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IAEA, PNNL test new uranium enrichment monitor
A uranium enrichment monitor developed by a team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will soon be undergoing testing for nonproliferation applications at the International Atomic Energy Agency Centre of Excellence for Safeguards and Non-Proliferation in the United Kingdom. A recent PNNL news article describes how the research team, led by nuclear physicist James Ely, who works within the lab’s National Security Directorate, developed the UF6 gas enrichment sensor (UGES) prototype for treaty verification and other purposes.
Julien Beaucourt, Gabriel Georgescu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 3 | March 2021 | Pages 323-334
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1770530
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Extension of the operational lifetime beyond 40 years is currently a noteworthy project in the field of nuclear safety in France, especially for 900-MW(electric) reactors that will be the first ones to go through the fourth periodic safety review. For 1300-MW(electric) reactors, the safety studies have already been engaged. Probabilistic Safety Assessments (PSAs) play an important role in this process, including assessment of the robustness of the plants against internal and external hazards. Among the hazards, internal explosion induced by hydrogen accumulation due to leakage of pipes and/or singularities, or failure of venting systems in the battery rooms is now taken into account in the PSA developed by the licensee (EDF). The PSAs are then reviewed by IRSN, which is the French Technical support organization. To achieve this purpose, IRSN develops its own Level 1 PSA studies. This paper takes into account the most recent developments of the IRSN analyses, especially regarding the Bayesian quantification of the hydrogen leak frequency derived from an original method developed by Sandia National Laboratories.