This book provides a readable and thought-provoking analysis of the issues surrounding nuclear fuel reprocessing and fast-neutron reactors, including discussion of resources, economics, radiological risk and resistance to nuclear proliferation. It describes the history and science behind reprocessing, and gives an overview of the status of reprocessing programmes around the world. It concludes that such programs should be discontinued. While nuclear power is seen by many as the only realistic solution to the carbon emission problem, some national nuclear establishments have been pursuing development and deployment of sodium-cooled plutonium breeder reactors, and plutonium recycling. Its proponents argue that this system would offer significant advantages relative to current light water reactor technology in terms of greater uranium utilization efficiency, and that separating out the long-lived plutonium and other transuranics from spent fuel and fissioning them in fast reactors would greatly reduce the duration of the toxicity of radioactive waste. However, the history of efforts to deploy this system commercially in a number of countries over the last six decades has been one of economic and technical failure and, in some cases, was used to mask clandestine nuclear weapon development programs. Covering topics of significant public interest including nuclear safety, fuel storage, environmental impact and the spectre of nuclear terrorism, this book presents a comprehensive analysis of the issue for nuclear engineers, policy analysts, government officials and the general public. "Frank von Hippel, Jungmin Kang, and Masafumi Takubo, three internationally renowned nuclear experts, have done a valuable service to the global community in putting together this book, which both historically and comprehensively covers the "plutonium age" as we know it today. They articulate in a succinct and clear manner their views on the dangers of a plutonium economy and advocate a ban on the separation of plutonium for use in the civilian fuel cycle in view of the high proliferation and nuclear-security risks and lack of economic justification." (Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2009), Nobel Peace Prize (2005)) "The 1960s dream of a 'plutonium economy' has not delivered abundant low-cost energy, but instead has left the world a radioactive legacy of nuclear weapons proliferation and the real potential for nuclear terrorism. Kang, Takubo, and von Hippel explain with power and clarity what can be done to reduce these dangers. The governments of the remaining countries whose nuclear research and development establishments are still pursuing the plutonium dream should pay attention." (Senator Edward Markey, a leader in the US nuclear-disarmament movement as a member of Congress since 1976) "The authors have done an invaluable service by putting together in one place the most coherent analysis of the risks associated with plutonium, and the most compelling argument for ending the practice of separating plutonium from spent fuel for any purpose. They have given us an easily accessible history of the evolution of thinking about the nuclear fuel cycle, the current realities of nuclear power around the world and, arguably most important, a clear alternative path to deal with the spent fuel arising from nuclear reactors for decades to centuries to come." (Robert Gallucci, Chief US negotiator with North Korea (1994); Dean, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service (1996-2009); President, MacArthur Foundation (2009-2014))

Ozark Baptizings, Hangings, and Other Diversions is about the people of a unique corner of America and how they entertained themselves at the turn of the century.In the years from 1885 to 1910 most Ozark communities were still relatively isolated from the outside and from each other. Thus they had to rely on their own resources for diversion from the difficult and often solitary business of everyday living. The most popular of their entertainments were those that brought some ""theater"" into their lives. They especially delighted in ""literaries,"" debates, mock trials, closing-of-school programs, suppers, picnics, brush-arbor revivals, and baptizings. Then there was the occasional hanging that for audience attention was rivaled only by the political rally. The hanging took on all the flavor of high drama, even to the impassioned farewell address by the condemned, who was carried away by the excitement of it all. By their entertainments shall we know them, and this account of Ozarkers' diversions reveals them in all their independence, conservatism, sense of place, humor, dedication to learning, love of the spoken language, and religious and political intensity. No ""come-here"" (an Ozarker's term for a newcomer), Robert K. Gilmore grew up on an Ozark farm, reared by grandparents who were young in the era described in this book. Years later he went back to the rural Ozarks and encouraged the people to recall the early days for him. They described the entertainments of their youth with a special clarity of recall. The files of the Ozark weeklies also proved richly rewarding. The editors and their rural ""correspondents"" delighted in describing the local entertainments in vivid reportage loaded with editorial comment. This book, illustrated with rare photographs of turn-of-the-century diversions celebrates the centennial of an era.

Safe and secure transport and storage of radioactive materials are essential for sustainable nuclear fuel cycle. The basic technologies are matured, but they have been progressively developed to make transport and storage safer and more secure. Safe and secure culture that encourages a questioning and learning attitude and that discourages complacency should be fostered and maintained. This book provides current basis of safe and secure transport and storage so that those technologies can be readily traced, improved, or modified, if necessary, for and by the future generations.This book overviews current available information in the literature. It also covers advanced technology on similar subjects in the literature. On top of that, new and valuable subjects are introduced for readers to grasp the wide spectrum of the safe and secure transport and storage technology. The contents are arranged and divided into three sections, I: Safety of Transport, II: Safety of Storage, III: Security of Transport and Storage.

The development and implementation of an appropriate infrastructure to support the successful introduction of nuclear power and its safe, secure, peaceful and sustainable application is an issue of central concern, especially for countries that are considering and planning their first nuclear power plant. In preparing the necessary nuclear infrastructure, there are several activities that need to be completed. These activities can be split into three progressive phases of development. This publication provides a description of the conditions expected to be achieved by the end of each phase to assist with the best use of resources. 'Milestones' refer to the conditions necessary to demonstrate that the phase has been successfully completed.

Since the dawn of the Atomic Age, nuclear experts have labored to imagine the unimaginable and prevent it. They confronted a deceptively simple question: When is a reactor “safe enough� to adequately protect the public from catastrophe? Some experts sought a deceptively simple answer: an estimate that the odds of a major accident were, literally, a million to one. Far from simple, this search to quantify accident risk proved to be a tremendously complex and controversial endeavor, one that altered the very notion of safety in nuclear power and beyond.   Safe Enough? is the first history to trace these contentious efforts, following the Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as their experts experimented with tools to quantify accident risk for use in regulation and to persuade the public of nuclear power’s safety. The intense conflict over the value of risk assessment offers a window on the history of the nuclear safety debate and the beliefs of its advocates and opponents. Across seven decades and the accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, the quantification of risk has transformed both society’s understanding of the hazards posed by complex technologies and what it takes to make them safe enough.

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulation System (NFCSS) is a scenario based computer simulation tool that can model various nuclear fuel cycle options in various types of nuclear reactors. It is very efficient and accurate in answering questions such as: the nuclear mineral resources and technical infrastructure needed for the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle; the amounts of used fuel, actinide nuclides and high level waste generated for a given reactor fleet size; and the impact of introducing recycling of used fuel on mineral resource savings and waste minimization. Since the first publication on the NFCSS as IAEA-TECDOC-1535 in 2007, there have been significant improvements in the implementation of the NFCSS, including a new extension to thorium fuel cycles, methods to calculate decay heat and radiotoxicity, and demonstration applications to innovative reactors.

This publication addresses inspection basics, concepts and methods on how to plan inspection activities, perform inspections of safety related structures, systems and components, evaluate the safety significance of inspection findings, and document the results. It presents high level considerations for the inspection of selected programmatic areas including plant operations, radiation protection, fire protection and maintenance activities at nuclear power plants (NPPs). The publication focuses on the regulatory inspection of operating NPPs and, when applicable, describes how the same inspection techniques can be applied to facilities undergoing construction, preoperational testing, and decommissioning. The general techniques described may be also used in the inspection of other types of nuclear facilities.

The transport of radioactive material is an essential activity worldwide. Both safety and security during transport are matters of national and international importance. This publication is the latest edition of the IAEA Safety Requirements for the safe transport of radioactive material. It is supported by six IAEA Safety Guides which provide explanation and guidance for the SSR-6 requirements to facilitate harmonized implementation. The SSR-6 Regulations apply to the transport of radioactive material by all modes on land, water, or in the air, including transport that is incidental to the use of the radioactive material. Transport comprises all operations and conditions associated with, and involved in, the movement of radioactive material; these include the design, manufacture, maintenance and repair of packaging, and the preparation, consigning, loading, carriage including in-transit storage, unloading and receipt at the final destination of loads of radioactive material and packages. These requirements form an integral part of regulations worldwide, therefore SSR-6 and its associated guidance documents are a requisite source of guidance information for governments, regulators, and all individuals involved in the aforementioned activities of transport of radioactive material.

Knapp undklararbeitet der Autor die Grundlagen zum Verstandnis der Kernenergie heraus und ermoglicht Lesern damit einen leichten Einstieg ins Thema. Dabei vermittelt er nicht nur die technisch-wissenschaftlichen Grundlagen in allgemein verstandlicher und umfassender Weise, sondern befasst sich auch mit den gesellschaftspolitischen Fragen der Sicherheit, der Entsorgung und der nuklearen Abrustung. Der Band bietet die Moglichkeit, die aktuellen Entwicklungen nach der Reaktorkatastrophe in Fukushima einzuordnen und zu reflektieren."

Originally perceived as a cheap and plentiful source of power, the commercial use of nuclear energy has been controversial for decades. Worries about the dangers that nuclear plants and their radioactive waste posed to nearby communities grew over time, and plant construction in the United States virtually died after the early 1980s. The 1986 disaster at Chernobyl only reinforced nuclear power's negative image. Yet in the decade prior to the Japanese nuclear crisis of 2011, sentiment about nuclear power underwent a marked change. The alarming acceleration of global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels and concern about dependence on foreign fuel has led policymakers, climate scientists, and energy experts to look once again at nuclear power as a source of energy.
In this accessible overview, Charles D. Ferguson provides an authoritative account of the key facts about nuclear energy. What is the origin of nuclear energy? What countries use commercial nuclear power, and how much electricity do they obtain from it? How can future nuclear power plants be made safer? What can countries do to protect their nuclear facilities from military attacks? How hazardous is radioactive waste? Is nuclear energy a renewable energy source? Featuring a discussion of the recent nuclear crisis in Japan and its ramifications, Ferguson addresses these questions and more in Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know(r), a book that is essential for anyone looking to learn more about this important issue.
What Everyone Needs to Know(r) is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

The purpose of this publication is to assist Member States in developing comprehensive contingency plans for computer security incidents with the potential to impact nuclear security and/or nuclear safety. It provides an outline and recommendations for establishing a computer security incident response capability as part of a computer security programme, and considers the roles and responsibilities of the system owner, operator, competent authority, and national technical authority in responding to a computer security incident with possible nuclear security repercussions.

The book provides an overview of the advantages in using lead enriched with stable lead isotope lead-208 instead of natural lead as a coolant of fast reactors (FRs) and accelerator driven systems (ADS). Lead-208 as a twice magic nucleus has low cross sections of neutron radiation capture and small moderation of neutrons in the range of neutron energies 10 eV 20 MeV, i.e. in FR and ADS core neutron spectra. These unique features of lead-208 lead to the economy of neutrons, hardening the neutron spectra and other profitable factors.

This book is concerned about the adequacy of electricity supply and the impact of greenhouse-gas emissions on the environment have prompted policymakers to reevaluate the role that nuclear power might play in the future in meeting the nation's demand for electricity. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) offers incentives for expanding utilities' capacity to generate electricity using innovative fossil-fuel technologies and a new generation of nuclear reactors that are designed to decrease costs and enhance safety. In addition, policymakers are considering various proposals that would impose charges on entities that emit carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. Such policies could further encourage the use of nuclear power, which emits no such gases, by increasing the cost of generating electricity with competing fossil-fuel technologies.

After several decades of decline and disfavour, nuclear power is attracting renewed interest. New permit applications for 30 reactors have been filed in the United States, and another 150 are planned or proposed globally, with about a dozen more already under construction. In the United States, interest appears driven, in part, by provisions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act authorising streamlined licensing that combine construction and operating permits, and tax credits for production from advanced nuclear power facilities. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Energy proposes to spend billions of dollars to develop the next generation of nuclear power technology.

Questions regarding the advancement of the technology for production and regeneration of nuclear fuel and to the further perfection of the nuclear fuel cycle are very significant when determining the ultimate costs of electrical energy produced at nuclear power stations as well as for safety. This 2nd edition, supplemented and augmented, of this ground-breaking book analyses the role of plasma and high frequency processes.

After Atomic Junction, along the Haatso-Atomic Road there lies the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, home to Africa's first nuclear programme after independence. Travelling along this road, Abena Dove Osseo-Asare gathers together stories of conflict and compromise on an African nuclear frontier. She speaks with a generation of African scientists who became captivated with 'the atom' and studied in the Soviet Union to make nuclear physics their own. On Pluton Lane and Gamma Avenue, these scientists displaced quiet farming villages in their bid to establish a scientific metropolis, creating an epicentre for Ghana's nuclear physics community. By placing interviews with town leaders, physicists and local entrepreneurs alongside archival records, Osseo-Asare explores the impact of scientific pursuit on areas surrounding the reactor, focusing on how residents came to interpret activities on these 'Atomic Lands'. This combination of historical research, personal and ethnographic observations shows how Ghanaians now stand at a crossroad, where some push to install more reactors, whilst others merely seek pipe-borne water.

This publication provides guidance on implementing the principle of confidentiality and on the broader aspects of information security (i.e. integrity and availability). It assists States in bridging the gap between existing government and industry standards on information security, the particular concepts and considerations that apply to nuclear security and the special provisions and conditions that exist when dealing with nuclear material and other radioactive material. Specifically it seeks to assist States in the identification, classification, and assignment of appropriate security controls to information that could adversely impact nuclear security if compromised.

Geoscientists worldwide are developing and applying methodologies to estimate geologic hazards associated with the siting of nuclear facilities. Understanding such hazards, particularly in the context of the long functional lifetimes of many nuclear facilities, is challenging. This book documents the current state-of-the-art in volcanic and tectonic hazard assessment for proposed nuclear facilities, which must be located in areas where the risks associated with geologic processes are quantifiable and demonstrably low. Specific topics include overviews of volcanic and tectonic processes, the history of the development of hazard assessment methodologies, description of current techniques for characterizing hazards, and development of probabilistic methods for estimating risks. Hazard assessment examples are drawn from around the world. This volume will promote interest and debate about this important topic among researchers and graduates developing methods in geologic hazard assessment, geologists and engineers who assess the safety of nuclear facilities, and regulatory bodies that evaluate such assessments.

Nuclear power is not an option for the future but an absolute necessity. Global threats of climate change and lethal air pollution, killing millions each year, make it clear that nuclear and renewable energy must work together, as non-carbon sources of energy. Fortunately, a new era of growth in this energy source is underway in developing nations, though not yet in the West. Seeing the Light is the first book to clarify these realities and discuss their implications for coming decades. Readers will learn how, why, and where the new nuclear era is happening, what new technologies are involved, and what this means for preventing the proliferation of weapons. This book is the best work available for becoming fully informed about this key subject, for students, the general public, and anyone interested in the future of energy production, and, thus, the future of humanity on planet Earth.

Britain was the first country to exploit atomic energy on a large scale, and at its peak in the mid-1960s, it had generated more electricity from nuclear power than the rest of the world combined. The civil atomic energy programme grew out of the military programme which produced plutonium for atomic weapons. In 1956, Calder Hall power station was opened by the Queen. The very next year, one of the early Windscale reactors caught fire and the world's first major nuclear accident occurred. The civil programme ran into further difficulty in the mid-1960s and as a consequence of procrastination in the decision-making process, the programme lost momentum and effectively died. No nuclear power stations have been built since Sizewell B in the late 1980s. This book presents a study of Government papers that have recently become available in the public domain. For the first time in history, the research reactor programme is presented in detail, along with a study of the decision-making by the Government, the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA), and the Central Electricity Board (CEGB).This book is aimed at both specialists in nuclear power and the interested public as a technical history on the development and ultimate failure of the British atomic energy programme.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.