[en] The position of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) as a research and development organisation is outlined. It is now a trading fund and offers research facilities to industry on a contract basis. This will be further promoted. The Authority's main business remains the development of systems producing economic electricity. An example of this is the work on the proposed commercial fast reactor. However, the expertise and specialised facilities developed for this have applications in other areas relevant to British and overseas industry. An example of this is the technology developed at the UKAEA's Harwell laboratories for assuring the firm attachment of steel platforms to the sea bed. Radioactive tracers are added to underwater cement grouting enabling the progress of grout injection to be monitored. Oil recovery techniques, chemical scaling problems, pipeline flow, safety and reliability, the development of a pocket gamma radiation dosimeter, structural integrity testing and problem solving, development of electric propulsion systems for space satellites, advanced robotics and computing services are all areas of UKAEA research and development interest and capability. (U.K.)

[en] John Collier, chairman-designate of Nuclear Electric, the state-owned company set up to operate and manage the seven Magnox and five Advanced Gas Cooled reactor power stations in England and Wales, states his personal committment to the future of nuclear power. As well as running the existing nuclear power plants, Nuclear Electric will oversee the decommissioning of the Berkely Power Station and ensure the completion and operation of Sizewell-B, the first Pressurized Water Reactor to be built in England. Nuclear Electric would also plan to build more nuclear power stations. Although energy conservation and renewable energy sources should also be developed, nuclear power is the only viable, safe, non carbon dioxide emitting energy source. (UK)

[en] An interview with John Collier in which he tells how the UKAEA will cope with budget cuts and closures. The two major influences will be: 1. the government's decision to drastically cut the funding for fast reactor R and D., and 2. the planned privatisation of the electricity supply industry. (U.K.)

[en] The arguments for and against the fast breeder reactor are debated. The case for the fast reactor is that the world energy demand will increase due to increasing population over the next forty years and that the damage to the global environment from burning fossil fuels which contribute to the greenhouse effect. Nuclear fission is the only large scale energy source which can achieve a cut in the use of carbon based fuels although energy conservation and renewable sources will also be important. Fast reactors produce more energy from uranium than other types of (thermal) reactors such as AGRs and PWRs. Fast reactors would be important from about 2020 onwards especially as by then many thermal reactors will need to be replaced. Fast reactors are also safer than normal reactors. The arguments against fast reactors are largely economic. The cost, especially the capital cost is very high. The viability of the technology is also questioned. (UK)

[en] Purpose: Study image optimization and radiation dose reduction in pediatric shunt CT scanning protocol through the use of different beam-hardening filters Methods: A 64-slice CT scanner at OU Childrens Hospital has been used to evaluate CT image contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and measure effective-doses based on the concept of CT dose index (CTDIvol) using the pediatric head shunt scanning protocol. The routine axial pediatric head shunt scanning protocol that has been optimized for the intrinsic x-ray tube filter has been used to evaluate CNR by acquiring images using the ACR approved CT-phantom and radiation dose CTphantom, which was used to measure CTDIvol. These results were set as reference points to study and evaluate the effects of adding different filtering materials (i.e. Tungsten, Tantalum, Titanium, Nickel and Copper filters) to the existing filter on image quality and radiation dose. To ensure optimal image quality, the scanner routine air calibration was run for each added filter. The image CNR was evaluated for different kVps and wide range of mAs values using above mentioned beam-hardening filters. These scanning protocols were run under axial as well as under helical techniques. The CTDIvol and the effective-dose were measured and calculated for all scanning protocols and added filtration, including the intrinsic x-ray tube filter. Results: Beam-hardening filter shapes energy spectrum, which reduces the dose by 27%. No noticeable changes in image low contrast detectability Conclusion: Effective-dose is very much dependent on the CTDIVol, which is further very much dependent on beam-hardening filters. Substantial reduction in effective-dose is realized using beam-hardening filters as compare to the intrinsic filter. This phantom study showed that significant radiation dose reduction could be achieved in CT pediatric shunt scanning protocols without compromising in diagnostic value of image quality

[en] Purpose: Reducing patient dose while maintaining (or even improving) image quality is one of the foremost goals in CT imaging. To this end, we consider the feasibility of optimizing CT scan protocols in conjunction with the application of different beam-hardening filtrations and assess this augmentation through noise-power spectrum (NPS) and detector quantum efficiency (DQE) analysis. Methods: American College of Radiology (ACR) and Catphan phantoms (The Phantom Laboratory) were scanned with a 64 slice CT scanner when additional filtration of thickness and composition (e.g., copper, nickel, tantalum, titanium, and tungsten) had been applied. A MATLAB-based code was employed to calculate the image of noise NPS. The Catphan Image Owl software suite was then used to compute the modulated transfer function (MTF) responses of the scanner. The DQE for each additional filter, including the inherent filtration, was then computed from these values. Finally, CT dose index (CTDIvol) values were obtained for each applied filtration through the use of a 100 mm pencil ionization chamber and CT dose phantom. Results: NPS, MTF, and DQE values were computed for each applied filtration and compared to the reference case of inherent beam-hardening filtration only. Results showed that the NPS values were reduced between 5 and 12% compared to inherent filtration case. Additionally, CTDIvol values were reduced between 15 and 27% depending on the composition of filtration applied. However, no noticeable changes in image contrast-to-noise ratios were noted. Conclusion: The reduction in the quanta noise section of the NPS profile found in this phantom-based study is encouraging. The reduction in both noise and dose through the application of beam-hardening filters is reflected in our phantom image quality. However, further investigation is needed to ascertain the applicability of this approach to reducing patient dose while maintaining diagnostically acceptable image qualities in a clinical setting

[en] In 1994, the UK government will deliver its verdict on the future of nuclear power in the new privatised system. In this article, based on a recent paper to the British Nuclear Forum, John Collier, chairman of Nuclear Electric, outlines the case which the industry will make to the government. (Author)

[en] Commonwealth Edison Company is the largest nuclear utility in the United States. The authors began with the completion in the 1950s of the first privately owned electric utility nuclear generating unit in the U.S. Their continuing commitment to nuclear power is now culminating with 12 operating units located at six station sites with a total nuclear capability of approximately 12,000 MW. Four large units at our Dresden and Quad Cities locations were completed in the early 1970s and have been in operation for 16 to 18 years. These units are boiling water reactors (BWRs) designed by General Electric and are essentially identical. One would expect by now that some of the computer systems installed at Dresden and Quad Cities might function better using new, improved technology. This article describes one such system improvement that the authors recently completed. They replaced the rod with minimizer (RWM) monitoring system

[en] In the United Kingdom, nuclear power plants are operated by three companies: Nuclear Electric (NE), Scottish Nuclear (SN), and British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL). The state-operated power industry was privatized in 1989 with the exception of nuclear power generation activities, which were made part of the newly founded (state-owned) NE and SN. At the same time, a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants was agreed. Only Sizewell B, the first plant in the UK to be equipped with a pressurized water reactor, was to be completed. That unit was first synchronized with the power grid on February 14, 1995. Another decision in 1989 provided for a review to be conducted in 1994 of the future of the peaceful uses of nuclear power in the country. The results of the review were presented by the government in a white paper on May 9, 1995. Accordingly, NE and SN will be merged and privatized in 1996; the headquarters of the new holding company will be in Scotland. The review does not foresee the construction of more nuclear power plants. However, NE hopes to gain a competitive edge over other sources of primary energy as a result of this privatization, and advocates construction of a dual-unit plant identical with Sizewell B so as to avoid recurrent design and development costs. Outside the UK, the company plans to act jointly with the reactor vendor, Westinghouse, especially in the Pacific region; a bid submitted by the consortium has been shortisted by the future operator of the Lungmen nuclear power plant project in Taiwan. In upgrading the safety of nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe, the new company will be able to work through existing contacts of SN. (orig.)

[en] This paper describes the first results of a feasibility study undertaken at CERN to determine whether a laser-produced plasma can be used as a source of intense highly charged heavy ion beams. A variety of important measurements have been made, and the results are encouraging. Furthermore, a beam of highly charged light ions produced by the laser ion source has been accelerated successfully in a radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) structure. (author)