The development of appropriate green technologies capable of reducing the use and release of pollutants is becoming increasingly important in order to meet improved environmental regulations. The application of radiation technologies has proven to offer many advantages in lessening the environmental impact of processes and in the green development of new products. Examples include industrial effluents and municipal waste treatment, materials modification and the sterilization of equipment. This publication presents the proceedings of a technical meeting on the deployment of clean radiation technology for environmental remediation. The meeting provided a forum for presenting recent developments and reviewing global, regional and national level initiatives. Papers provided detailed practical experience and lessons learned in the use of radiation technologies for the treatment of environmental pollutants and in the development of new materials and other products. Economic and regulatory issues were addressed. Consideration was also given to future developments and roadmaps for integrating radiation technology with conventional technologies on a larger scale.

Nuclear and related techniques can help develop climate smart agricultural practices by optimizing water and nutrient use efficiency, assessing organic carbon sequestration in soil, and assisting in the evaluation of soil erosion control measures. Knowledge on the behaviour of radioactive materials in soil, water and foodstuffs is also essential in enhancing nuclear emergency preparedness and response. Appropriate sampling and sample preparation are the first steps to ensure the quality and effective use of the measurements and this publication provides comprehensive detail on the necessary steps.

This publication presents technology developers and users with common considerations, approaches and measures for enhancing the defence in depth and operability of water cooled small modular reactor (SMR) design concepts to cope with extreme natural hazards. Indicative requirements to prevent an accident such as the Fukushima Daiichi accident from recurring are also provided for States planning to adopt water cooled SMR designs and technologies. This publication was produced within the framework of the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, specifically under item 12 on effectively utilizing research and development.

The use of new radiopharmaceuticals can provide extremely valuable information in the evaluation of cancer, as well as heart and brain diseases — information that often times cannot be obtained by other means. However, there is a perceived need in many Member States for a useful reference to facilitate and expedite the introduction of radiopharmaceuticals already in clinical use in other countries. This publication intends to provide practical support for the introduction of new radiotracers, including recommendations on the necessary steps needed to facilitate and expedite the introduction of radiopharmaceuticals in clinical use, while ensuring that a safe and high quality product is administered to the patient at all times.

This publication summarizes the research work undertaken as part of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) on evaluation of conditions for hydrogen-induced degradation of zirconium alloys during fuel operation and storage, and includes details of the experimental procedures to evaluate the threshold condition for delayed hydride cracking that led to a set of data for these materials. Besides the goal to transfer the technology of the testing techniques from experienced laboratories to those unfamiliar with the methods, the CRP was set up to develop experimental procedures to produce consistent sets of data, both within a single laboratory and between different laboratories.

This publication addresses issues relating to nuclear power deployment faced by countries with electrical grids of limited capacity and stability. In particular, technology issues and related institutional measures as well as some technical and economic options for managing spent fuel and radioactive waste applicable in these circumstances are addressed. It aims to assist States implementing a nuclear power programme in the development of a comprehensive approach to the long term management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste that is technically sound, environmentally responsible, economically feasible and acceptable to all stakeholders. Armenia was selected as a case study and the data obtained from the studies performed led to general recommendations which could be applicable to some other countries with similar economies and grid characteristics.

The IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) missions are designed to assist Member States in evaluating the status of their national infrastructure for the introduction of a nuclear power programme. From 2009 to 2014, fourteen IAEA INIR missions and follow-up activities were conducted in nine countries planning to implement a nuclear power programme and one country expanding an existing programme. During this time considerable experience was gained and this has been used to continuously improve the overall INIR methodology. This publication summarizes the results of the missions and highlights the most significant areas where recommendations were made.

The IAEA’s programme on Safety Assessment Driving Radioactive Waste Management Solutions (SADRWMS) focused on approaches and mechanisms for application of safety assessment methodologies for the predisposal management of radioactive waste. The initial outcome of the SADRWMS Project was achieved through the development of flowcharts, which have since been incorporated into IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSG-3, Safety Case and Safety Assessment for Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste. In 2005, an initial specification was developed for the Safety Assessment Framework (SAFRAN) software tool to apply the SADRWMS flowcharts. In 2008, an in-depth application of the SAFRAN tool and the SADRWMS methodology was carried out on the predisposal management facilities of the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology Radioactive Waste Management Centre (TINT Facility). This publication summarizes the content and outcomes of the SADRWMS programme. The Chairman’s Report of the SADRWMS Project and the Report of the TINT test case are provided on the CD-ROM which accompanies this report.

Since 1981 the IAEA has been organizing coordinated research projects on the behaviour of power reactor spent fuel during long term (or extended) storage. The current publication provides an update on national spent fuel management strategies, ongoing spent fuel and system performance in wet and dry storage, and latest national research and development activities relating to spent fuel storage. It contains useful information on hydride re-orientation and the impact of fuel, storage system components, emerging issues on very long term storage, and the storage of metal fuel in a closed system. The experience and insights provided by the participating countries will help Member States to identify challenges in implementing long term storage and to understand the current status of spent fuel performance research related to long term storage.

Nuclear fuel performance and management play an essential role in ensuring safety, competitiveness and public acceptance of nuclear power. Reliability of fuel depends on its proper design, manufacturing, and ability to withstand required normal operational conditions, as well as possible accidents. In-reactor loads on the core materials are extremely high, which defines a need for detailed R&D as a basis for prediction of in-pile fuel behaviour. The Fukushima Daiichi accident has demonstrated the need for adequate analysis of all aspects of fuel performance to prevent a failure, and also to mitigate consequences if an accident occurs. In order to satisfy these demands, new national and international programmes have been launched and advanced modelling codes have been developed. The experience and lessons learned during three sessions of an IAEA technical meeting on modelling of water cooled fuel, including design basis and severe accidents are presented in this publication.

Ion beam analysis techniques are non-destructive analytical techniques used to identify the composition and provide elemental depth profiles in surface layers of materials. The applications of such techniques are diverse and include environmental control, cultural heritage and conservation and fusion technologies. Their reliability and accuracy depends strongly on our knowledge of the nuclear reaction cross sections, and this publication describes the coordinated effort to measure, compile and evaluate cross section data relevant to these techniques and make these data available to the user community through a comprehensive online database. It includes detailed assessments of experimental cross sections as well as attempts to benchmark these data against appropriate integral measurements.

This publication is a compilation of the main results and findings of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) on development, characterization and testing of materials of relevance to nuclear energy sector using neutron beams. The document contains joint research results from nineteen institutions, which can be grouped into the main six technical areas: investigation of oxide dispersion-strengthened steels, research on zirconium based materials (including hydrogen uptake), investigations of welded structures and objects, results with irradiated materials, optimization of instruments for residual strain/stress measurements, and efforts towards standardization of neutron imaging. Particular emphasis was placed on variable environments during material characterization and testing as required by some applications such as intensive irradiation load, high temperature and high pressure conditions, and the presence of strong magnetic fields. The publication also includes some additional materials supplied by the international experts along with nineteen individual contributions describing the current status of use of diverse neutron beam techniques for materials research targeting the nuclear energy sector. These nineteen individual reports are available on CD-ROM attached to this publication. The publication will be of interest to physicists and engineers in the area of materials research, neutron beam scientists and personnel responsible for instruments, managers of neutron beam facilities, nuclear reactor designers and nuclear industry representatives.