As part of the Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, the IAEA led the International Project on Managing the Decommissioning and Remediation of Damaged Nuclear Facilities (DAROD Project). The DAROD Project focuses on providing practical guidance for the decommissioning and remediation of accident damaged nuclear facilities based on case studies of actual damaged facilities and lessons learned. This publication summarizes the outcomes of the DAROD Project. It is intended for regulatory bodies, operating organizations, technical support organizations and governmental officials who are involved in the decommissioning and remediation of nuclear facilities damaged after an accident or owing to a legacy deterioration.
This publication was produced as part of the IAEA's Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessments (MODARIA I and MODARIA II) programmes. It summarizes the activities of the Working Groups that considered the application of modelling to estimate radiation exposure of wildlife, and the effects of such exposure on wildlife populations. The fitness for purpose of available models and tools for estimating wildlife exposures was assessed. On the basis of the evaluations carried out, a number of models and tools are proposed for use by assessors and it can be concluded that the commonly used models are generally fit for purpose for screening level assessments. Modelling approaches for estimating population dynamics and radiation dose effects on populations of wildlife are also addressed.
This publication presents the outcome of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) on methodologies for assessing pipe failure rates in advanced water cooled reactors. The goal of the CRP was to provide Member States with a strong technical basis for establishing nuclear power plant piping reliability parameters. To meet this goal two parallel and interrelated activities were carried out. In a first CRP activity, the participating institutions performed a series of benchmark studies. These studies, as described in this publication, were formulated for the purpose of evaluating different methodologies when applied to a common problem. The results were compared, and the reasons for differences were identified. This publication provides a description of the benchmark studies, the participants' individual methodologies applied, and simulations and analyses carried out, an independent synthesis of the results, and the main insights and conclusions from the exercise.
Artificial sources of radiation are commonly used in the manufacturing and service industries, research institutions and universities, and the nuclear power industry. As a result, workers can be exposed to artificial sources of radiation. There are also a significant number of workers, such as underground miners and aircrew, who are exposed to naturally occurring sources of radiation. This publication, prepared in collaboration with the International Labour Organization, and with reference to IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GSR Part 3 provides guidance for individuals and organizations on the assessment of prospective cancer risks due to occupational exposure to ionizing radiation for prevention purposes. It describes cancer risk assessment theory, models and methodologies, and offers practical examples of carrying out these assessments.
Probabilistic fault displacement hazard analysis (PFDHA) is a relatively new methodology, and actual examples of applications are quite limited. The current publication provides an introduction to probabilistic approaches to fault displacement hazard assessment with reference to relevant IAEA safety standards. It delineates the most important aspects of PFDHA (including up to date practices, open problems, and challenging issues) within a coherent framework. The information provided will be valuable not only for Member States when applying PFDHA to the site safety assessment of existing installations, but also for nuclear power plant operating organizations, regulatory bodies, vendors, technical support organizations and researchers working in the area of seismic hazard assessment.
This publication addresses the basics of the application of a graded approach in the regulatory oversight of nuclear installations, describes the approaches currently implemented by several regulatory bodies around the world and, based on these examples, proposes a generic methodology for application of a graded approach to regulation of nuclear installations. The publication provides practical examples and information on developing and implementing strategies and processes for all regulatory functions.
Nuclear energy is considered a key low carbon technology for achieving ambitious and urgent climate change mitigation. Following adoption of the Paris Agreement, the IAEA initiated a coordinated research project (CRP) to support Member States assess the potential role of nuclear energy in their national climate and energy strategies. This publication presents the findings of the CRP, which brought together research teams from twelve countries facing a range of energy, development and climate challenges, and summarizes their methodological approaches, analytical results and policy insights. The publication demonstrates a wide array of possibilities to undertake rigorous quantitative analyses and provide scientific advice to policy makers on the linkages between nuclear energy and climate change. It is expected that the methods and results presented here will also encourage additional in-depth studies on this topic.
The focus of this publication is on collecting current practices in Member States related to design extension conditions (DECs) with core melting. The information provided is based on the feedback from technical experts from Canada, France, Finland, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America. There is, however, still no common understanding of DECs due to the complexity of phenomena and insufficient experimental data. This publication identifies current approaches of IAEA Member States with active nuclear power programmes and discusses the regulatory perspective and technical rationale. It attempts to find common practices and possible areas for harmonization of the main rules related to the analysis of DECs with core melting for new water cooled reactors, including their selection for the safety demonstration.
This publication considers radionuclide transfer in tropical and arid environments with a focus on root uptake by crops from soils. The data collected and analysed are relevant for estimating the transfer of radionuclides through food chains to humans and for assessing radiation doses to the public due to intakes of these radionuclides in plant products used as food. The data relate to equilibrium conditions between the radionuclide’s dynamics into and out of the compartments of the environment and are appropriate for radiological environmental impact assessment in planned and existing exposure situations where such conditions have been established. Moreover, this publication classifies the data according to an international climate classification scheme and compares the summary values derived for tropical and arid environments with those presented in IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 472 for temperate environments.
A properly established governmental, legal and regulatory framework for safety provides for the effective regulatory control of facilities and activities with radiation sources. An important aspect of a regulatory framework is to ensure that the implementation of the regulatory programme is commensurate with the radiation risks associated with facilities and activities, in accordance with a graded approach. This publication provides practical guidance on the application of a graded approach in regulating the safety of radiation sources. Examples of applying this approach in some Member States are included. The proposed methodologies promote a systematic and consistent approach to regulating in accordance with the IAEA safety standards.
This publication provides a comprehensive summary of experiences and results collected at a series of technical meetings of Member States currently operating CANDU-type nuclear power plants. Special emphasis is placed on supporting future harmonization in the regulatory framework, level 1 PSA methodologies and tools and level 1 PSA scope. In addition, information is shared on actions undertaken in response to lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
The production of neutrons by accelerators began in the 1970s with construction of powerful proton accelerators to access neutrons via spallation. At the same time, low energy driven neutron processes emerged for neutron production using electron accelerators, ion beam accelerators, cyclotrons, and low energy linear accelerators. This wide variety of accelerator based neutron sources have come to be referred to as ‘compact accelerator based neutron sources’ (CANS). This publication provides an overview of the various types of CANS technologies that are currently available or planned in the near future. It illustrates many of the analytical and other applications of neutrons. Given the wide variety of power and costs, the publication also aims to show that in addition to replacing national medium flux research reactors for certain functions, smaller regional neutron sources may become viable, which may eventually broaden access to neutron facilities.