately intertwined and emerged as crucial for a general deterioration of the plant's capabilities to continually correct its deficiencies and optimize its operations. In the following author shall attempt to first cover various important efforts to modeling organizational factors relevant to safety. The second part of my presentation will offer an attempt towards an integrative model. The third part concludes with an agenda for research and practice. Most of the twelve different approaches above attempt to consider safety relevant organizational factors by way of pragmatic classifications. Together with their sub-categories we can count close to 160 different factors on various levels of abstraction. This is tantamount to say that most approaches lack systematic theoretical underpinnings. Thus then arises the question whether we need to develop a generic model, which promises to encompass these three major approaches altogether. Practical issues emerge particularly in the domain of organizational development, i.e. the goal oriented efforts to change the structures and the functioning of nuclear operations in such a way that the desired outputs in terms safety and reliability result in a sustained fashion. Again, these practical concerns are intimately related to developments and advances in theory and methodology. Only a close cooperation among scientists from various disciplines and of practitioners holds the promise of adequately understanding and use of organizational factors in future improving the safety record of nuclear industry worldwide. (S.Y.)

The Nuclear Energy Factor In Indian Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Boyko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Nuclear energy is a key branch of the world power system. The nuclear energy development is viewed by India as one of the ways to resolve the problem of the energy supply. In 2008 the country gained more opportunities for developing nuclear power sector and solving the national power deficit problem after NSG lifted restrictions on nuclear trade. This resulted in foreign companies emerging on the Indian nuclear market. In 2011 after the major emergency at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan India faced numerous anti-nuclear protests backed by NGOs, including those with foreign funding, and political parties. The article deals with the question of the political role this anti-nuclear opposition plays in India. According to some researchers the protests are organized by the competitors in order to compromise the business of a Russian company Rosatom in India. However, such demonstrations are spread throughout the country and directed against the competitors of Rosatom as well. The article comes to conclusion that the protests are just a reflection of the political fights in India where nuclear energy is a significant political factor.

Clinical validation of nuclear factor kappa B expression in invasive breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Anil Kumar; Pielka, Ewa; Lipinski, Artur; Jelen, Michal; Kielan, Wojciech; Agrawal, Siddarth

2018-01-01

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Polish women. The expression of transcription nuclear factor kappa B, a key inducer of inflammatory response promoting carcinogenesis and cancer progression in breast cancer, is not well-established. We assessed the nuclear factor kappa B expression in a total of 119 invasive breast carcinomas and 25 healthy control samples and correlated this expression pattern with several clinical and pathologic parameters including histologic type and grade, tumor size, lymph node status, estrogen receptor status, and progesterone receptor status. The data used for the analysis were derived from medical records. An immunohistochemical analysis of nuclear factor kappa B, estrogen receptor, and progesterone receptor was carried out and evaluation of stainings was performed. The expression of nuclear factor kappa B was significantly higher than that in the corresponding healthy control samples. No statistical difference was demonstrated in nuclear factor kappa B expression in relation to age, menopausal status, lymph node status, tumor size and location, grade and histologic type of tumor, and hormonal status (estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor). Nuclear factor kappa B is significantly overexpressed in invasive breast cancer tissues. Although nuclear factor kappa B status does not correlate with clinicopathological findings, it might provide important additional information on prognosis and become a promising object for targeted therapy.

Online estimation of radionuclide transportation in water environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi-Jing Zhang; Li-Sheng Hu

2017-01-01

Transportation evaluation of the radionuclide waste discharged from nuclear power plants is an essential licensing issue, especially for inland sites. Basically, the dynamics of radionuclide transportation are nonlinear and time-varying. Motivated by its time-consuming computation, the work proposed an online estimation method for the radionuclide waste in water surface. After extracting the nonlinearity of factors influencing radionuclide transportation, the method utilizes transfer function and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity models to perform deterministic and probabilistic estimations. It turns out that, the resulting predictions show high accuracy and can optimize the online discharge management of radioactive waste for nuclear power plants. (author)

Process for the transport of heat energy released by a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuernberg, H.W.; Wolff, G.

1978-01-01

The heat produced in a nuclear reactor is converted into latent chemical binding energy. The heat can be released again below 400 0 C by recombination after transport by decomposition of ethane or propane into ethylene or propylene and hydrogen. (TK) [de

Forecasting of the radioactive material transport demand for the Brazilian Nuclear Program and the security aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meldonian, Nelson Leon

1979-01-01

In the nuclear fuel cycle, a lot of radioactive materials are produced. These radioactive materials must be transported in order to promote the integration of the fuel cycle units. Considerations about the transport characteristics of radioactive material were made for each section of the fuel cycle. These considerations were based on the experience of several countries and in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. A prediction of transport demands for the Brazilian Nuclear Program until year 2.010 was made. The prediction refers mainly to the quantity of radioactive material produced in each section of the cycle the quantity of vehicles needed for the transport of these materials. Several safety aspects were considered specially, the accidents predictions for years 2.000 and 2.010. The accident probability in Brazilian railroads and highways was compared with that of the USA. (author)

Elastic Network Model of a Nuclear Transport Complex

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Patrick; Liu, Wing K.; Lee, Dockjin; Seo, Sangjae; Kim, Young-Jin; Kim, Moon K.

2010-05-01

The structure of Kap95p was obtained from the Protein Data Bank (www.pdb.org) and analyzed RanGTP plays an important role in both nuclear protein import and export cycles. In the nucleus, RanGTP releases macromolecular cargoes from importins and conversely facilitates cargo binding to exportins. Although the crystal structure of the nuclear import complex formed by importin Kap95p and RanGTP was recently identified, its molecular mechanism still remains unclear. To understand the relationship between structure and function of a nuclear transport complex, a structure-based mechanical model of Kap95p:RanGTP complex is introduced. In this model, a protein structure is simply modeled as an elastic network in which a set of coarse-grained point masses are connected by linear springs representing biochemical interactions at atomic level. Harmonic normal mode analysis (NMA) and anharmonic elastic network interpolation (ENI) are performed to predict the modes of vibrations and a feasible pathway between locked and unlocked conformations of Kap95p, respectively. Simulation results imply that the binding of RanGTP to Kap95p induces the release of the cargo in the nucleus as well as prevents any new cargo from attaching to the Kap95p:RanGTP complex.

Characterization of a baculovirus nuclear localization signal domain in the late expression factor 3 protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Au, Victoria; Yu Mei; Carstens, Eric B.

2009-01-01

The baculovirus Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) single-stranded DNA binding protein LEF-3 is a multi-functional protein that is required to transport the helicase protein P143 into the nucleus of infected cells where they function to replicate viral DNA. The N-terminal 56 amino acid region of LEF-3 is required for nuclear transport. In this report, we analyzed the effect of site-specific mutagenesis of LEF-3 on its intracellular distribution. Fluorescence microscopy of expression plasmid-transfected cells demonstrated that the residues 28 to 32 formed the core nuclear localization signal, but other adjacent positively-charged residues augmented these sequences. Comparison with other group I Alphabaculoviruses suggested that this core region functionally duplicated residues including 18 and 19. This was demonstrated by the loss of nuclear localization when the equivalent residues (18 to 20) in Choristoneura fumiferana nucleopolyhedrovirus (CfMNPV) LEF-3 were mutated. The AcMNPV LEF-3 nuclear localization domain was also shown to drive nuclear transport in mammalian cells indicating that the protein nuclear import systems in insect and mammalian cells are conserved. We also demonstrated by mutagenesis that two conserved cysteine residues located at 82 and 106 were not essential for nuclear localization or for interaction with P143. However, by using a modified construct of P143 that localized on its own to the nucleus, we demonstrated that a functional nuclear localization domain on LEF-3 was required for interaction between LEF-3 and P143

Transport of nuclear material (Part II)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staake, Theo; Schmidt, Thomas

1983-01-01

Providing a complete back-end service for MTR reactors is one of the fundamental and traditional tasks of TRANSNUKLEAR GmbH (TN). TN's services in this field cover everything from supplying the ideal transport cask, providing technical assistance during the loading operation, obtaining the necessary package approval and transport licenses, providing the required insurance cover, carrying out the transport, right thru to settling the reprocessing contract. Up until 1976, TN carried out transports of MTR fuel elements to the European reprocessing plants at Mol in Belgium and Marcoule in France. In all, some 1000 fuel elements were transported in this p e ri od. However, following the decision by these plants not to reprocess these elements anymore, subsequent transports had to be made to the US-DOE reprocessing plants. TN pooled together the interests of all her MTR customers and signed a reprocessing contract with the US-DOE, which ensured a complete back-end service for these reactors well into the future. In close cooperation with our associated company, Transnuclear Inc. in New York and Washington, a new transport concept was developed, which proved itself to be both economic and reliable. Up to now, a total of about 2050 MTR fuel elements have been transported by TN-Germany to the USA in 65 separate shipments. The total number of shipments performed by the TN group is 165 shipments. All shipments were carried out routinely without any incident. In March this year, the US-DOE made use of a clause in the contract, in which 90 days' notice was given of a change in reprocessing plant. Whereas previously all elements had been taken to the Savannah River Plant (SRP) in South Carolina, in future all elements have to go to the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) near Idaho Falls. This change presented TN with the not inconsiderable problem of finding a suitable transport route. Due to the large number of influencing factors, the TN-group carried out a special

Uranium - a factor limiting nuclear energy?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohnemus, J.

2006-01-01

Nuclear power has been back as a topic of public debate since early this year. A special subject under discussion is the extension of nuclear power plant life. Hardly had it been on the agenda, when interested parties announced that this st ep was impossible because uranium reserves were no longer sufficient. A variety of terms are being used in this discussion without their meaning being taken int o account: stocks, resources, and reserves. To clarify the situation, this artic le outlines important aspects of short and long term uranium supplies, and analy zes their meaning. Here are some of the most important issues under consideration: - For what period of time is there really enough uranium? - Is uranium becoming the limiting factor in the use of nuclear power? - Is uranium really a 'sustainable' energy resource? - Will higher prices extend the range? - What is the in fluence of the price of uranium on the cost of electricity generation? Among oth er results, it is found that comprehensive sources of low-price uranium and nucl ear fuels are, or can be made, available worldwide. Consequently, the 'range' is beyond the time frames currently mentioned, also as a function of technological factors, i.e. reaching several hundred years. It is also important to note that nuclear power - ensures greater independence of volatile imported sources, - guarantees reliably low electricity prices, - has a huge potential of environmental protection, and - is a clean source of energy. (orig.)

A Historical Review of the Safe Transport of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Rev. 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Connolly, Kevin J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Pope, Ronald [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-09-01

This report is a revision to M3 milestone M3FT-16OR090402028 for the former Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation Planning Project (NFST), “Safety Record of SNF Shipments.” The US Department of Energy (DOE) has since established the Office of Integrated Waste Management (IWM), which builds on the work begun by NFST, to develop an integrated waste management system for spent nuclear fuel (SNF), including the developm

Determination of technical details concerning measures for transportation of nuclear fuel materials in the works or the enterprise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

The determination is defined under the regulations concerning the fabricating business of nuclear fuel materials, the regulation concerning installation and operation of test reactor, the regulations concerning the reprocessing business of spent fuel and the regulations concerning the uses of nuclear source materials. The notification determining technical details concerning measures for transportation of nuclear fuel materials is abolished. Measures for prevention of hazard designated by the Director General of Science and Technology Agency include such ones not to let radioactive materials easily fly about or leak in regular transport, not to let rain water easily penetrate or make each exterior side of a cubic load more than 10 centi-meters. The application for permission shall be filed for transportation of things highly difficult to be sealed in a vessel, listing name and address of the applicant, kind, quantity, form and nature of the load contaminated by nuclear fuel materials, date and route of transfer and measures taken for prevention of hazard in transport. Radiation doses of load and transporting apparatus are stipulated by the Director for an hour as 200 mili-rem on the surface of load, 10 mili-rem at the distance of 1 meter from the surface of load, and 200 mili-rem on the surface of the vehicle, etc. Dangerous things, signals and radiation dose of particular loads are specified respectively. (Okada, K.)

Separating form factor and nuclear model effects in quasielastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

Science.gov (United States)

Wieske, Joseph

2017-09-01

When studying neutrino oscillations an understanding of charged current quasielastic (CCQE) neutrino-nucleus scattering is imperative. This interaction depends on a nuclear model as well as knowledge of form factors. In the past, CCQE data from the MiniBooNE experiment was analyzed assuming the Relativistic Fermi Gas (RFG) nuclear model, an axial dipole form factor in, and using the the z-expansion for the axial form factor in. We present the first analysis that combines a non-RFG nuclear model, in particular the Correlated Fermi Gas nuclear model (CFG) of, and the z expansion for the axial form factor. This will allow us to separate form factor and nuclear model effects in CCQE scattering. This project was supported through the Wayne State University REU program under NSF Grant PHY-1460853 and by the DOE Grant DE-SC0007983.

Recommended nuclear criticality safety experiments in support of the safe transportation of fissile material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tollefson, D.A.; Elliott, E.P.; Dyer, H.R.; Thompson, S.A.

1993-01-01

Validation of computer codes and nuclear data (cross-section) libraries using benchmark quality critical (or certain subcritical) experiments is an essential part of a nuclear criticality safety evaluation. The validation results establish the credibility of the calculational tools for use in evaluating a particular application. Validation of the calculational tools is addressed in several American National Standards Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) standards, with ANSI/ANS-8.1 being the most relevant. Documentation of the validation is a required part of all safety analyses involving significant quantities of fissile materials. In the case of transportation of fissile materials, the safety analysis report for packaging (SARP) must contain a thorough discussion of benchmark experiments, detailing how the experiments relate to the significant packaging and contents materials (fissile, moderating, neutron absorbing) within the package. The experiments recommended in this paper are needed to address certain areas related to transportation of unirradiated fissile materials in drum-type containers (packagings) for which current data are inadequate or are lacking

Working Group 7.1 on environmental transport, US-USSR Joint Coordinating Committee on Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anspaugh, L.R.; Hendrickson, S.M.

1991-01-01

This report contains brief summaries of the status of projects of the Environmental Transport Group of the US-USSR Joint Coordinating Committee of Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety. Projects reported on include: Management and Administration; Atmospheric Transport; Resuspension; External Dose; Terrestrial Food Chains; Aquatic Food Chains; Hydrological Transport; and Intercalibration

Regulations for safe transport of spent fuels from nuclear power plants in CMEA member countries. Part III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zizka, B.

1978-11-01

The regulations for safe transport of spent fuel from nuclear power plants in the CMEA member countries consist of general provisions, technical requirements for spent fuel transport, transport conditions, procedures for submitting reports on transport, regulations for transport and protection of radioactive material to be transported, procedures for customs clearance, technical and organizational measures for the prevention of hypothetical accidents and the elimination of their consequences. The bodies responsible for spent fuel transport in the CMEA member countries are listed. (J.B.)

Assessing numerical methods used in nuclear aerosol transport models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDonald, B.H.

1987-01-01

Several computer codes are in use for predicting the behaviour of nuclear aerosols released into containment during postulated accidents in water-cooled reactors. Each of these codes uses numerical methods to discretize and integrate the equations that govern the aerosol transport process. Computers perform only algebraic operations and generate only numbers. It is in the numerical methods that sense can be made of these numbers and where they can be related to the actual solution of the equations. In this report, the numerical methods most commonly used in the aerosol transport codes are examined as special cases of a general solution procedure, the Method of Weighted Residuals. It would appear that the numerical methods used in the codes are all capable of producing reasonable answers to the mathematical problem when used with skill and care. 27 refs

Constraining nuclear data via cosmological observations: Neutrino energy transport and big bang nucleosynthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paris Mark

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN. Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and 'ow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These e↑ects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger e↑ect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in 4He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties

The utility industry's perspective on OCRWM's plans for developing the system for transporting spent fuel under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brodnick, D.A.

1988-01-01

The electric utility industry has a vital interest in the transport program to be developed by the Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The industry's interest stems in part from the fact that the DOE's transportation program is financed by the Nuclear Waste Fund which is made up of ratepayer funds. However, the industry is also vitally interested in the DOE's transportation program because it could impact the ongoing transportation operations of all nuclear utilities, and, perhaps most importantly, without the utility industry's input, DOE is not able to develop an optimal transportation program. The NWPA contemplates that the DOE conducts its transportation program in accordance with the existing federal and state regulatory structure. DOE has significant discretion, however, in creating and implementing the business, operational and institutional aspects of its NWPA transportation program. The utility industry intends to ensure that the DOE meets the challenge to develop a safe, efficient and economically sound program to transport spent fuel and high-level waste to the appropriate federal facilities

Transport of Cobalt 60 from the Argentine Nuclear Power Plant in Embalse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Vietri, J.R.

2011-01-01

Full text: The purpose of this presentation is to point out some relevant issues related to the transport of cobalt 60 for domestic uses and export from the Argentine Nuclear Power Plant located in Embalse (ENPP). It is remarked that in last 22 years, ENPP produced about 2600 PBq (70 MCi) of Co-60, and that Argentina is the third Co-60 producer, after Canada and Russia. It is mentioned that in Argentina there are facilities which manufacture Zircaloy seamless tubes and reactivity control bars containing cobalt 59 to be used in ENPP, the operation of Candu reactor at ENPP including cobalt-related activities, and the manufacture and commercialization of Co-60 sealed sources. The Argentine Nuclear Regulatory Authority verifies the compliance of nuclear activities with regulatory standards, including those related to the transport of radioactive material. Then, it is described the process for obtaining Co-60 at ENPP with an activity concentration to allow its use in medicine and industry. After that, is considered in detail the type of package used for the transport of Co-60 from ENPP: it is to say, Type B(U) package designs that must be approved by the Competent Authority origin of the design, and they are able to withstand routine, normal and accident conditions of transport, including severe impacts, fires and immersion in water. The overall dimensions of packages are about 1.0 m to 1.5 m diameter by 1.2 m to 1.8 m high, as well as the gross mass could vary from 6500 kg to 9500 kg. Radioactive contents consist of Co-60 sealed sources (called pencils), with an activity range from 8 PBq to 16 PBq. Then, it is considered activities prior to dispatch of Type B(U) packages at ENPP, including the preparation of radioactive contents, packaging and package (labelling and marking) as well as necessary tests and documentation for transport in order to fulfil pertinent requirements of package design operation manual of the package and related standards. Finally, it is pointed

Transport of spent nuclear fuel from the High Flux Beam Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, Michael; Carelli, Joseph; Shelton, Thomas

1997-01-01

The shipment of more than 1000 elements of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) to the Department's Savannah River Site (SRS) for long term interim storage required overcoming several significant obstacles. The project management team was comprised of DOE, BNL and NAC International personnel. This achievement involved coordinating the efforts of numerous government and contractor organizations such as the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, state and local governments, marine and motor carriers, and carrier inspectors. Unique experience was gained during development and execution of the project in the following areas: dry transfer of SNF to shipping casks; inter-modal transfers; logistics; cask licensing by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); compliance with environmental regulations; transportation plan development, and stakeholder outreach and coordination

Study on the factors affecting the quality of public bus transportation service in Bali Province using factor analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Susilawati, M.; Nilakusmawati, D. P. E.

2017-06-01

The volume of mobility flows are increasing day by day and the condition of the number of people using private transport modes contribute to traffic congestion. With the limited capacity of the road, one of the alternatives solution to reduce congestion is to optimize the use of public transport. The purposes of this study are to determine the factors that influence user’s satisfaction on the quality of public bus transportation service and determine variables that became identifier on the dominant factor affecting user’s satisfaction. The study was conducted for the public bus transportation between districts in the province of Bali, which is among the eight regencies and one municipality, using a questionnaire as a data collection instrument. Service variables determinant of user’s satisfaction in this study, described in 25 questions, which were analyzed using factor analysis. The results showed there were six factors that explain the satisfaction of users of public transport in Bali, with a total diversity of data that can be parsed by 61.436%. These factors are: Safety and comfort, Responsiveness, Capacity, Tangible, Safety, Reliability. The dominant factor affecting public transport user satisfaction is the safety and comfort, with the most influential variable is feeling concerned about the personal safety of users when on the bus.

Safety demonstration analyses for severe accident of fresh nuclear fuel transport packages at JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, K.; Watanabe, K.; Nomura, Y.; Okuno, H.; Miyoshi, Y.

2004-01-01

It is expected in the near future that more and more fresh nuclear fuel will be transported in a variety of transport packages to cope with increasing demand from nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Accordingly, safety demonstration analyses of these methods are planned and conducted at JAERI under contract with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. These analyses are conducted part of a four year plan from 2001 to 2004 to verify integrity of packaging against leakage of radioactive material in the case of a severe accident envisioned to occur during transportation, for the purpose of gaining public acceptance of such nuclear fuel activities. In order to create the accident scenarios, actual transportation routes were surveyed, accident or incident records were tracked, international radioactive material transport regulations such as IAEA rules were investigated and, thus, accident conditions leading to mechanical damage and thermal failure were selected for inclusion in the scenario. As a result, the worst-case conditions of run-off-the-road accidents were incorporated, where there is impact against a concrete or asphalt surface. Fire accidents were assumed to occur after collision with a tank truck carrying lots of inflammable material or destruction by fire after collision inside a tunnel. The impact analyses were performed by using three-dimensional elements according to the general purpose impact analysis code LS-DYNA. Leak-tightness of the package was maintained even in the severe impact accident scenario. In addition, the thermal analyses were performed by using two-dimensional elements according to the general purpose finite element method computer code ABAQUS. As a result of these analyses, the integrity of the inside packaging component was found to be sufficient to maintain a leak-tight state, confirming its safety

Human factor analysis and preventive countermeasures in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Ye

2010-01-01

Based on the human error analysis theory and the characteristics of maintenance in a nuclear power plant, human factors of maintenance in NPP are divided into three different areas: human, technology, and organization. Which is defined as individual factors, including psychological factors, physiological characteristics, health status, level of knowledge and interpersonal skills; The technical factors including technology, equipment, tools, working order, etc.; The organizational factors including management, information exchange, education, working environment, team building and leadership management,etc The analysis found that organizational factors can directly or indirectly affect the behavior of staff and technical factors, is the most basic human error factor. Based on this nuclear power plant to reduce human error and measures the response. (authors)

Measures to strengthen international co-operation in nuclear, radiation and transport safety and waste management. Nuclear safety review for the year 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The Nuclear Safety Review for the Year 2003 presents an overview of the current issues and trends in nuclear, radiation, transport and radioactive waste safety during 2003. As in 2002 the overview is supported by more detailed Notes by the Secretariat: Safety Related Events and Issues Worldwide during 2003 (document 2004/Note 6), The Agency's Safety Standards: Activities during 2003 (document 2004/Note 7) and Providing for the Application of the Safety Standards (document 2004/Note 8). In January 2003, the Agency implemented an organization change and developed an integrated approach to reflect a broader assignment of nuclear safety and nuclear security and to better exploit synergy between them. The Office of Physical Protection and Material Security renamed to Office of Nuclear Security was transferred from the Department of Safeguards to the Department of Nuclear Safety, which became the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security to reflect the change. This Review provides information primarily on nuclear safety, and nuclear security will be addressed in a separate report

The so-called 'Castor-Crisis': Transport of spent nuclear fuel elements and German 'Angst'. How to prevent the public relations catastrophe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suess, Werner

1999-01-01

Full text: 1. 'Castor-Crisis' - The Real Facts. - the background: radioactive contamination on the surface of transport containers for spent nuclear fuel elements; - legal aspects: transport limit values and notification obligations; - health aspects: radioactive contamination and ionising radiation; - the news media: divergence between technical facts and public perception. 2. 'Castor-Crisis' - The Reactions. 2.1 Technical measures: - 'action plan' of the Federal Ministry for Environment Protection and Reactor Safety; - IT-based European Information and Report System for the transport of nuclear combustibles => 'Transparent Transport Procedures'; - optimisation of decontamination procedures and transport organisation; - simplification of logistics, clearer responsibilities. 2.2 Communications measures: - defense strategy: 'we made a mistake...'; - information campaign: 'we owe you some answers...'; - regaining credibility: public testimonials of employees in newspaper ads, brochures etc.; - regaining credibility: neutral investigation of all relevant circumstances by KPMG. 3. 'Castor-Crisis' - The Lessons: - internal crisis management: improved co-ordination at company and branch level; - pro-active strategy: 'The benefits of nuclear energy' (avoidance Of CO 2 -emissions); - limits of communications; - communications efforts for nuclear energy - the European context. (author)

A TRANSPORTATION RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR ANALYZING THE TRANSPORT OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE TO THE PROPOSED YUCCA MOUNTAIN REPOSITORY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The Yucca Mountain Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) analysis addressed the potential for transporting spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from 77 origins for 34 types of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, 49,914 legal weight truck shipments, and 10,911 rail shipments. The analysis evaluated transportation over 59,250 unique shipment links for travel outside Nevada (shipment segments in urban, suburban or rural zones by state), and 22,611 links in Nevada. In addition, the analysis modeled the behavior of 41 isotopes, 1091 source terms, and used 8850 food transfer factors (distinct factors by isotope for each state). The analysis also used mode-specific accident rates for legal weight truck, rail, and heavy haul truck by state, and barge by waterway. This complex mix of data and information required an innovative approach to assess the transportation impacts. The approach employed a Microsoft(reg s ign) Access database tool that incorporated data from many sources, including unit risk factors calculated using the RADTRAN IV transportation risk assessment computer program. Using Microsoft(reg s ign) Access, the analysts organized data (such as state-specific accident and fatality rates) into tables and developed queries to obtain the overall transportation impacts. Queries are instructions to the database describing how to use data contained in the database tables. While a query might be applied to thousands of table entries, there is only one sequence of queries that is used to calculate a particular transportation impact. For example, the incident-free dose to off-link populations in a state is calculated by a query that uses route segment lengths for each route in a state that could be used by shipments, populations for each segment, number of shipments on each segment, and an incident-free unit risk factor calculated using RADTRAN IV. In addition to providing a method for using large volumes of data in the calculations, the

Efficiency, selectivity, and robustness of nucleocytoplasmic transport.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Zilman

2007-07-01

Full Text Available All materials enter or exit the cell nucleus through nuclear pore complexes (NPCs, efficient transport devices that combine high selectivity and throughput. NPC-associated proteins containing phenylalanine-glycine repeats (FG nups have large, flexible, unstructured proteinaceous regions, and line the NPC. A central feature of NPC-mediated transport is the binding of cargo-carrying soluble transport factors to the unstructured regions of FG nups. Here, we model the dynamics of nucleocytoplasmic transport as diffusion in an effective potential resulting from the interaction of the transport factors with the flexible FG nups, using a minimal number of assumptions consistent with the most well-established structural and functional properties of NPC transport. We discuss how specific binding of transport factors to the FG nups facilitates transport, and how this binding and competition between transport factors and other macromolecules for binding sites and space inside the NPC accounts for the high selectivity of transport. We also account for why transport is relatively insensitive to changes in the number and distribution of FG nups in the NPC, providing an explanation for recent experiments where up to half the total mass of the FG nups has been deleted without abolishing transport. Our results suggest strategies for the creation of artificial nanomolecular sorting devices.

Order of 20 September 1993 amending the Order of 26 March 1982 on protection and control of nuclear materials during transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

This Order amends and supplements the system for the transport of nuclear materials laid down by the 1982 Order. Two new provisions have been inserted. The first specifies that in the event of an accident or an incident occurring during the transport of nuclear materials which implies a radiological risk, the Central Service for Proteciton against Ionizing Radiation (SCPRI) must be notified immediately. The other provision specifies that the transport vehicle must be equipped with a means of communication so as to inform the Institute for Protection and Nuclear Safety (IPSN) about the main stages of the operation. (NEA)

Shielding requirements for the transport of nuclear warhead components under decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, L.F.

1994-09-01

The requirements to carry out accurate shielding calculations involved with the safe off-site transportation of packages containing nuclear warhead components, special assemblies and radioactive materials are discussed. The need for (a) detailed information on the geometry and material composition of the packaging and radioactive load, (b) accurate representation of the differential energy spectra (dN/dE) for the neutron and gamma spectra emitted by the radioactive materials enclosed in the packaging, (c) well-tested neutron and photon cross section libraries, (d) and accurate three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport codes are illustrated. A brief discussion of the need for reliable dose measurements is presented

Nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1976-07-01

The IAEA is organizing a major conference on nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle, which is to be held from 2 to 13 May 1977 in Salzburg, Austria. The programme for the conference was published in the preceding issue of the IAEA Bulletin (Vol.18, No. 3/4). Topics to be covered at the conference include: world energy supply and demand, supply of nuclear fuel and fuel cycle services, radioactivity management (including transport), nuclear safety, public acceptance of nuclear power, safeguarding of nuclear materials, and nuclear power prospects in developing countries. The articles in the section that follows are intended to serve as an introduction to the topics to be discussed at the Salzburg Conference. They deal with the demand for uranium and nuclear fuel cycle services, uranium supplies, a computer simulation of regional fuel cycle centres, nuclear safety codes, management of radioactive wastes, and a pioneering research project on factors that determine public attitudes toward nuclear power. It is planned to present additional background articles, including a review of the world nuclear fuel reprocessing situation and developments in the uranium enrichment industry, in future issues of the Bulletin. (author)

Transport of radioactive droplet moisture from a source in a nuclear power plant spray pond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elokhin, A.P.

1995-01-01

In addition to a change in the microclimate in the region surrounding a nuclear power plant resulting from the emission of vapor form a cooling tower, evaporation of water from the water surface of a cooling pond or a spray pond, in the latter case direct radioactive contamination of the underlying surface around the nuclear power plant can also occur due to discharge of process water (radioactive) into the pond and its transport in the air over a certain distance in the form of droplet moisture. A typical example may be the situation at the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant in 1986 when accidental discharge of process water into the cooling pond occurred. Below we present a solution for the problem of transport of droplet moisture taking into account its evaporation, which may be used to estimate the scale of radioactive contamination of the locality

Road transport-related energy consumption: Analysis of driving factors in Tunisia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mraihi, Rafaa; Abdallah, Khaled ben; Abid, Mehdi

2013-01-01

The rapid growth of urban population and the development of road infrastructures in Tunisian cities have brought about many environmental and economic problems, including the rise scored in energy consumption and the increase in the quantity of gas emissions arising from road transport. Despite the critical nature of such problems, no policies have yet been adopted to improve energy efficiency in the transport sector. This paper aims to determine driving factors of energy consumption change for the road mode. It uses decomposition analysis to discuss the effects of economic, demographic and urban factors on the evolution of transport energy consumption. The main result highlighted in the present work is that vehicle fuel intensity, vehicle intensity, GDP per capita, urbanized kilometers and national road network are found to be the main drivers of energy consumption change in the road transport sector during 1990–2006 period. Consequently, several strategies can be elaborated to reduce road transport energy. Economic, fiscal and regulatory instruments can be applied in order to make road transport more sustainable. -- Highlights: •We are interested in determining driving factors of transport energy consumption growth in Tunisia. •We use decomposition analysis approach. •Vehicle fuel and road vehicle intensities are found to be principal factors. •Motorization and urbanization are also found to be responsible

Transportin-1-dependent YB-1 nuclear import

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mordovkina, Daria A.; Kim, Ekaterina R.; Buldakov, Ilya A.; Sorokin, Alexey V.; Eliseeva, Irina A.; Lyabin, Dmitry N.; Ovchinnikov, Lev P.

2016-01-01

The DNA/RNA-binding protein YB-1 (Y-box binding protein 1) performs multiple functions both in the cytoplasm and the nucleus of the cell. Generally localized to the cytoplasm, under certain conditions YB-1 is translocated to the nucleus. Here we report for the first time a transport factor that mediates YB-1 nuclear import – transportin-1. The YB-1/transportin-1 complex can be isolated from HeLa cell extract. Nuclear import of YB-1 and its truncated form YB-1 (1-219) in in vitro transport assay was diminished in the presence of a competitor substrate and ceased in the presence of transportin-1 inhibitor M9M. Inhibitors of importin β1 had no effect on YB-1 transport. Furthermore, transport of YB-1 (P201A/Y202A) and YB-1 (1–219) (P201A/Y202A) bearing inactivating mutations in the transportin-1-dependent nuclear localization signal was practically abolished. Together, these results indicate that transportin-1 mediates YB-1 nuclear translocation. - Highlights: • Transportin-1 mediates YB-1 nuclear import. • YB-1 nuclear translocation is diminished in the presence of transportin-1 inhibitors. • Mutations in the PY motif of YB-1 NLS prevent its translocation to the nucleus.

Nuclear modification factor using Tsallis non-extensive statistics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tripathy, Sushanta; Garg, Prakhar; Kumar, Prateek; Sahoo, Raghunath [Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Discipline of Physics, School of Basic Sciences, Simrol (India); Bhattacharyya, Trambak; Cleymans, Jean [University of Cape Town, UCT-CERN Research Centre and Department of Physics, Rondebosch (South Africa)

2016-09-15

The nuclear modification factor is derived using Tsallis non-extensive statistics in relaxation time approximation. The variation of the nuclear modification factor with transverse momentum for different values of the non-extensive parameter, q, is also observed. The experimental data from RHIC and LHC are analysed in the framework of Tsallis non-extensive statistics in a relaxation time approximation. It is shown that the proposed approach explains the R{sub AA} of all particles over a wide range of transverse momentum but does not seem to describe the rise in R{sub AA} at very high transverse momenta. (orig.)

Spent nuclear fuel transportation: public issues and answers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, W.D.

1986-01-01

The court-ordered shipping of 750 spent nuclear fuel assemblies from West Valley, New York back to their utility owners has generated considerable public and media interest. This paper discusses the specific concerns of the general public over the West Valley shipments, the issues raised by opposition groups, the interest of public officials and emergency preparedness teams as well as the media coverage generated. An analysis is performed on the effectiveness of the West Valley and utility public information programs utilized in addressing these issues, concerns and interests. Emphasis is placed on communications which work to facilitate the shipments and generate fuel transport acceptance. Information programs are discussed which increase preparedness for nuclear shipments by emergency response teams and build public confidence in their safety. The paper also examines communications which could have further enhanced the shipping campaign to date. Finally, plans are discussed for media preparation with interview training and press conferences. Emphasis is placed on materials provided for the media which have served to generate more favorable print and air time

Spent nuclear fuel transportation: Public issues and answers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, W.D.

1986-01-01

The court-ordered shipping of 750 spent nuclear fuel assemblies from West Valley, New York back to their utility owners has generated considerable public and media interest. This paper discusses the specific concerns of the general public over the West Valley shipments, the issues raised by opposition groups, the interests of public officials and emergency preparedness teams as well as the media coverage generated. An analysis is performed on the effectiveness of the West Valley and utility public information programs utilized in addressing these issues, concerns and interests. Emphasis is placed on communications which work to facilitate the shipments and generate fuel transport acceptance. Information programs are discussed which increase preparedness for nuclear shipments by emergency response teams and build public confidence in their safety. The paper also examines communications which could have further enhanced the shipping campaigns to date. Finally, plans are discussed for media preparation with interview training and press conferences. Emphasis is placed on materials provided for the media which has served to generate more favorable print and air time

Urban risks of truck transport of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, G.S.; Neuhauser, K.S.

1998-01-01

Truck transport of radioactive material (RAM), e.g., spent nuclear fuel (SNF), normally maximizes use of Interstate highways, which are safer and more efficient for truck transport in general. In the estimation of transportation risks, population bordering a route is a direct factor in determining consequences and an indirect factor in determining exposure times, accident probabilities and severities, and other parameters. Proposals to transport RAM may draw intense resistance from stakeholders based on concern for population concentrations along urban segments but the length of a route segment is also a determinative factor in estimating the transport risks. To quantify the relative importance of these two factors, a potential route for transport of SNF (strict use of Interstate highways) was selected and compared with a modified version that bypassed urban areas. The RADTRAN 4 code for transportation risk assessment, which was developed at Sandia National Laboratories, was used in the present study to assess the relative risks of SNF transportation for alternative routes. The results suggest that emphasis on Interstate highways minimizes total route and urban segment risks

Geologic factors in nuclear waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Towse, D.

1978-07-01

The study of geosciences and their relation to nuclear waste disposal and management entails analyzing the hydrology, chemistry, and geometry of the nuclear waste migration process. Hydrologic effects are determined by analyzing the porosity and permeability (natural and induced) of rock as well as pressures and gradients, dispersion, and aquifer length of the system. Chemistry parameters include radionuclide retardation factors and waste dissolution rate. Geometric parameters (i.e., parameters with dimension) evaluated include repository layer thickness, fracture zone area, tunnel length, and aquifer length. The above parameters act as natural barriers or controls to nuclear waste migration, and are evaluated in three potential geologic media: salt, shale, and crystalline rock deposits. Parametric values are assigned that correspond to many existing situations. These values, in addition to other important inputs, are lumped as a hydrology input into a computer simulation program used to model and calculate nuclear waste migration from the repository to the biosphere, and potential individual and population dose and radiation effects. These results are preliminary and show trends only; they do not represent an actual risk analysis

The directionality of the nuclear transport of the influenza A genome is driven by selective exposure of nuclear localization sequences on nucleoprotein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Panté Nelly

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Early in infection, the genome of the influenza A virus, consisting of eight complexes of RNA and proteins (termed viral ribonucleoproteins; vRNPs, enters the nucleus of infected cells for replication. Incoming vRNPs are imported into the nucleus of infected cells using at least two nuclear localization sequences on nucleoprotein (NP; NLS1 at the N terminus, and NLS2 in the middle of the protein. Progeny vRNP assembly occurs in the nucleus, and later in infection, these are exported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Nuclear-exported vRNPs are different from incoming vRNPs in that they are prevented from re-entering the nucleus. Why nuclear-exported vRNPs do not re-enter the nucleus is unknown. Results To test our hypothesis that the exposure of NLSs on the vRNP regulates the directionality of the nuclear transport of the influenza vRNPs, we immunolabeled the two NLSs of NP (NLS1 and NLS2 and analyzed their surface accessibility in cells infected with the influenza A virus. We found that the NLS1 epitope on NP was exposed throughout the infected cells, but the NLS2 epitope on NP was only exposed in the nucleus of the infected cells. Addition of the nuclear export inhibitor leptomycin B further revealed that NLS1 is no longer exposed in cytoplasmic NP and vRNPs that have already undergone nuclear export. Similar immunolabeling studies in the presence of leptomycin B and with cells transfected with the cDNA of NP revealed that the NLS1 on NP is hidden in nuclear exported-NP. Conclusion NLS1 mediates the nuclear import of newly-synthesized NP and incoming vRNPs. This NLS becomes hidden on nuclear-exported NP and nuclear-exported vRNPs. Thus the selective exposure of the NLS1 constitutes a critical mechanism to regulate the directionality of the nuclear transport of vRNPs during the influenza A viral life cycle.

Preliminary Report: Bases for Containment Analysis for Transportation of Aluminum-Based Spent Nuclear Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinson, D.W.

1998-01-01

Aluminum-based spent nuclear fuel (Al-SNF) from foreign and domestic research reactors (FRR/DRR) is being shipped to SRS under the site FRR/DRR Receipts Program. Shipment of the FRR/DRR assemblies required that the cask with loaded fuel be certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (for US-owned casks) or the US Department of Transportation (for foreign-owned casks) to comply with the requirements in 10CFR71

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Human Factors Program Plan. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-09-01

The purpose of the NRC Human Factors Program Plan (NUREG-0985) is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design, operation, and maintenance of nuclear facilities. This revised plan addresses nuclear power plants (NPPs) and describes (1) the technical assistance and research activities planned to provide the technical bases for the resolution of the remaining human factors related tasks described in NUREG-0660, THE NRC Action Plan developed as a result of the TMI-2 Accident, and NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements; (2) the additional human factors efforts identified during implementation of the Action Plan that should receive NRC attention; (3) conduct of developmental activities specified in NUREG-0985 during FY-83; and (4) the impact of Section 306 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, PL 97-425. The plan represents a systematic and comprehensive approach for addressing human factors concerns important to NPP safety in the FY-84 through FY-86 time frame

Nuclear Energy R and D Imperative 3: Enable a Transition Away from Fossil Fuel in the Transportation and Industrial Sectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petti, David; Herring, J. Stephen

2010-01-01

As described in the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's Nuclear Energy R and D Roadmap, nuclear energy can play a significant role in supplying energy for a growing economy while reducing both our dependence on foreign energy supplies and emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. The industrial and transportation sectors are responsible for more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and imported oil supplies 70% of the energy used in the transportation sector. It is therefore important to examine the various ways nuclear energy can facilitate a transition away from fossil fuels to secure environmentally sustainable production and use of energy in the transportation and manufacturing industry sectors. Imperative 3 of the Nuclear Energy R and D Roadmap, entitled 'Enable a Transition Away from Fossil Fuels by Producing Process Heat for use in the Transportation and Industrial Sectors', addresses this need. This document presents an Implementation Plan for R and D efforts related to this imperative. The expanded use of nuclear energy beyond the electrical grid will contribute significantly to overcoming the three inter-linked energy challenges facing U.S. industry: the rising and volatile prices for premium fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, dependence on foreign sources for these fuels, and the risks of climate change resulting from carbon emissions. Nuclear energy could be used in the industrial and transportation sectors to: (1) Generate high temperature process heat and electricity to serve industrial needs including the production of chemical feedstocks for use in manufacturing premium fuels and fertilizer products, (2) Produce hydrogen for industrial processes and transportation fuels, and (3) Provide clean water for human consumption by desalination and promote wastewater treatment using low-grade nuclear heat as a useful additional benefit. Opening new avenues for nuclear energy will significantly enhance our nation

Human factors methods in DOE nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennett, C.T.; Banks, W.W.; Waters, R.J.

1993-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is in the process of developing a series of guidelines for the use of human factors standards, procedures, and methods to be used in nuclear facilities. This paper discusses the philosophy and process being used to develop a DOE human factors methods handbook to be used during the design cycle. The following sections will discuss: (1) basic justification for the project; (2) human factors design objectives and goals; and (3) role of human factors engineering (HFE) in the design cycle

The IAEA Nuclear Security Programme Combating Nuclear Terrorism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

Discusses the four threats of nuclear terrorism,which are theft of a nuclear weapon, theft of material to make an improvised nuclear explosive device,theft of other radioactive material for an Radiological dispersal device and sabotage of a facility or transport. The IAEA Nuclear Security programme combating Nuclear Terrorism therefore adopts a comprehensive approach. The programme addresses the need to cover nuclear and other radioactive materials, nuclear facilities and transports, non-nuclear, medical and industrial applications of sources

Thermodynamics of competitive molecular channel transport: application to artificial nuclear pores.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Wolfgang R; Nadler, Walter

2010-12-13

In an analytical model channel transport is analyzed as a function of key parameters, determining efficiency and selectivity of particle transport in a competitive molecular environment. These key parameters are the concentration of particles, solvent-channel exchange dynamics, as well as particle-in-channel- and interparticle interaction. These parameters are explicitly related to translocation dynamics and channel occupation probability. Slowing down the exchange dynamics at the channel ends, or elevating the particle concentration reduces the in-channel binding strength necessary to maintain maximum transport. Optimized in-channel interaction may even shift from binding to repulsion. A simple equation gives the interrelation of access dynamics and concentration at this transition point. The model is readily transferred to competitive transport of different species, each of them having their individual in-channel affinity. Combinations of channel affinities are determined which differentially favor selectivity of certain species on the cost of others. Selectivity for a species increases if its in-channel binding enhances the species' translocation probability when compared to that of the other species. Selectivity increases particularly for a wide binding site, long channels, and fast access dynamics. Recent experiments on competitive transport of in-channel binding and inert molecules through artificial nuclear pores serve as a paradigm for our model. It explains qualitatively and quantitatively how binding molecules are favored for transport at the cost of the transport of inert molecules.

Radioactive Waste Transport: Managing Risk Perception and Communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, Ch.

2009-01-01

The implementation of a national transportation system for spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste that merits public trust and confidence will require the delivery of consistent, accurate and timely transportation messages; stakeholder and public understanding of the need for, and safety of, shipments; and effective two-way communication to address stakeholder concerns in its decision-making processes. Building the trust and consent of stakeholders and the public is complex and challenging. In order to accomplish this goal, it is imperative to understand how and why members of society develop various perceptions of risks and assessments of benefits with regard to the nuclear energy cycle. Understanding the basis and reasons for the public's beliefs concerning the nuclear energy cycle will allow OCRWM to more effectively address concerns regarding the national transportation program. This paper will examine how a person's gender, sources of information, world-view, culture, emotion, cognition, and other factors affect their beliefs and perceptions of risk. It will also explore the reasons why nuclear energy and nuclear waste are viewed with such a distinctly different attitude than other hazardous materials that pose a comparable or greater hazard. Drawing on research from prominent experts in risk perception and communication methods, this study will conduct a unique investigation into the perspectives of a diverse set of key stakeholders and experts involved in the transportation process. This paper will present several hypotheses on why there are unique challenges involved in communicating about transportation of spent nuclear fuel and other nuclear fuel cycle activities, and also present recommendations for remediating such challenges. (authors)

The Question of Queue: Implications for -Best Practice- in Cross-country Transport of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, J.M.

2009-01-01

The 'Standard Contract' authorized by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (Section 302(a)) provides that priority for acceptance of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) shall be based on the date of its discharge from civilian nuclear reactors. Through 2007, about 2,100 discharges of about 58,000 metric tons have created a priority ranking (or 'queue') for US DOE spent fuel acceptance and transport. Since 1982, consideration of the task of large-scale, cross-country SNF transport (by the National Academies and others) has led to several recommendations for 'best practice' in such an unprecedented campaign. Many of these recommendations, however, are inconsistent with the acceptance priority established by the Standard Contract, and in fact cannot be implemented under its provisions. This paper considers the SNF acceptance rankings established by the Standard Contract, and the barrier these place on best practice cross-country transport of the nation's inventory of SNF. Using a series of case studies, the paper explores the challenge of best practice transport from selected shipment origins under current arrangements. The case studies support preliminary conclusions regarding the inconsistency between best practice SNF transport and the Standard Contract acceptance queue, with reference to particular origins sites and their utility owners. The paper concludes with a suggestion for resolving the inconsistencies, and recommended next steps in the inquiry. (authors)

Calculation of health risks from spent-nuclear-fuel transportation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, S.Y.; Yuan, Y.C.

1987-01-01

Models developed to analyze potential radiological health risks from various accident scenarios during transportation of spent nuclear fuels are described. The models are designed both for detailed route-specific risk analyses and for use in conducting overall risk analyses for route selection and related decision-making activities. The radiological risks calculated include individual dose commitments, collective dose commitments, and long-term (100-year) environmental dose commitments to a population following release of radioactivity. To facilitate route-specific analysis, a state-level database was developed and incorporated into the model. Route-specific analysis is demonstrated by the calculation of radiological risks resulting from various accident scenarios, as postulated by the recent US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Modal Study, for four representative states selected from various regions of the United States. 10 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Source to sink transport and regulation by environmental factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Remi eLemoine

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Source-to-sink transport of sugar is one of the major determinants of plant growth and relies on the efficient and controlled distribution of sucrose (and some other sugars such as raffinose and polyols across plant organs through the phloem. However, sugar transport through the phloem can be affected by many environmental factors that alter source/sink relationships. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge about the phloem transport mechanisms and review the effects of several abiotic (water and salt stress, mineral deficiency, CO2, light, temperature, air and soil pollutants and biotic (mutualistic and pathogenic microbes, viruses, aphids and parasitic plants factors. Concerning abiotic constraints, alteration of the distribution of sugar among sinks is often reported, with some sinks as roots favoured in case of mineral deficiency. Many of these constraints impair the transport function of the phloem but the exact mechanisms are far from being completely known. Phloem integrity can be disrupted (e.g. by callose deposition and under certain conditions, phloem transport is affected, earlier than photosynthesis. Photosynthesis inhibition could result from the increase in sugar concentration due to phloem transport decrease. Biotic interactions (aphids, fungi, viruses… also affect crop plant productivity. Recent breakthroughs have identified some of the sugar transporters involved in these interactions on the host and pathogen sides. The different data are discussed in relation to the phloem transport pathways. When possible, the link with current knowledge on the pathways at the molecular level will be highlighted.

Policy issues of transporting spent nuclear fuel by rail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spraggins, H.B.

1994-01-01

The topic of this paper is safe and economical transportation of spent nuclear fuel by rail. The cost of safe movement given the liability consequences in the event of a rail accident involving such material is the core issue. Underlying this issue is the ability to access the risk probability of such an accident. The paper delineates how the rail industry and certain governmental agencies perceive and assess such important operational, safety, and economic issues. It also covers benefits and drawbacks of dedicated and regular train movement of such materials

Nuclear modification factor for J/ψ production in nucleus-nucleus collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Xiaoming; Zhou Jie

2011-01-01

The STAR Collaboration has offered an eminent nuclear modification factor of J/ψ at high p T and midrapidity produced in Cu-Cu collisions at √ s NN= 200 GeV. Recalling a prediction, we can understand that the feature of high-p T nuclear modification factor is related to cc produced by 2 → 1 and 2 → 2 partonic processes in deconfined matter, particularly in the prethermal stage and to the recombination of c and c-bar. The nuclear modification factor at high p T is sensitive to the earliest form of deconfined matter that does not have a temperature.(authors)

Modeling most likely pathways for smuggling radioactive and special nuclear materials on a worldwide multimodal transportation network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saeger, Kevin J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Cuellar, Leticia [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

Nuclear weapons proliferation is an existing and growing worldwide problem. To help with devising strategies and supporting decisions to interdict the transport of nuclear material, we developed the Pathway Analysis, Threat Response and Interdiction Options Tool (PATRIOT) that provides an analytical approach for evaluating the probability that an adversary smuggling radioactive or special nuclear material will be detected during transit. We incorporate a global, multi-modal transportation network, explicit representation of designed and serendipitous detection opportunities, and multiple threat devices, material types, and shielding levels. This paper presents the general structure of PATRIOT, and focuses on the theoretical framework used to model the reliabilities of all network components that are used to predict the most likely pathways to the target.

Research of human factor in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nopp, I.

1983-01-01

The question is discussed of the study of the human factor with regard to the reliability of nuclear power plant operation. The reliability of the human factor is the result of the functional fitness, motivation, working conditions and working regime of personnel. (J.B.)

Human factor engineering applied to nuclear power plant design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manrique, A.; Valdivia, J.C.; Jimenez, A.

2001-01-01

For the design and construction of new nuclear power plants as well as for maintenance and operation of the existing ones new man-machine interface designs and modifications are been produced. For these new designs Human Factor Engineering must be applied the same as for any other traditional engineering discipline. Advantages of implementing adequate Human Factor Engineering techniques in the design of nuclear reactors have become not only a fact recognized by the majority of engineers and operators but also an explicit requirement regulated and mandatory for the new designs of the so called advanced reactors. Additionally, the big saving achieved by a nuclear power plant having an operating methodology which significantly decreases the risk of operating errors makes it necessary and almost vital its implementation. The first step for this is preparing a plan to incorporate all the Human Factor Engineering principles and developing an integral design of the Instrumentation and Control and Man-machine interface systems. (author)

Preliminary analysis of the cost and risk of transporting nuclear waste to potential candidate commercial repository sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilmot, E.L.; Madsen, M.M.; Cashwell, J.W.; Joy, D.S.

1983-06-01

This report documents preliminary cost and risk analyses that were performed in support of the Nuclear Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) program. The analyses compare the costs and hazards of transporting wastes to each of five regions that contain potential candidate nuclear waste repository sites being considered by the NWTS program. These regions are: the Gulf Interior Region, the Permian Basin, the Paradox Basin, Yucca Mountain, and Hanford. Two fuel-cycle scenarios were analyzed: once-through and reprocessing. Transportation was assumed to be either entirely by truck or entirely by rail for each of the scenarios. The results from the risk analyses include those attributable to nonradiological causes and those attributable to the radioactive character of the wastes being transported. 17 references

Economic evaluation of multilateral nuclear fuel cycle approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takashima, Ryuta; Kuno, Yusuke; Omoto, Akira; Tanaka, Satoru

2011-01-01

Recently previous works have shown that multilateral nuclear fuel cycle approach has benefits not only of non-proliferation but also of cost effectiveness. This is because for most facilities in nuclear fuel cycle, there exist economies of scale, which has a significant impact on the costs of nuclear fuel cycle. Therefore, the evaluation of economic rationality is required as one of the evaluation factors for the multilateral nuclear fuel cycle approach. In this study, we consider some options with respect to multilateral approaches to nuclear fuel cycle in Asian-Pacific region countries that are proposed by the University of Tokyo. In particular, the following factors are embedded into each type: A) no involvement of assurance of services, B) provision of assurance of services including construction of new facility, without transfer of ownership, and C) provision of assurance of service including construction of new joint facilities with ownership transfer of facilities to multilateral nuclear fuel cycle approach. We show the overnight costs taking into account install and operation of nuclear fuel cycle facilities for each option. The economic parameter values such as uranium price, scale factor, and market output expansion influences the total cost for each option. Thus, we show how these parameter values and economic risks affect the total overnight costs for each option. Additionally, the international facilities could increase the risk of transportation for nuclear material compared to national facilities. We discuss the potential effects of this transportation risk on the costs for each option. (author)

Physical protection in the transport of nuclear materials (Legal aspects of the domestic system)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novais, F.J.G.

1978-04-01

A study of the physical protection system is made. Emphasis is given to some considerations in the nuclear material transport area, mainly the details of the domestic system, from a juridic pont of view. (Author) [pt

Myosin-1C uses a novel phosphoinositide-dependent pathway for nuclear localization.

Science.gov (United States)

Nevzorov, Ilja; Sidorenko, Ekaterina; Wang, Weihuan; Zhao, Hongxia; Vartiainen, Maria K

2018-02-01

Accurate control of macromolecule transport between nucleus and cytoplasm underlines several essential biological processes, including gene expression. According to the canonical model, nuclear import of soluble proteins is based on nuclear localization signals and transport factors. We challenge this view by showing that nuclear localization of the actin-dependent motor protein Myosin-1C (Myo1C) resembles the diffusion-retention mechanism utilized by inner nuclear membrane proteins. We show that Myo1C constantly shuttles in and out of the nucleus and that its nuclear localization does not require soluble factors, but is dependent on phosphoinositide binding. Nuclear import of Myo1C is preceded by its interaction with the endoplasmic reticulum, and phosphoinositide binding is specifically required for nuclear import, but not nuclear retention, of Myo1C. Our results therefore demonstrate, for the first time, that membrane association and binding to nuclear partners is sufficient to drive nuclear localization of also soluble proteins, opening new perspectives to evolution of cellular protein sorting mechanisms. © 2018 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.

Nuclear energy - stabilising factor in the world economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Legassov, V.; Feoktistov, L.; Kouzmine, I.

1986-01-01

One of the most important factors for international stability is the development of the economy, reducing the risk of local armed conflicts which could escalate into world-wide nuclear war. Economic progress which plays such a vital part is in turn heavily dependent on energy supplies. The article takes a brief look at the role of nuclear power in this context. (B.M.S.)

Human Factors in Nuclear Reactor Accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mustafa, M.E.

2016-01-01

While many people would blame nature for the disaster of the “Fukushima Daiichi” accident, experts considered this accident to be also a human-induced disaster. This confirmed the importance of human errors which have been getting a growing interest in the nuclear field after the Three Mile Island accident. Personnel play an important role in design, operation, maintenance, planning, and management. The interface between machine and man is known as a human factor. In the present work, the human factors that have to be considered were discussed. The effect of the control room configuration and equipment design effect on the human behavior was also discussed. Precise reviewing of person’s qualifications and experience was focused. Insufficient training has been a major cause of human error in the nuclear field. The effective training issues were introduced. Avoiding complicated operational processes and non responsive management systems was stressed. Distinguishing between the procedures for normal and emergency operations was emphasised. It was stated that human error during maintenance and testing activities could cause a serious accident. This is because safety systems do not cover much more risk probabilities in the maintenance and testing activities like they do in the normal operation. In nuclear industry, the need for a classification and identification of human errors has been well recognised. As a result of this, human reliability must be assessed. These errors are analyzed by a probabilistic safety assessment which deals with errors in reading, listening and implementing procedures but not with cognitive errors. Much efforts must be accomplished to consider cognitive errors in the probabilistic safety assessment. The ways of collecting human factor data were surveyed. The methods for identifying safe designs, helping decision makers to predict how proposed or current policies will affect safety, and comprehensive understanding of the relationship

Radiological health risks from accidents during transportation of spent nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, S.Y.; Yuan, Y.C.

1988-01-01

Potential radiological health risks from severe accident scenarios during the transportation of spent nuclear fuels are estimated. These extremely low probability, but potentially credible, scenarios are characterized by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Modal Study in terms of the maximum credible structural responses and/or the maximum credible cask temperature responses. In some accident scenarios, the spent nuclear fuel casks are assumed to be breached, resulting in the release of radioactivity to the atmosphere. Models have been developed to estimate radiological health consequences, including potential short-term exposures and health effects to individuals and potential long-term environmental dose commitments and health effects to the population. The population risks are calculated using state-level data, and the resulting overall health risks are compared for several levels of cleanup effort to determine the relative effects on long-term risks to the population in the event of an accident. 4 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

Review of EPRI Nuclear Human Factors Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanes, L.F.; O'Brien, J.F.

1996-01-01

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Human Factors Program, which is part of the EPRI Nuclear Power Group, was established in 1975. Over the years, the Program has changed emphasis based on the shifting priorities and needs of the commercial nuclear power industry. The Program has produced many important products that provide significant safety and economic benefits for EPRI member utilities. This presentation will provide a brief history of the Program and products. Current projects and products that have been released recently will be mentioned

Emergency response arrangements for the transport of irradiated nuclear fuel from Japan to Europe in Japanese territorial waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, T.; Inada, T.; Narahara, S.; Cheshire, R.D.; Lee, G.

1993-01-01

About 90 % of nuclear fuel irradiated in Japanese nuclear power stations is transported to UK and France for reprocessing. Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd (PNTL), a subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL), owns and operates its own fleet of 5 purpose built ships specially designed for the transport of flasks containing irradiated fuel from Japan to Europe. These vessels sail to Japan on 8 to 10 voyages per year from the BNFL's Marine Terminal at Barrow in UK via Cherbourg Port in France. On arrival in Japan empty flasks are delivered to Japanese nuclear power stations, and full flasks are collected for the return journey to Europe. Whilst the probability of a serious flask incident involving the release of radioactivity is very small, it is nevertheless important to plan for such an emergency. In the case of an incident BNFL will provide an emergency response. If an incident occurs in Japanese territorial waters, the initial response will be provided by Nuclear Services Company (NSC), who are based in Japan (the head office in Tokyo, Tokai Office in Ibaraki Prefecture and Tsuruga Office in Fukui Prefecture) and contracted to BNFL to provide a similar response to that available from UK. This paper describes the communication links which have been established between UK and Japan and the internal communication within Japan. It also describes the emergency equipent held in Japan, the training of teams and the results of exercises jointly carried out with BNFL. (J.P.N.)

Thermodynamics of competitive molecular channel transport: application to artificial nuclear pores.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang R Bauer

Full Text Available In an analytical model channel transport is analyzed as a function of key parameters, determining efficiency and selectivity of particle transport in a competitive molecular environment. These key parameters are the concentration of particles, solvent-channel exchange dynamics, as well as particle-in-channel- and interparticle interaction. These parameters are explicitly related to translocation dynamics and channel occupation probability. Slowing down the exchange dynamics at the channel ends, or elevating the particle concentration reduces the in-channel binding strength necessary to maintain maximum transport. Optimized in-channel interaction may even shift from binding to repulsion. A simple equation gives the interrelation of access dynamics and concentration at this transition point. The model is readily transferred to competitive transport of different species, each of them having their individual in-channel affinity. Combinations of channel affinities are determined which differentially favor selectivity of certain species on the cost of others. Selectivity for a species increases if its in-channel binding enhances the species' translocation probability when compared to that of the other species. Selectivity increases particularly for a wide binding site, long channels, and fast access dynamics. Recent experiments on competitive transport of in-channel binding and inert molecules through artificial nuclear pores serve as a paradigm for our model. It explains qualitatively and quantitatively how binding molecules are favored for transport at the cost of the transport of inert molecules.

Evaluation of the transport and resuspension of a simulated nuclear waste slurry: Nuclear Waste Treatment Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carleson, T.E.; Drown, D.C.; Hart, R.E.; Peterson, M.E.

1987-09-01

The Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Idaho conducted research on the transport and resuspension of a simulated high-level nuclear waste slurry. In the United States, the reference process for treating both defense and civilian HLLW is vitrification using the liquid-fed ceramic melter process. The non-Newtonian behavior of the slurry complicates the evaluation of the transport and resuspension characteristics of the slurry. The resuspension of a simulated (nonradioactive) melter feed slurry was evaluated using a slurry designated as WV-205. The simulated slurry was developed for the West Valley Demonstration Project and was used during a pilot-scale ceramic melter (PSCM) experiment conducted at PNL in July 1985 (PSCM-21). This study involved determining the transport characteristics of a fully suspended slurry and the resuspension characteristics of settled solids in a pilot-scale pipe loop. The goal was to predict the transport and resuspension of a full-scale system based on rheological data for a specific slurry. The rheological behavior of the slurry was evaluated using a concentric cylinder rotational viscometer, a capillary tube viscometer, and the pilot-scale pipe loop. The results obtained from the three approaches were compared. 40 refs., 74 figs., 15 tabs

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Human Factors Program Plan. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-04-01

This document is the Second Annual Revision to the NRC Human Factors Program Plan. The first edition was published in August 1983. Revision 1 was published in July of 1984. Purpose of the NRC Human Factors Program is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design and operation of nuclear power plants. This document describes the plans of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to address high priority human factors concerns of importance to reactor safety in FY 1986 and FY 1987. Revision 2 of the plan incorporates recent Commission decisions and policies bearing on the human factors aspects of reactor safety regulation. With a few exceptions, the principal changes from prior editions reflect a shift from developing new requirements to staff evaluation of industry progress in resolving human factors issues. The plan addresses seven major program elements: (1) Training, (2) Licensing Examinations, (3) Procedures, (4) Man-Machine Interface, (5) Staffing and Qualifications, (6) Management and Organization, and (7) Human Performance

Personality Factors and Nuclear Power Plant Operators: Initial License Success

Science.gov (United States)

DeVita-Cochrane, Cynthia

Commercial nuclear power utilities are under pressure to effectively recruit and retain licensed reactor operators in light of poor candidate training completion rates and recent candidate failures on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license exam. One candidate failure can cost a utility over $400,000, making the successful licensing of new operators a critical path to operational excellence. This study was designed to discover if the NEO-PI-3, a 5-factor measure of personality, could improve selection in nuclear utilities by identifying personality factors that predict license candidate success. Two large U.S. commercial nuclear power corporations provided potential participant contact information and candidate results on the 2014 NRC exam from their nuclear power units nation-wide. License candidates who participated (n = 75) completed the NEO-PI-3 personality test and results were compared to 3 outcomes on the NRC exam: written exam, simulated operating exam, and overall exam result. Significant correlations were found between several personality factors and both written and operating exam outcomes on the NRC exam. Further, a regression analysis indicated that personality factors, particularly Conscientiousness, predicted simulated operating exam scores. The results of this study may be used to support the use of the NEO-PI-3 to improve operator selection as an addition to the current selection protocol. Positive social change implications from this study include support for the use of a personality measure by utilities to improve their return-on-investment in candidates and by individual candidates to avoid career failures. The results of this study may also positively impact the public by supporting the safe and reliable operation of commercial nuclear power utilities in the United States.

Space nuclear power: a strategy for tomorrow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buden, D.; Angelo, J. Jr.

1981-01-01

Energy: reliable, portable, abundant and low cost will be a most critical factor, perhaps the sine qua non, for the unfolding of man's permanent presence in space. Space-based nuclear power, in turn, is a key technology for developing such space platforms and the transportation systems necessary to service them. A strategy for meeting space power requirements is the development of a 100-kW(e) nuclear reactor system for high earth orbit missions, transportation from Shuttle orbits to geosynchronous orbit, and for outer planet exploration. The component technology for this nuclear power plant is now underway at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. As permanent settlements are established on the Moon and in space, multimegawatt power plants will be needed. This would involve different technology similar to terrestrial nuclear power plants

Quality management in the nuclear industry: the human factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

In the nuclear industry it is vital to understand the 'human factor' with regard to plant performance and plant safety. A proper management system ensures that personnel perform their duties correctly. 'Quality Management in the Nuclear Industry: the Human Factor', was a conference organized by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in October 1990. The conference covered a wide range of topics on an international level including: standards, licensing and regulatory procedures; selection assessment and training of personnel; feedback from experience of good practice and of deviations; management and support of personnel performance; modelling and evaluation of human factors. The papers presented at the conference are contained in this volume. All twenty papers are indexed separately. (author)

Collective effects on transport coefficients of relativistic nuclear matter. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mornas, L.

1993-04-01

The transport coefficients (thermal conductivity, shear and bulk viscosities) of symmetric nuclear matter and neutron matter are calculated in the Walecka model with a Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck collision term by means of a Chapman-Enskog expansion in first order. The order of magnitude of the influence of collective effects induced by the presence of the mean σ and ω fields on these coefficients is evaluated. (orig.). 9 figs

Nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of transcription factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cartwright, P; Helin, K

2000-01-01

To elicit the transcriptional response following intra- or extracellular stimuli, the signals need to be transmitted to their site of action within the nucleus. The nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of transcription factors is a mechanism mediating this process. The activation and inactivation...... of the transcriptional response is essential for cells to progress through the cell cycle in a normal manner. The involvement of cytoplasmic and nuclear accessory molecules, and the general nuclear membrane transport components, are essential for this process. Although nuclear import and export for different...... transcription factor families are regulated by similar mechanisms, there are several differences that allow for the specific activation of each transcription factor. This review discusses the general import and export pathways found to be common amongst many different transcription factors, and highlights...

Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Executive summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

1982-08-01

This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

Transport of radioactive substances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-12-01

The report on the transport of radioactive substances covers the following topics: facts on radioactive materials transport, safety of the transport of radioactive substances, legal regulations and guidelines: a multiform but consistent system, transport of nuclear fuels, safety during the transport of nuclear fuel, future transport of spent fuel elements and high-level radioactive wastes in Germany.

Energy Coupling Factor-Type ABC Transporters for Vitamin Uptake in Prokaryotes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erkens, Guus B.; Dosz-Majsnerowska, Maria; ter Beek, Josy; Slotboom, Dirk Jan

2012-01-01

Energy coupling factor (ECF) transporters are a subgroup of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters involved in the uptake of vitamins and micronutrients in prokaryotes. In contrast to classical ABC importers, ECF transporters do not make use of water-soluble substrate binding proteins or domains

Nuclear transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2001-01-01

Here is given the decree (2001/1199) of the 10. of december 2001 relative to the passing of safety rules concerning the maritime transport of spent fuels, plutonium and high-level radioactive wastes contained in packages. (O.M.)

Human factors guidelines for nuclear power plant applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ketchel, J.

1993-01-01

In 1989, Waters et al. reported to the Human Factors Society on developing human factors criteria for a new reactor plant. They correctly indicated that much of the guidance documentation in human factors engineering has derived from MIL-STD-1472 and its antecedents. Guidelines for human-computer interface have sprung primarily from the Smith and Mosier compendium and its source documents. NUREG-0700, which is currently being updated, was developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a general evaluation guide for inspecting control rooms. In addition, the Electric Power Research Institute, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, US Department of Energy, the NRC, and others have published a number of specialized documents on a range of subjects. The number of guidelines and standards has grown in the past few years to an impressive number, including those published by international organizations and professional societies. This paper provides an update on current efforts to provide appropriate guidance for the power industry and, perhaps more importantly, offers a perspective on how users should think about using the available materials and what else is needed. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) continues to be one of the principal participants in providing guidance to the utilities. Human factors guidelines is indeed a timely topic, currently of great interest to EPRI's constituents and to designers of new and upgraded nuclear power plants (NPMs) in the Advanced Light Water Reactor and the Instrumentation and Control Upgrade Initiative programs

Human factors design guidelines for maintainability of Department of Energy nuclear facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bongarra, J.P. Jr.; VanCott, H.P.; Pain, R.F.; Peterson, L.R.; Wallace, R.I.

1985-06-18

Intent of these guidelines is to provide design and design review teams of DOE nuclear facilities with human factors principles to enhance the design and aid in the inspection of DOE nuclear facilities, systems, and equipment. These guidelines are concerned with design features of DOE nuclear facilities which can potentially affect preventive and corrective maintenance of systems within DOE nuclear facilities. Maintenance includes inspecting, checking, troubleshooting, adjusting, replacing, repairing, and servicing activities. Other factors which influence maintainability such as repair and maintenance suport facilities, maintenance information, and various aspects of the environment are also addressed.

Human factors design guidelines for maintainability of Department of Energy nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bongarra, J.P. Jr.; VanCott, H.P.; Pain, R.F.; Peterson, L.R.; Wallace, R.I.

1985-01-01

Intent of these guidelines is to provide design and design review teams of DOE nuclear facilities with human factors principles to enhance the design and aid in the inspection of DOE nuclear facilities, systems, and equipment. These guidelines are concerned with design features of DOE nuclear facilities which can potentially affect preventive and corrective maintenance of systems within DOE nuclear facilities. Maintenance includes inspecting, checking, troubleshooting, adjusting, replacing, repairing, and servicing activities. Other factors which influence maintainability such as repair and maintenance suport facilities, maintenance information, and various aspects of the environment are also addressed

Modeling most likely pathways for smuggling radioactive and special nuclear materials on a worldwide multi-modal transportation network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saeger, Kevin J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Cuellar, Leticia [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-10-28

Nuclear weapons proliferation is an existing and growing worldwide problem. To help with devising strategies and supporting decisions to interdict the transport of nuclear material, we developed the Pathway Analysis, Threat Response and Interdiction Options Tool (PATRIOT) that provides an analytical approach for evaluating the probability that an adversary smuggling radioactive or special nuclear material will be detected during transit. We incorporate a global, multi-modal transportation network, explicit representation of designed and serendipitous detection opportunities, and multiple threat devices, material types, and shielding levels. This paper presents the general structure of PATRIOT, all focuses on the theoretical framework used to model the reliabilities of all network components that are used to predict the most likely pathways to the target.

Abstract ID: 240 A probabilistic-based nuclear reaction model for Monte Carlo ion transport in particle therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Maria Jose, Gonzalez Torres; Jürgen, Henniger

2018-01-01

In order to expand the Monte Carlo transport program AMOS to particle therapy applications, the ion module is being developed in the radiation physics group (ASP) at the TU Dresden. This module simulates the three main interactions of ions in matter for the therapy energy range: elastic scattering, inelastic collisions and nuclear reactions. The simulation of the elastic scattering is based on the Binary Collision Approximation and the inelastic collisions on the Bethe-Bloch theory. The nuclear reactions, which are the focus of the module, are implemented according to a probabilistic-based model developed in the group. The developed model uses probability density functions to sample the occurrence of a nuclear reaction given the initial energy of the projectile particle as well as the energy at which this reaction will take place. The particle is transported until the reaction energy is reached and then the nuclear reaction is simulated. This approach allows a fast evaluation of the nuclear reactions. The theory and application of the proposed model will be addressed in this presentation. The results of the simulation of a proton beam colliding with tissue will also be presented. Copyright © 2017.

Key Factors for Nuclear Being Economic after Fukushima

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roh, Myung Sub; Park, Seo Yeon [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulju (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

It is hard to overstate the importance of electricity to the standard of living and the quality of life in a country. Electricity demand grows with population and with the changing nature, level and composition of economic and social activity. Civilization, industrialization and urbanization are, of course, key factors. It, historically, has shown that each major nuclear accident has caused a re-examination of the risk of nuclear power leading to more stringent safety requirement and higher costs. The Fukushima accident and its likely impact on future nuclear power development are difficult to foresee. The accident was a tragedy for the people affected and seriously undermined public confidence in the safety of nuclear power. A number of countries announced reviews of their programs, some took steps toward phasing out nuclear power entirely, and others reemphasized their expansion plans. The Korean nuclear community is carry out many ambitious projects for last three decades continuously and facing the another challenges relating to the future nuclear power economics and difficulty in financing new investment. In order to meet the above economic objective, it is strongly recommended that great emphasis should be placed on maintaining the nuclear economics without jeopardizing safety such as design simplification, standardization, shortening of construction period, increased availability, etc

Key Factors for Nuclear Being Economic after Fukushima

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roh, Myung Sub; Park, Seo Yeon

2012-01-01

It is hard to overstate the importance of electricity to the standard of living and the quality of life in a country. Electricity demand grows with population and with the changing nature, level and composition of economic and social activity. Civilization, industrialization and urbanization are, of course, key factors. It, historically, has shown that each major nuclear accident has caused a re-examination of the risk of nuclear power leading to more stringent safety requirement and higher costs. The Fukushima accident and its likely impact on future nuclear power development are difficult to foresee. The accident was a tragedy for the people affected and seriously undermined public confidence in the safety of nuclear power. A number of countries announced reviews of their programs, some took steps toward phasing out nuclear power entirely, and others reemphasized their expansion plans. The Korean nuclear community is carry out many ambitious projects for last three decades continuously and facing the another challenges relating to the future nuclear power economics and difficulty in financing new investment. In order to meet the above economic objective, it is strongly recommended that great emphasis should be placed on maintaining the nuclear economics without jeopardizing safety such as design simplification, standardization, shortening of construction period, increased availability, etc

Human factors aspects of advanced instrumentation in the nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, R.J.

1989-01-01

An important consideration in regards to the use of advanced instrumentation in the nuclear industry is the interface between the instrumentation system and the human. A survey, oriented towards identifying the human factors aspects of digital instrumentation, was conducted at a number of United States (US) and Canadian nuclear vendors and utilities. Human factors issues, subsumed under the categories of computer-generated displays, controls, organizational support, training, and related topics were identified. 20 refs., 2 tabs

Parvoviral nuclear import: bypassing the host nuclear-transport machinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Sarah; Behzad, Ali R; Carroll, Jeffrey B; Panté, Nelly

2006-11-01

The parvovirus Minute virus of mice (MVM) is a small DNA virus that replicates in the nucleus of its host cells. However, very little is known about the mechanisms underlying parvovirus' nuclear import. Recently, it was found that microinjection of MVM into the cytoplasm of Xenopus oocytes causes damage to the nuclear envelope (NE), suggesting that the nuclear-import mechanism of MVM involves disruption of the NE and import through the resulting breaks. Here, fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy were used to examine the effect of MVM on host-cell nuclear structure during infection of mouse fibroblast cells. It was found that MVM caused dramatic changes in nuclear shape and morphology, alterations of nuclear lamin immunostaining and breaks in the NE of infected cells. Thus, it seems that the unusual nuclear-import mechanism observed in Xenopus oocytes is in fact used by MVM during infection of host cells.

Factor Analysis and Framework Development for Incorporating Public Trust on Nuclear Safety issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Seongkyung; Lee, Gyebong [The Myongji Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Gihyung; Lee, Gyehwi; Jeong, Jina [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), a regulatory expert organization in charge of nuclear safety in Korea, realized that a more fundamental and systematic analysis of activities is needed to actively meet the greater variety of concerns people have and increase the reliability of the results of regulation. Nuclear safety, a highly specialized field, has previously been discussed primarily from the viewpoint of the engineers who deal with the technology, but now 'public trust in nuclear safety' has to be viewed from the standpoint of the general public and from the socio-cultural perspective. Specific measures must be taken to examine which factors affect public trust and how we can secure and reproduce those factors to gain it. Also, an efficient system for incorporating public trust in nuclear safety must be established. In this study, various case studies were examined to identify the factors that affect public trust in nuclear safety. First, nuclear safety laws and information disclosure systems of major countries were examined by investigating data and conducting in-depth interviews. To explore a public framework concerning nuclear safety, big data of social media were analyzed. Also, Q methodology was used to analyze the risk schemata of the opinion leaders living in areas near nuclear power plants. Several surveys were conducted to analyze the amount of trust the public had in nuclear safety as well as their awareness of nuclear safety issues. Based on these analyses, factors affecting public trust in nuclear safety were extracted, and measures to build systems incorporating public trust in nuclear safety were proposed. This study addresses the public trust in nuclear safety on condition that the safety is ensured technically and mechanically.

Factor Analysis and Framework Development for Incorporating Public Trust on Nuclear Safety issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Seongkyung; Lee, Gyebong; Lee, Gihyung; Lee, Gyehwi; Jeong, Jina

2014-01-01

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), a regulatory expert organization in charge of nuclear safety in Korea, realized that a more fundamental and systematic analysis of activities is needed to actively meet the greater variety of concerns people have and increase the reliability of the results of regulation. Nuclear safety, a highly specialized field, has previously been discussed primarily from the viewpoint of the engineers who deal with the technology, but now 'public trust in nuclear safety' has to be viewed from the standpoint of the general public and from the socio-cultural perspective. Specific measures must be taken to examine which factors affect public trust and how we can secure and reproduce those factors to gain it. Also, an efficient system for incorporating public trust in nuclear safety must be established. In this study, various case studies were examined to identify the factors that affect public trust in nuclear safety. First, nuclear safety laws and information disclosure systems of major countries were examined by investigating data and conducting in-depth interviews. To explore a public framework concerning nuclear safety, big data of social media were analyzed. Also, Q methodology was used to analyze the risk schemata of the opinion leaders living in areas near nuclear power plants. Several surveys were conducted to analyze the amount of trust the public had in nuclear safety as well as their awareness of nuclear safety issues. Based on these analyses, factors affecting public trust in nuclear safety were extracted, and measures to build systems incorporating public trust in nuclear safety were proposed. This study addresses the public trust in nuclear safety on condition that the safety is ensured technically and mechanically

Nuclear thermal propulsion transportation systems for lunar/Mars exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, J.S.; Borowski, S.K.; Mcilwain, M.C.; Pellaccio, D.G.

1992-09-01

Nuclear thermal propulsion technology development is underway at NASA and DoE for Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions to Mars, with initial near-earth flights to validate flight readiness. Several reactor concepts are being considered for these missions, and important selection criteria will be evaluated before final selection of a system. These criteria include: safety and reliability, technical risk, cost, and performance, in that order. Of the concepts evaluated to date, the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications (NERVA) derivative (NDR) is the only concept that has demonstrated full power, life, and performance in actual reactor tests. Other concepts will require significant design work and must demonstrate proof-of-concept. Technical risk, and hence, development cost should therefore be lowest for the concept, and the NDR concept is currently being considered for the initial SEI missions. As lighter weight, higher performance systems are developed and validated, including appropriate safety and astronaut-rating requirements, they will be considered to support future SEI application. A space transportation system using a modular nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) system for lunar and Mars missions is expected to result in significant life cycle cost savings. Finally, several key issues remain for NTR's, including public acceptance and operational issues. Nonetheless, NTR's are believed to be the next generation of space propulsion systems - the key to space exploration

The human factor and organization to support nuclear power plant operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naumov, V.I.

1993-01-01

Analysis reveals three basic factors which affect the safety of nuclear power reactors: (1) Internal physical properties of the reactor which provide self protection under breakdown and accident conditions; (2) The reliability of technical systems which provide monitoring, control, accident prevention, heat release, and localization of hazardous products during accidents; (3) Reliability of the reactor control personnel. The last of these factors is usually called the human factor. From published data, this factor makes a large contribution to the downtime and accident statistics at nuclear power plants: from 30 to 80% in various countries. Today the importance of the human factor in operating a nuclear power units is rather well recognized. Current ideas on how to increase the reliability of a human operator are reflected in IAEA recommendations and domestic official documents. The concept of 'a culture of safety' is introduced. Basic types of actions to increase the reliability of personnel who control a nuclear reactor are discussed, including: (1) The qualifying and psychological selection and the training of candidates on the operator's obligations. (2) The automation of routine operations which do not require the operator's intellect. (3) Perfecting the work place, information input to the operator, and the organization of the controls

Spent nuclear fuel transportation casks evaluation for water in-leakage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, M.J.; Huang, D.T.; Guttmann, J.; Klymyshyn, N.A.; Koeppel, B.J.; Adkins, H.E.

2004-01-01

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) is responsible for licensing commercial spent fuel storage and transportation systems. To ensure that the regulations are risk-informed, and do not place unnecessary regulatory burden on the industry, the USNRC has been examining its regulations that apply to spent fuel transportation casks for maintaining sub-criticality under hypothetical accident conditions. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Part 71[1] (10 CFR 71), section 71.55(b) requires that, for evaluation of sub-criticality for fissile material packages, water moderation should be assumed to occur to the most reactive credible extent consistent with the chemical and physical form of the contents. This requirement is based on a defense-in-depth policy, and accounts for any possibility of water intrusion into the package. This program is designed to quantify the margins of safety of certified transportation casks to water intrusion following hypothetical accident conditions. This paper describes the current status of analytical work being performed to evaluate two USNRC-certified spent fuel transportation casks, HI-STAR 100[2] and TN-68[3]. The analytical work is performed using the ANSYS registered [4] and LS-DYNA trademark [5] finite element analysis (FEA) codes. The models are sufficiently detailed in the areas of bolt closure interfaces and containment boundaries to evaluate the likelihood water in-leakage under free drop hypothetical accident conditions of 10 CFR 71.73

Study on CPPNM Interpretation of the Physical Protection Regulatory Aspects for International Transport of Nuclear Material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Woo-jin; Yang, Seong-hyo; Hyung, Sang-chul [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

Nuclear energy has been regulated by various international agreements or treaties due to the potential dangers. In case of export or import of nuclear material, it is important to comply with international norms and domestic laws related to nonproliferation and physical protection of nuclear material. Because, if non-compliant, it can be taken nuclear sanctions from the international community, and thus the domestic nuclear activities can be under a negative impact. Recently, international interests in nuclear security have been increased, it has become very sensitive to whether or not to join, and to comply with international treaties during international transportation of nuclear materials. Currently it is not discussed yet how to present and interpret the relevant provisions in CPPNM. However, it is necessary to prepare for the dispute among the parties that we don't know when it happens.

A Review on Sabotage against Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Sungyeol; Lim, Jihwan [UNIST, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

This report assesses the risk of routine transportation including cask response to an impact or fire accidents. In addition, we have still found the non-negligible difference among the studies for scenarios, approaches, and data. In order to evaluate attack cases on the same basis and reflect more realistic situations, at this moment, it is worthwhile to thoroughly review and analyze the existing studies and to suggest further development directions. In Section 2, we compare scenarios of terror attacks against spent fuel storage and transportation. Section 3 compares target scenarios, capabilities, and limitations of assessment methods. In addition, we collect and compare modeling data used for previous studies to analyze gaps and uncertainties in the existing studies. According to the long term management strategy for spent fuels in Korea, they will be transported from the spent fuel pools in each nuclear power plant to the central interim storage facility. The government should not be the only ones contributing to this dialogue. This dialogue that needs to happen should work both ways, with the government presenting their information and statistics and the public relaying their concerns for the government to review.

A Review on Sabotage against Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sungyeol; Lim, Jihwan

2016-01-01

This report assesses the risk of routine transportation including cask response to an impact or fire accidents. In addition, we have still found the non-negligible difference among the studies for scenarios, approaches, and data. In order to evaluate attack cases on the same basis and reflect more realistic situations, at this moment, it is worthwhile to thoroughly review and analyze the existing studies and to suggest further development directions. In Section 2, we compare scenarios of terror attacks against spent fuel storage and transportation. Section 3 compares target scenarios, capabilities, and limitations of assessment methods. In addition, we collect and compare modeling data used for previous studies to analyze gaps and uncertainties in the existing studies. According to the long term management strategy for spent fuels in Korea, they will be transported from the spent fuel pools in each nuclear power plant to the central interim storage facility. The government should not be the only ones contributing to this dialogue. This dialogue that needs to happen should work both ways, with the government presenting their information and statistics and the public relaying their concerns for the government to review

Critical Design Factors for Sector Transport Maintenance in DEMO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Utoh, H.; Someya, Y.; Tobita, K.; Asakura, N.; Hoshino, K.; Nakamura, M., E-mail: uto.hiroyasu@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Rokkasho (Japan)

2012-09-15

Full text: Maintenance is a critical issue for fusion DEMO reactor because the design conditions and requirements of DEMO maintenance scheme are different from that of ITER remote handling. The sector transport maintenance scheme has advantages to maintain blankets and divertors without the use of sophisticated remote handling devices including sensitive devices to radiation in the reactor. SlimCS designed in JAEA adopts the sector transport maintenance scheme in which every sector is pulled out horizontally through a port between TF coils. A critical design issue for the horizontal sector transport maintenance scheme is how to support an enormous turnover force of the toroidal field (TF) coils. We propose following two options; first option is the horizontal transport maintenance scheme in which every sector is pulled out through four horizontal ports connected with the corridor. Second option is the vertical sector transport maintenance scheme with small vertical maintenance ports (total: 6 ports). The new horizontal sector transport limited in the number of maintenance ports is a more realistic maintenance scheme, and the key engineering issue is the transferring mechanism of sector in the vacuum vessel. In the maintenance scenario, the key design factors are the cool down time in reactor and the cooling method in maintenance scheme for keeping components under operation temperature. By one-dimensional heat conduction analysis, the sector should be transported to hot cell within 40 hours in the case the cool down time is one month. In the horizontal sector transport maintenance, the maintenance time including removal of cooling piping, drain of cooling water and sector transport to hot cell is about 32 hours. Furthermore, the tritium release in the sector transport can be suppressed because the components temperature drops by forced-air cooling system. This paper mainly focuses on a sector transport maintenance scheme from the aspects of high plant availability

Integrative structure and functional anatomy of a nuclear pore complex

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seung Joong; Fernandez-Martinez, Javier; Nudelman, Ilona; Shi, Yi; Zhang, Wenzhu; Raveh, Barak; Herricks, Thurston; Slaughter, Brian D.; Hogan, Joanna A.; Upla, Paula; Chemmama, Ilan E.; Pellarin, Riccardo; Echeverria, Ignacia; Shivaraju, Manjunatha; Chaudhury, Azraa S.; Wang, Junjie; Williams, Rosemary; Unruh, Jay R.; Greenberg, Charles H.; Jacobs, Erica Y.; Yu, Zhiheng; de La Cruz, M. Jason; Mironska, Roxana; Stokes, David L.; Aitchison, John D.; Jarrold, Martin F.; Gerton, Jennifer L.; Ludtke, Steven J.; Akey, Christopher W.; Chait, Brian T.; Sali, Andrej; Rout, Michael P.

2018-03-01

Nuclear pore complexes play central roles as gatekeepers of RNA and protein transport between the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. However, their large size and dynamic nature have impeded a full structural and functional elucidation. Here we determined the structure of the entire 552-protein nuclear pore complex of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae at sub-nanometre precision by satisfying a wide range of data relating to the molecular arrangement of its constituents. The nuclear pore complex incorporates sturdy diagonal columns and connector cables attached to these columns, imbuing the structure with strength and flexibility. These cables also tie together all other elements of the nuclear pore complex, including membrane-interacting regions, outer rings and RNA-processing platforms. Inwardly directed anchors create a high density of transport factor-docking Phe-Gly repeats in the central channel, organized into distinct functional units. This integrative structure enables us to rationalize the architecture, transport mechanism and evolutionary origins of the nuclear pore complex.

Integrative structure and functional anatomy of a nuclear pore complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seung Joong; Fernandez-Martinez, Javier; Nudelman, Ilona; Shi, Yi; Zhang, Wenzhu; Raveh, Barak; Herricks, Thurston; Slaughter, Brian D; Hogan, Joanna A; Upla, Paula; Chemmama, Ilan E; Pellarin, Riccardo; Echeverria, Ignacia; Shivaraju, Manjunatha; Chaudhury, Azraa S; Wang, Junjie; Williams, Rosemary; Unruh, Jay R; Greenberg, Charles H; Jacobs, Erica Y; Yu, Zhiheng; de la Cruz, M Jason; Mironska, Roxana; Stokes, David L; Aitchison, John D; Jarrold, Martin F; Gerton, Jennifer L; Ludtke, Steven J; Akey, Christopher W; Chait, Brian T; Sali, Andrej; Rout, Michael P

2018-03-22

Nuclear pore complexes play central roles as gatekeepers of RNA and protein transport between the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. However, their large size and dynamic nature have impeded a full structural and functional elucidation. Here we determined the structure of the entire 552-protein nuclear pore complex of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae at sub-nanometre precision by satisfying a wide range of data relating to the molecular arrangement of its constituents. The nuclear pore complex incorporates sturdy diagonal columns and connector cables attached to these columns, imbuing the structure with strength and flexibility. These cables also tie together all other elements of the nuclear pore complex, including membrane-interacting regions, outer rings and RNA-processing platforms. Inwardly directed anchors create a high density of transport factor-docking Phe-Gly repeats in the central channel, organized into distinct functional units. This integrative structure enables us to rationalize the architecture, transport mechanism and evolutionary origins of the nuclear pore complex.

Demographic factors, workplace factors and active transportation use in the USA: a secondary analysis of 2009 NHTS data.

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, Tyler D; Jakicic, John M; Fertman, Carl I; Barone Gibbs, Bethany

2017-05-01

While active transportation has health, economic and environmental benefits, participation within the USA is low. The purpose of this study is to examine relationships of demographic and workplace factors with health-enhancing active transportation and commuting. Participants in the 2009 National Household Travel Survey reported demographics, workplace factors (time/distance to work, flextime availability, option to work from home and work start time) and active transportation (for any purpose) or commuting (to and from work, workers only) as walking or biking (≥10 min bouts only). Multiple logistic regression examined cross-sectional relationships between demographics and workplace factors with active transportation and commuting. Among 152 573 participants, active transportation was reported by 1.11% by biking and 11.74% by walking. Among 111 808 working participants, active commuting was reported by 0.80% by biking and 2.76% by walking. Increased odds (pbike but decreased odds of walk transporting. Inconsistent patterns were observed by race, but whites had greater odds of any biking (p<0.05). Odds of active commuting were higher with a flexible schedule (p<0.001), the option to work from home (p<0.05), shorter time and distance to work (both p<0.001), and work arrival time between 11:00 and 15:59 (walking only, p=0.001). Active transportation differed across demographic and workplace factors. These relationships could inform infrastructure policy decisions and workplace wellness programming targeting increased active transportation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Private shippers' efforts to transport spent nuclear fuel and waste by rail: the Interstate Commerce Commission cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, O.F. II

1978-01-01

While the nuclear industry is beset on many sides by opposition and uncertainty, notable success has been achieved to date by fighting railroads that would impose onerous restrictions on the transportation of nuclear materials on their own battleground. Regardless of how commercial spent nuclear fuel is ultimately handled, it must eventually be shipped from reactor sites. The most efficient method for doing this is generally by railroad. The railroads of the Nation have contended either that they are not common carriers for the transportation of radioactive materials, or if common carriers, that the carriage must be by the use of special trains and special operating procedures at great additional expense. The rationale for this railroad position has been principally one of concern with regard to the hazards presented and the adequacy of safety regulations and insurance-indemnity coverage. The nuclear industry, realizing that, if the railroads prevailed, the added cost per year by the mid-1980s could be about $600 million and that extensive safety precautions had been provided, challenged the railroads' positions before the Interstate Commerce Commission. This paper will describe the position of the nuclear industry in opposing unnecessary restrictions sought to be imposed by the railroads, including the uncertainties presented by the lack of published tariffs, the risks of carriage with and without added requirements, the insurance-indemnity coverage available, and the need for railroad transportation. As of this time, the Interstate Commerce Commission has concurred with the position of the nuclear shippers and has found the railroads' positions unreasonable and in violation of applicable laws. This legal battle, however, will continue until finally concluded by the ICC or by the courts if appeals are taken

Legal and Institutional Issues of Transportable Nuclear Power Plants: A Preliminary Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

jointly the international and national actions required for ensuring the sustainability of nuclear energy through innovations in technology and/or institutional arrangements. A transportable nuclear power plant (TNPP) is a factory manufactured, transportable and relocatable nuclear power plant which, when fuelled, is capable of producing final energy products such as electricity and heat. Introducing a TNPP may require fewer financial and human resources from the host State. However, the deployment of such reactors will face new legal issues in the international context which need to be resolved to enable the deployment of such reactors in countries other than the country of origin. The objective of this report is to study the legal and institutional issues for the deployment of TNPPs, to reveal challenges that might be faced in their deployment, and to outline pathways for resolution of the identified issues and challenges in the short and long terms. It is addressed to senior legal, regulatory and technical officers in Member States planning to embark on a nuclear power programme or to expand an existing one by considering the introduction of a TNPP

Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Critical discussion of human factors areas of concern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

1982-08-01

This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

Nuclear medicine radiation dosimetry

CERN Document Server

McParland, Brian J

2010-01-01

Complexities of the requirements for accurate radiation dosimetry evaluation in both diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine (including PET) have grown over the past decade. This is due primarily to four factors: growing consideration of accurate patient-specific treatment planning for radionuclide therapy as a means of improving the therapeutic benefit, development of more realistic anthropomorphic phantoms and their use in estimating radiation transport and dosimetry in patients, design and use of advanced Monte Carlo algorithms in calculating the above-mentioned radiation transport and

Hemistepsin A ameliorates acute inflammation in macrophages via inhibition of nuclear factor-κB and activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jae Kwang; Lee, Ji Eun; Jung, Eun Hye; Jung, Ji Yun; Jung, Dae Hwa; Ku, Sae Kwang; Cho, Il Je; Kim, Sang Chan

2018-01-01

Hemistepsin A (HsA) is a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from Hemistepta lyrata (Bunge) Bunge. We investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of HsA and sought to determine its mechanisms of action in macrophages. HsA pretreatment inhibited nitric oxide production, and reduced the expression of iNOS and COX-2 in Toll-like receptor ligand-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Additionally, HsA decreased the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated Kupffer cells as well as in RAW 264.7 cells. HsA inhibited phosphorylation of IKKα/β and degradation of IκBα, resulting in decreased nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and its transcriptional activity. Moreover, HsA phosphorylated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), increased expression levels of antioxidant genes, and attenuated LPS-stimulated H 2 O 2 production. Phosphorylation of p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase was required for HsA-mediated Nrf2 phosphorylation. In a D-galactosamine/LPS-induced liver injury model, HsA ameliorated D-galactosamine/LPS-induced hepatocyte degeneration and inflammatory cells infiltration. Moreover, immunohistochemical analyses using nitrotyrosine, 4-hydroxynonenal, and cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase antibodies revealed that HsA protected the liver from oxidative stress. Furthermore, HsA reduced the numbers of proinflammatory cytokine-positive cells in hepatic tissues. Thus, these results suggest HsA may be a promising natural product to manage inflammation-mediated tissue injuries through inhibition of NF-κB and activation of Nrf2. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial dose and microdose distribution in tissues. Ionization, nuclear reactions, multiple scattering simulation of beam transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacquot, C.

1976-01-01

Computer simulation and nuclear emulsion and gelatin techniques enabled to give the total elastic and inelastic cross sections and to forecast the spatial microdose distributions in cells, nuclei and molecules. For this purpose, the transport of a beam into tissues having a given composition is calculated, the nuclear reactions are generated and the energy depositions in standard planes perpendicular to the beam are recorded

Secure Transportation Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbs, P. W.

2014-01-01

Secure Transport Management Course (STMC) course provides managers with information related to procedures and equipment used to successfully transport special nuclear material. This workshop outlines these procedures and reinforces the information presented with the aid of numerous practical examples. The course focuses on understanding the regulatory framework for secure transportation of special nuclear materials, identifying the insider and outsider threat(s) to secure transportation, organization of a secure transportation unit, management and supervision of secure transportation units, equipment and facilities required, training and qualification needed.