This publication provides information and guidance on methodologies and techniques which could be used to locate, identify and characterize disused, sealed radioactive sources on historical waste sites. The sealed and shielded nature of these sources often poses a significant challenge to their characterization and thus to the verification of historical radioactive waste inventory records. Therefore, to facilitate the safe and proper classification of such sources, this publication describes the advantages and disadvantages of a number of methods of characterization, as well as the situational applicability of each.

This publication describes the rationale and vision for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It identifies the basic principles that nuclear energy systems must satisfy to fulfil their promise of meeting growing global energy demands, specifically: efficient operation, a high level of safety, economic competitiveness, proliferation resistance, efficient resource utilization, sustainability and low environmental impact.

As part of an initiative to preserve knowledge in the area of fast reactors, the purpose of this publication is to develop a taxonomy of the Fast Reactor Knowledge Preservation System (FRKPS) that will preserve the world’s knowledge base in this area. The publication identifies basic requirements of this taxonomy on the basis of experience gained. The need for such taxonomy arises from the fact that during the past 15 years there has been stagnation in the development of fast reactors in many countries that were formerly involved in intensive development. Many specialists who were involved in the studies and development work have already retired or are coming close to retirement. In other countries that are still actively pursuing the evolution of fast reactor technology, the lack of young scientists and engineers moving into this branch of nuclear power is a critical issue.

Increasing plant output is far cheaper and less controversial than constructing new nuclear power plants (NPPs) and is therefore an area of continued interest and work. This publication addresses the role of instrumentation and control (I&C) systems in NPP power uprating projects. The publication also provides a review of the relevant lessons learned and discusses potential concerns. During power uprating projects, in addition to changing or replacing mechanical and process components or equipment, parts of the electrical and I&C systems may also need to be altered to accommodate the new operating conditions and safety limits. It is also common that power uprating in an ageing plant is implemented in parallel with other modernization activities in the I&C systems. Therefore, it is essential to find ways to synchronize these parallel tasks in the I&C field to perform a cost efficient and properly scheduled series of activities serving all the major plant goals.

Component replacement is often the most feasible solution to solve the problems associated with primary water stress corrosion cracking of Alloy 600. Even if mitigation and/or repair were a local solution, replacement offers many advantages when addressing the assortment of potentially susceptible parts contained in a major component. This publication focuses on heavy components replacement considered strategic for nuclear power plant life management but not included in current maintenance activities carried out by utilities. The major and heavy components to be considered are: steam generators for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs); reactor vessel heads for PWR plants; reactor internal components for boiling water reactor (BWR) plants; reactor vessel internals for PWR plants; pressurizers for PWR plants; reactor coolant piping/recirculation piping for PWR and BWR plants, and fuel channel and feeder pipes in PHWRs.

This publication describes an evaluation approach to determine a Member State’s status in developing and implementing the infrastructure areas necessary for a nuclear power plant (NPP) project. It has been written to be used by any interested Member State for self-evaluation as well as for external reviews with the participation of the IAEA and of independent external experts. Other organizations, such as donors, suppliers, nuclear energy agencies and operator organizations, may also use this publication to provide confidence that a Member State is adequately developing the infrastructure necessary to regulate, construct and safely operate an NPP.

This is the second report on the use of on-line monitoring (OLM) in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The first report, focused on the application of OLM to verify the static (calibration) and dynamic (response time) performance of process instruments in NPPs. This second report extends the application of OLM to equipment and process condition monitoring, encompassing an array of technologies including vibration monitoring, acoustic monitoring, loose parts monitoring, motor current signature analysis and noise diagnostics, as well as vibration analysis of the reactor core and the primary circuit. Furthermore, this report includes the application of modelling technologies for equipment and process condition monitoring. A majority of these technologies depend on existing data from existing sensors and first principles models to estimate equipment and process behaviour using empirical and physical modelling techniques. In doing so, pattern recognition tools such as neural networks, fuzzy classification of data, multivariate state estimation and other means are used. These means are described in the report, and examples of their application and implementation are provided.

On-line monitoring techniques have been under development over the past two decades for a variety of applications in process and power industries. In the nuclear power industry, on-line monitoring techniques have been considered for instrument calibration verification as well as equipment and plant condition monitoring. This publication reviews the state of the art in on-line equipment monitoring for nuclear power plant (NPP) applications. Its focus is on instrument calibration verification and extension of calibration intervals of sensors, transmitters and channels. This publication also includes reviews of regulatory positions on this subject and provides examples of implementation of on-line monitoring techniques in NPPs. Furthermore, the in-situ methods for verifying the dynamic performance and response time of process instrumentation are reviewed.

This publication addresses the issues associated with the financing of new nuclear power plants. It explores the roles, responsibilities and options of both government and industry with regard to nuclear power plant financing, as well as issues of risk mitigation and management. The report stresses that finance for new nuclear plants can be secured in a number of ways, but efficient risk allocation and proper assurances of loan repayment, as well as returns on capital, must be integral parts of any financing scheme. Good project management and careful contracting are the key elements in commercial risk allocation, which should ideally be allotted to those parties best suited to manage or control the given risk.

An effective availability and reliability programme (ARP) is necessary to ensure the financial viability of research reactor facilities. This publication draws upon data from heavily utilized research reactors of diverse sizes and purposes, and provides information on specific operations and maintenance practices and programmes directed towards optimization of reactor performance. The optimization of reactor performance not only increases customer confidence, thereby ensuring funding, but also extends the reactor’s operating life and improves economic competitiveness.

This publication provides general information and examples based upon experience in a variety of Member States on web harvesting in the context of knowledge preservation in the nuclear field, contemporary activities in the domain of web harvesting, document archiving and internet access technology in order to obtain a contemporary technology overview. Several aspects of possible web harvesting methodologies are presented in some detail in this publication, which can also serve as a basis to establish future cooperation.

For many Member States with operating nuclear power plants, it has been some years since a nuclear power plants (NPP) has been commissioned, and most of the staff with experience in commissioning has since retired. Additionally, in a number of Member States, serious consideration is being given to initiating a new nuclear power programme. This publication is intended to provide useful information for both situations. It is expected that Member State organizations will use this information to improve their training programmes and other aspects of human resource management for commissioning of NPPs.