Determining the Suitability of Materials for Disposal at Sea under the London Convention 1972 and London Protocol 1996: A Radiological Assessment Procedure
IAEA TECDOC, 2015, 100 p.

This publication provides guidance on performing specific assessments of candidate materials for dumping at sea, to determine whether the materials are de minimis in the meaning of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972 (the London Convention 1972) and the related Protocol 1996 (the

London Protocol 1996). It presents a detailed radiological procedure to assess doses to workers and members of the public and doses to marine flora and fauna related to the dumping of materials at sea. The procedures in this publication follow the requirements to protect the environment in the IAEA Safety Standards and in the recommendations by the International Commission of Radiological Protection. It is expected to be used by national regulatory authorities responsible for authorizing disposal at sea of candidate materials as well as by those companies and individuals applying to obtain permission to dispose these materials at sea.

Extraído de: http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/10841/Determining-the-Suitability-of-Materials-for-Disposal-at-Sea-under-the-London-Convention-1972-and-London-Protocol-1996-A-Radiological-Assessment-Procedure

The Resilience of the Electricity System
House of Lords, Science and Technology Select Committee (UK), 12 March 2015, 110 p..

Modern society is vitally dependent on a reliable supply of electricity and a sustained failure in the electricity system would have dramatic consequences. It would result in a catastrophic failure of communications and of many services on which we are now heavily dependent. It would have an impact on the country’s economy and on public safety to a much greater extent than even a decade ago. The capacity

margin, the surplus of electricity generating capacity over demand, was reduced this winter. This provoked speculation in the media that the country might be subject to national blackouts. It was against this background that we chose to investigate the resilience of the electricity system. There has been no national blackout so far this winter, and we are not surprised. Nor do we expect the lights to go out next winter. It would take an improbable concatenation of events to put the lights out nationally. National Grid has tools at its disposal to increase capacity or reduce demand, and we are confident that it has the ability to maintain national electricity supply. As Professor Newbery and Professor Grubb put it to us: “there is no ‘cliff edge’ at which the lights go out, but rather an increasing array of options for managing tight conditions.”1 Indeed, National Grid procured extra capacity to raise the capacity margin from 4.1% to 6.1% this winter and guard against a potential shortage of electricity. It is a matter for concern, however, that this extra capacity was put in place at short notice, at considerable cost, and in a way which conflicts with the decarbonisation agenda. This should not be allowed to happen again; it is not acceptable for an advanced economy, hugely dependent on electricity, to sail so close to the wind. Moreover, demand for electricity has declined substantially since the economic crisis began. If demand had continued to grow, capacity margins would have been much tighter. The electricity market is now a managed market. The pursuit of decarbonisation makes a free market in electricity supply impossible while low-carbon sources of power are more costly than high-carbon ones. There must be clarity about roles and responsibilities across a sector which has many participants. We do not think that the Government has sufficiently informed the public that, with the present and foreseeable state of technology, it is not possible for the electricity supply to be low-cost, resilient and low-carbon all at the same time (the so-called energy trilemma). If the Government pursues decarbonisation as an objective, in line with its legal and international obligations, and at the same time seeks to ensure that power remains reliably available at all times, this is likely to mean higher electricity prices, with attendant economic and social costs, at least in the short term. We argue that it is imperative that the electricity system is viewed as a whole. It is important that an end to end approach is taken, so that complex interactions are not missed between the many component parts of the system. Adopting such an approach will be increasingly important as profound changes occur to the system. New technology is presenting huge opportunities, but also novel challenges to resilience. The projected increase in electrification of transport and heating, for instance, will increase demand and has the potential to threaten resilience. In addition, current renewables, such as wind and solar, provide an intermittent supply of electricity which will need to be balanced. The uncertainties are manifold. The Government must maintain a flexible approach and nurture a range of technologies, including electricity storage, interconnection and Demand Side Response (DSR).

Extraído de: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldselect/ldsctech/121/121.pdf

Radiation Protection in Medicine: Setting the Scene for the Next Decade, Proceedings of an International Conference held in Bonn, Germany, 3–7 December 2012
IAEA Proceedings Series, 2015, 429 p.

This publication presents the proceedings of the International Conference on Radiation Protection in Medicine: Setting the Scene for the Next Decade. The aims were to indicate gaps in current approaches to radiation protection in medicine; identify tools for improving radiation protection in medicine; review

advances, challenges and opportunities in the field; and assess the impact of the international action plan for the radiation protection of patients, in order to prepare new international recommendations. The Conference drew up the 10-point Bonn Call for Action, which identifies responsibilities of and proposes priorities for stakeholders regarding radiation protection in medicine for the next decade.


Extraído de: http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/10611/Radiation-Protection-in-Medicine-Setting-the-Scene-for-the-Next-Decade-Proceedings-of-an

Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2015
International Energy Agency (IEA), 2015, 98 p.

Published annually, the Tracking Clean Energy Progress (TCEP) report highlights how the overall development and deployment of clean energy technologies evolve, year on year. Each technology and sector is tracked against the interim 2025 2°C Scenario (2DS) targets of the IEA Energy Technology Perspectives 2015 (ETP 2015), which lays out pathways towards a sustainable energy system in 2050. This comprehensive overview examines the latest developments in

Root Cause Analysis Following an Event at a Nuclear Installation: Reference Manual
IAEA TECDOC, 2015, 192 p.

In the case of an event at a nuclear installation it is important to accurately determine the root causes, in order to allow corrective actions to be implemented to address them and prevent their recurrence. There are different analysis tools, techniques and methods available which can be used to evaluate the root causes of events and this publication presents a comprehensive reference manual of them and

allows organizations to deepen their knowledge of these instruments. In addition, it also provides new organizations with a broad overview of the root cause analysis process. The present manual is also intended to provide guidance to all organizations establishing a new process for root cause analysis, especially in countries embarking upon a nuclear power programme.

Companion CD

Extraído de: http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/10626/Root-Cause-Analysis-Following-an-Event-at-a-Nuclear-Installation-Reference-Manual

Utilization of Accelerator Based Real Time Methods in Investigation of Materials with High Technological Importance
IAEA Radiation Technology Reports, 2015, 104 p.

This publication presents the state of the art in the development and application of various accelerator based real time techniques. It reports examples of multidisciplinary scientific topics and challenges where application of accelerator based methods would bring significant benefits in terms of research data and further understanding of the

scientific issues. The research activities that can profit from real time material characterizations using synchrotron radiation, neutron, ion and electron beams, and simultaneous combinations of different techniques are also briefly discussed. A recurrent theme emerging from the presented papers is that further work is needed to develop more robust and longer working life materials for energy applications.

Extraído de:
http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/10490/Utilization-of-Accelerator-Based-Real-Time-Methods-in-Investigation-of-Materials-with-High-Technological-Importanc

A critical time for UK energy policy: what must be done now to deliver the UK’s future energy system
Royal Academy of Engineering, October 2015, 36 p.

In 2010, the Royal Academy of Engineering published Generating the future, which considered scenarios for the UK’s energy system that would meet the emissions targets in the Climate Change Act 2008. In that report, the Academy came to four key conclusions about the decarbonisation of the nation’s energy system: Fundamental restructuring of the whole energy system will be unavoidable; Demand reduction across the

whole economy will be essential;  The full suite of available or credible low carbon energy supply technologies will be needed; The scale of the engineering challenge is massive.
That report pointed out the need for a coordinated national strategy to drive the  transformation, underpinned by a high degree of whole-systems thinking.
This study, undertaken at the request of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and technology, considers the future of the energy system that now must deliver against an even greater set of challenges than we considered in 2010. UK energy policy today seeks to deliver solutions to the so-called energy ‘trilemma’ — the need for a system that is secure and affordable as well as low carbon.
The broader scope of today’s challenge brings new uncertainties that add further complexity to policy decision-making. One thing remains certain — the scale of the engineering challenge remains massive and the need for whole-systems thinking remains critical. We hope that the perspectives that the Academy has brought to this analysis will prove useful to those taking forward and integrating energy policy and informative for other readers with an interest in the engineering aspects of this critically important issue.
The challenge is great, but the engineering profession, supported by science and business, is capable of remarkable progress if given the right market and regulatory conditions.

Extraído de: http://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/reports/a-critical-time-for-uk-energy-policy

Ageing Management for Nuclear Power Plants: International Generic Ageing Lessons Learned (IGALL)
IAEA Safety Reports Series, 2015, 87 p.
 
This publication provides a common internationally agreed basis on what constitutes an acceptable ageing management programme, as well as a knowledge base on ageing management for the design of new plants, design and safety reviews, and aims to serve as a roadmap to available information on ageing management. It addresses ageing management of passive and active structures and

components for water moderated reactors that can have an impact, directly or indirectly, on the safe operation of the plant and that are susceptible to ageing degradation. The information provided is relevant for plants under normal operation, for plants considering long term operation, as well as for new plants including new designs. It underlines that ageing management should be implemented from the start of operation of nuclear power plants and that adequate provisions to facilitate effective ageing management should be made during the plant design, construction commissioning, operation, and decommissioning.


Extraído de: http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/10665/Ageing-Management-for-Nuclear-Power-Plants-International-Generic-Ageing-Lessons-Learned-IGALL

Climate Change and Nuclear Power 2015
IAEA Non-serial Publications, 2015, 112 p.
 
Climate change is one of the most important environmental challenges facing the world today. Nuclear power can make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions while delivering energy in the increasingly large quantities needed for growing populations and socioeconomic development. Nuclear power plants produce virtually no greenhouse gas emissions or air pollutants during their operation and only very low emissions over their entire life

IAEA International Peer Review Mission on Mid-and-Long-Term Roadmap Towards Decommissioning of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi NPS Units 1-4 (Third Mission) (9 - 17 February 2015), Mission Report, 13 May 2015
IAEA, 13 May 2015, 58 p.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today released a report containing the assessment of an IAEA expert team that reviewed progress in Japan's efforts to plan and implement the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.