[en] A discussion about PCB incineration and related issues dealt with in the Canada/US trade agreement were discussed. A dispute arose between Chem-Security in Swan Hills, Alberta, and S.D. Myers, in Tallmadge, Ohio. S.D. Myers wanted to compete for Chem-Security's Canadian business, although an Interim Order to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) prevents the exportation of PCBs. The owners of PCB waste in Ontario and eastward were lobbying for a loosening cross-border shipments of PCBs, because shipping cost would be much less than transporting them to the remote Alberta community. The nature of the conflict and the respective positions of the participants were described in detail

[en] An excess of like-charge dimuons has been observed with the MAC detector in multihadron events produced in e⁺e^- annihilation at √s = 29 GeV. If this excess is attributed to B⁰ - anti B⁰ mixing, the corresponding value of the mixing parameter chi = Γ(B → μ^-X)/Γ(B → μ^+-X) is chi = 0.21/sub -0.15//sup +0.25/ and chi > 0.02 at 90% C.L

[en] As the time for deregulation of Ontario's electric power industry approaches, consumers are watching other Canadian and American jurisdictions to see what deregulation will mean in terms of energy costs. Albertans have expressed serious concerns about the impact of deregulating their electric power industry. They found that in the four years since deregulation in their province, electricity prices increased when markets opened to competition. The proposed start date for deregulation in Ontario is November 1, 2000. This paper suggests that if investors don't put out significant resources, problems such as power shortages and brownouts could occur, as was the case in Alberta. Potential investors in the Ontario electricity market are already sceptical because the Ontario government, in an effort to protect consumers from unreasonable price increases, has tabled legislation that restricts the efforts of municipal utility companies to raise distribution rates. One step that will inspire some confidence is the recently finalized deal between Ontario Power Generation and British Energy to operate the Bruce Nuclear Power Station. Independent consultants have warned that electricity prices will continue to increase with deregulation for a least the next few years. Industrial customers will be the hardest hit. In California, America's first deregulated electricity market, the power grid is strained and prices have doubled or tripled in one year

No abstract available

[en] The most recent and most significant development in the management of PCBs in Canada occurred with the announcement of the Alberta government that it would open its provincial borders to PCB and other hazardous wastes from across Canada for incineration at the province's special waste treatment facility located at Swan Hills, Alberta. The facility has an annual capacity of 15,000 tonnes of PCB waste. Alberta 's own waste products will be treated first; any excess capacity will be utilized to treat waste materials received from other provinces. It is estimated that given the Swan Hills plant capacity, it will take several years to treat and destroy all of Canada's current PCB waste inventory. Regulations concerning transportation, contracting requirements and pricing policies were briefly reviewed

[en] The development of next generation, innovative nuclear fission reactors, needed to replace or supplement the current designs of nuclear reactors within the next say 30 years, critically depends on the availability of advanced structural and functional materials systems which must withstand extreme conditions: intense neuron irradiation, high temperatures, and potentially strongly corrosive coolant environments, in combination with complex loading states and cyclic loading histories. The mechanical performance and reliability of those materials depends on the service and off-normal conditions in whichever of the six candidate systems for Generation IV reactors, under the global Generation IV International Forum (GIF) agreement, they will be applied. This paper gives an overview of the suite of six selected reactor systems indicating where research on materials and structural integrity is still needed. Some of these reactor systems have been under study for many years whereas others are relatively new concepts but all still require a major expenditure of effort before they can be considered as realistic contenders. In particular the materials selection and component integrity for service will play a major role in a final successful design. Specific issues include: the endurance and stability with respect to creep, fatigue and fracture mechanics loading, the need for in situ environmental testing versus pre-exposure of materials and advanced structural-functional materials systems for specific applications. Using examples taken from research projects in which the authors' laboratory has participated, the materials qualification high temperature testing for three crucial components, reactor pressure vessel and piping, gas turbines and heat exchangers is described in some detail. Finally pointers are derived as to not only the scale of the remaining research needs but also the mechanisms which are planned to be followed in Europe, not to mention globally, to obtain the required data and understanding. (orig.)

[en] We have reported a case of localized thymic enlargement and uptake of gallium 67 in a child who had received antineoplastic chemotherapy. The enlarged thymus showed normal histology, a picture consistent with thymic rebound after nonspecific stress. This case further demonstrates the need to consider thymic rebound as a cause of gallium 67 uptake in children with neoplastic diseases

[en] Three European networks on structural integrity aspects of ageing nuclear components are presently managed by the Institute for Advanced Materials of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission: AMES (Ageing Materials Evaluation and Studies), ENIQ (European Network for Inspection Qualification) and NESC (Network for Evaluating Steel Components). All three networks involve actions, which aim at the effectiveness and reliability assessment of NDE techniques and of inspection procedures: Either for materials damage detection and characterisation or for defect detection and evaluation. This paper is describing very generally the objectives of the three networks and is then concentrating on the results obtained in ENIQ, which are relevant with ISI and regulatory issues. (orig./DGE)

[en] Several institutions and electrical utilities in Europe, including the Joint Research Centre (JRC) have the capability to deal problems posed by the operation and ageing of structural components and with their structural integrity assessment. These institutions and the JRC have developed cooperative programmes now organised in networks. They include utilities, engineering companies, R and D laboratories and Regulatory Bodies. Networks are organised and managed like the successful PISC programme: The Institute for Advanced Materials of JRC plays the role of Operating Agent and Manager of these networks: ENIQ, AMES, NESC, each of them dealing with a specific aspect of fitness for purpose of materials in structural components. There exist strong links between the networks and EC Working Groups on Structural Integrity Codes and Standards. (orig.)

[en] The International Network for Evaluating Steel Components (NESC) addresses issues relating to the validation of the entire process of structural integrity assessment. The first NESC Project is providing a unique insight into the relative roles which NDT, material properties, instrumentation measurements, and stress and fracture analyses can make in providing a robust safety case for pressurised thermal shock of a thick reactor pressure vessel of aged material containing defects. NESC I is unique insofar as the NDT and the analyses of stress and fracture have been carried out without exact knowledge of the defects as in the case of the real world. The project reached a major milestone on 20 March 1997 with the completion of the thermal shock test using the AEA Technology Spinning Cylinder facility at Risley. Early indications suggest that crack propagation has occurred in both the sub clad and through clad defects. (author)