A windowless silicon (Si) diode (4 mm(2)) was evaluated as alpha particle detector and spectrometer for field measurements. It was irradiated with alpha particles from a (241)Am (2.3 kBq) and a (210)Po (9 kBq) source at source-detector distances (SDD) of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.8 cm. The energy resolution in terms of full width at half maximum was 281, 148 and 113 keV for SDD of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.8 cm, res...

Ashwin Kumar ([email protected]) is a PhD scholar at the department of engineering and public policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, US. M V Ramana (ramana@ princeton.edu) is with the Program on Science and Global Security, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, US. The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor that is being built in Kalpakkam in...

The so called Innovative Options, within the field of nuclear fission systems, promise radical improvements in the fuel cycle with regard to waste disposal, non-proliferation and the possibility of severe accidents. In particular, new systems based on the use of accelerators and thorium [1,2,3] have been proposed for nuclear power production and waste incineration. In this paper we consider pot...

A number of analytical methods have been developed in the past few years for environmental monitoring of plutonium (Pu) isotopes around nuclear facilities within protocols for emergency preparedness as well as for risk assessment of contaminated areas resulting from nuclear weapon tests, nuclear accidents, and the discharge of nuclear waste. This article summarizes and critically compares recen...

Defence in depth is a comprehensive and systematic approach to safety that has been developed by the nuclear power community to assure with high confidence that the public and the environment are protected from any hazards posed by the use of nuclear power for the generation of electricity. Moreover, the concepts of defence in depth and safety culture have served the nuclear power community wel...

The Fukushima nuclear accident resulted in the largest ever accidental release of artificial radionuclides in coastal waters. This accident has shown the importance of marine assessment capabilities for emergency response and the need to develop tools for adequately predicting the evolution and potential impact of radioactive releases to the marine environment. The French Institute for Radiolog...

As a part of the H2020 EU Project called “TeaM Cables” - which has, among its aims, modelling reliability nuclear power plant cables goal this paper is to develop model for prediction residual low voltage plants subjected gamma radiation stress. The estimates probability that such withstand random stress overshoots in-service, can occur, e.g., in case accidents.