Progress In Developing The Concept For The Irradiation Research Facility

Radiation exposure at low doses (below 100 milligray) or low-dose rates (less than 5 milligray per hour) occurs in a wide range of medical, industrial, military, and commercial settings. The effects of exposure at these levels are not fully understood, but there are long-standing concerns that such exposure could negatively affect human health. Although cancer has been linked to low-dose radiation exposure for decades, there is increasing evidence that low-dose radiation exposure may also be associated with cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, immune dysfunction, and cataracts. Recent advances in research, new tools, and a coordinated multidisciplinary research program could help fill knowledge gaps about the health impacts of low-dose radiation exposures. This report calls for the development of a U.S. research program to study how low doses of radiation affect cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and other disease risks. Research should also better define the impacts of radiation doses, dose rates, types of radiation, and exposure duration. The report estimates $100 million annually for the next 15 years would be required to conduct epidemiological and biological research, and to establish an infrastructure for research.

The ENS Class 1 Topical Meeting on “Research Facilities for the Future of Nuclear Energy” provided an international scientific and technical forum for a broad review, at world level, of the large research facilities, dedicated for tests for nuclear energy production, which are existing, under construction, or planned for the future. The research facilities covered during the conference are those supporting R&D programmes related to the operation of nuclear reactor power plants and the development of new concepts in the areas of material testing, nuclear data measurements, code validation, fuel cycle, reprocessing, and waste disposal. The conference was relevant to a wide range of people such as the operators and managers of research facilities, research organizations that depend on the facilities for results, young professionals who will shape future requirements, nuclear utilities, vendors (fuel, components), service and engineering companies, designers, plant operators, waste management agencies, licensing authorities, and the decision makers. Contents:Overview of the Materials Testing Reactors in the World (E Koonen)Overview of the Fuel Cycle Research Facilities. Where we are? Where we have to go? (N Camarcat)Out-of-Pile Facilities for Nuclear Safety Research (B R Sehgal)Overview of Nuclear Data Measurements Facilities in OECD Countries (J L Rowlands & Ph Bioux)Nuclear Research Institutes in NEA Countries (G H Stevens & E Bertel)General Problems Specific to Hot Nuclear Materials Research Facilities (G Bart)Utilizations of Research Reactor in China (Y-S Wang & X-H Jin)Perspectives for Nuclear Power and Objectives of Advanced Nuclear Power Systems (J Delvoye)Objectives of Advanced Nuclear Power Systems (P Bacher)Fuel Concepts in Support of Advanced Nuclear Power Plant Operation (J J R Rycroft)The Case and Concept for a Proposed New Canadian Irradiation Research Facility (A G Lee et al)An Accelerator Driven Sub-Critical System: The ADONIS-Project (L Van Den Durpel et al)Multi-Channel Pulse Graphite Reactor MIGR (A P Vasilyev et al)REX 2000, A New Materials Testing Reactor Project (F Merchie et al)and other papers dealing with research facilities and their use for nuclear energy production research Readership: General readers, researchers, managers and workers in industries interested in nuclear engineering and energy. keywords: