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Año 1 - Nº 9 - Abril 2007

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Secure Energy? Civil Nuclear Power, Security and Global Warming
Oxford Research Group, March 2007, 56 p.

All over the world the fortunes of civil nuclear power are rising - why? Many in government hope that nuclear power would increase energy security during a time of unstable competition and surging demand. Some claim nuclear power is key to reducing global CO2 emissions. For others, it is because nuclear power opens the door to nuclear weapons.

This report asks two questions: how dangerous is nuclear power? And can it help reduce CO2 emissions? The short answer to the first questions is 'very': nuclear power is uniquely dangerous when compared to other energy sources. For the second question the answer is 'not enough and not in time'.

By comparing the security consequences of civil nuclear power to its contribution to tackling climate change, Oxford Research Group shows that rather than making a positive contribution, an expansion of civil nuclear power would: Make efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons much more difficult; Increase the risk of nuclear terrorism; Make a negligible short-term contribution to lowering CO2 emissions; Make a negligible contribution to energy security. Finally, we show that nuclear power is not needed. Germany, for example, already  more generating capacity from wind-power than the UK nuclear component and within six years will have more solar powered capacity too. If the UK pursued similar policies, by 2020 wind would provide well over six times and solar three times the generating capacity major industrial players estimate for a nuclear new build.

extraído de:
http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers/secureenergy.php

Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) – Full Scope – to France  
IAEA, November 2006, 203 p.

At the request of the Government authorities of France, an international team of twenty four experts visited the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), the French regulatory authority for nuclear and radiation safety, in November 2006 to conduct the first full scope Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission. The purpose of this IRRS mission was to facilitate regulatory improvements in France and throughout

the world from the knowledge gained and experiences shared by ASN and the reviewers through the evaluation of the effectiveness of the French regulatory authority, its regulatory framework and its regulatory activities. The facilities and practices regulated by ASN include nuclear power plants, research reactors, fuel cycle facilities, medical practices, industrial and research activities, waste facilities, decommissioning, remediation and transport. In addition to the usual IRRS scope, ASN requested that this IRRS mission also cover ASN public information practices.

extraído de:
http://www.asn.fr/sections/accueil/actualites/mission-d-8217-audit-international-8217/
downloadFile/joint_file_flexible_RTE_f0/IRRS_Mission_Report_France_2006.pdf?
nocache=1174469245.07

Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors
Uranium Information Centre, Melbourne, Australia. January 2007

From the outset, there has been a strong awareness of the potential hazard of both nuclear criticality and release of radioactive materials. There have been two major reactor accidents in the history of civil nuclear power - Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. One was contained without harm to anyone and the other involved an intense fire without provision for containment. These are the only major 

accidents to have occurred in more than 12,000 cumulative reactor-years of commercial operation in 32 countries. The risks from western nuclear power plants, in terms of the consequences of an accident or terrorist attack, are minimal compared with other commonly accepted risks. Nuclear power plants are very robust.

extraído de:
http://www.uic.com.au/nip14.htm

Aplicación de los conceptos de exclusión, exención y dispensa Guía de Seguridad
IAEA, 2007, 30 p.

This Safety Guide provides guidance on the application of the concepts of exclusion, exemption and clearance as established in the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources. The Safety Guide includes specific values for activity concentrations for both radionuclides of natural origin and those of artificial origin that may be used 

for bulk amounts of material for the purposes of applying the concepts of exclusion and exemption.

extraído de:
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/Pub1202s_web.pdf

Nuclear Power: Villain or Victim?
Pebble Beach Publishers, 1997, 108 p.

The book was written for the general public, with the aim to inform the public about both the benefits and the risks of nuclear power. No scientific training is needed to understand the material presented there. The book discusses the important aspects of nuclear power, including the following: the safety record of nuclear power is outstanding. Radiation from nuclear plants has not caused any known deaths worldwide, except at the Chernobyl plant in the Ukraine. The known death toll from the Chernobyl accident is less than  

100;  Nuclear power plants emit less radiation than coal-burning power plants; nuclear power plants emit neither carbon dioxide (which contributes to global warming and the greenhouse effect) nor sulfur and nitrogen oxides (which cause acid rain); there is a good solution to disposing of nuclear wastes—to bury them deep underground where they will be harmless. In contrast, there is no solution to handling the billions of tons of carbon dioxide that coal and natural gas plants emit yearly, except to discharge them into the atmosphere; and nuclear power plants are believed to save thousands of lives annually in the United States. This is because nuclear plants replace many coal plants, which emit tiny particulates into the atmosphere. These particulates are believed to kill thousands of Americans each year. Nuclear plants emit no particulate.  

extraído de:
http://nuclearpowervillainorvictim.engr.wisc.edu/cover_small.jpg

 

Operation and Maintenance of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Casks/Containers
IAEA,January 2007, 130 p.

Member States have a growing need for casks for spent fuel storage and transportation. A variety of casks has been developed and is in use at an increasing number of sites. This has resulted in an accumulation of experience that will provide valuable information for other projects in spent fuel management. This publication provides a comprehensive review of information on the cask operation and maintenance

associated with spent fuel storage. It draws upon generic knowledge from industrial experience and applications and is intended to serve as a basis for better planning and implementation in future projects.

extraído de:
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1532_web.pdf

 

Policy for the long term management of solid low level radioactive waste in the United Kingdom
DEFRA-UK,26 March 2007, 46 p

This statement of UK Government and devolved administrations’ (hereafter referred to as Government) policy for the long term management of the UK’s solid low level radioactive waste (LLW) has been developed following public consultation (refs 1 and 2). This policy statement amends or replaces relevant parts of the ‘Review of Radioactive Waste Policy: Final Conclusions (Cm2919) White Paper published

in July 1995 (ref 3). The Supplementary Notes at Annex 1 provide additional information in support of this statement and Annex 2 lists and explains terminology and abbreviations used in the statement. Where, appropriate, references are made to these Annexes in the statement and to other published material which is listed at the end of this statement.

extraído de:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/radioactivity/waste/pdf/llw-policystatement070326.pdf