[en] The study comprised on one hand a nationwide telephone interview (totally 800 interviews) aimed at mapping out the current image of possible host municipalities to a final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel, and on the other hand some group interviews of people of another parish but of interest from the municipalities' point of view. The purpose of these group interviews was the same as that of the telephone interview, i.e. to find out what kind of an impact locating a final disposal facility of spent nuclear fuel in a certain municipality would have on the host municipality's image. Because the groups interviewed were selected on different grounds the results of the interviews are not fully comparable. The most important result of the study is that the current attitude towards a final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel is calm and collected and that the matter is often considered from the standpoint of an outsider. The issue is easily ignored, classified as a matter 'which does not concern me', provided that the facility will not be placed too near one's own home. Among those interviewed the subject seemed not to be of any 'great interest and did not arouse spontaneous feelings for or against'. There are, however, deeply rooted beliefs concerning the facility and quite strong negative and positive attitudes towards it. The facility itself and the associated decision-making procedure arouse many questions, which at present to a large extent are still unexpressed because the subject is considered so remote. It is, however, necessary to give concrete answers to the questions because this makes it possible for people to relate the issue to daily life. It is further important that things arousing fear and doubts also can be discussed because a silence in this respect only emphasizes their importance. The attitude towards the facility is varying. On one hand there are economic and technical factors: the probable economic benefit from it, the obligation to take care of nuclear waste and the advantages of final disposal compared with the present situation. On the other hand there are the fears and doubts: risks involved in the transportation of spent fuel, doubts about the fairness of the decision-making procedure, the risks involved in the operation of the facility and a fear for accidents. Regarding the municipalities' current images the results of the interview show that Eurajoki does not have any distinct profile. About fifty procent of Finns are not able to attach any ideas or characteristics to Eurajoki. About 15% of Finns associate Eurajoki with nuclear power. Kuhmo, on the contrary, has a distinct profile as a place with culture/music, nature and a customer-friendly atmosphere. Loviisa is a town which is spontaneously associated with nuclear power (64%). With a little help also the sea around and the historical background to the town, as well as qualified services and communications were mentioned. Aeaenekoski's image is that of an industrial centre: industry in general, paper and pulp industry in particular, as well as certain famous firms are associated with the town. Also the adverse factors, such as the bad smell from paper and pulp industry, were mentioned. About one-third of Finns cannot associate Aeaenekoski with anything special. (orig.)

[en] This study reviews sediment data obtained from the Baltic Sea from 1995-2003. Recent sediment accumulation rates (SAR) were estimated at 69 stations in the Baltic Sea from 99 sediment cores using concentration peaks of ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu as time markers of the years 1986 and 1963, respectively. SAR values varied widely between 60-6160 g m^-2 yr^-1. The highest SAR values were observed at stations in the northern part of the Bothnian Sea, river estuaries and the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. Generally, the SAR (median) of stations in the Bothnian Sea was two times higher than values in the Gulf of Finland or the Bothnian Bay, and about seven times higher than in the Baltic Proper. A strong correlation was detected between the SAR and total ¹³⁷Cs activities. The usability of estimation methods has been considered and, e.g., unstable sedimentation could limit the use of radionuclides in sediment dating and estimation of the SAR at stations in the Baltic Sea. (orig.)

[en] New developments in nuclear spectroscopy of prompt emission at the target and decay emission at the focal plane of recoil separators are described here. In-beam γ-ray measurements of even-even nuclei in the rotational superheavy region, ^252;254No, have been carried out. These measurements have revealed the properties of the ground state rotational bands. Attempts to measure the properties of odd mass nuclei await the further development of conversion electron spectroscopy , and early results from the SACRED spectrometer used in conjunction with the recoil separator RITU are given here. The future development of sensitive focal plane instruments, to identify decay processes following the radioactive decay of the parent nucleus is also described. (author)

[en] Excited states of the Z=102 nuclide ²⁵⁴No have been studied in the reaction ²⁰⁸Pb(⁴⁸Ca,2n) by means of in-beam γ -ray spectroscopy in combination with recoil gating and recoil decay tagging. A Ge detector array, consisting of four clover detectors, and a gas-filled separator were used. Six γ-ray lines were observed and associated with E2 transitions in the ground state band of ²⁵⁴No, the highest-lying of these being the 16⁺→14⁺ transition. Based on global systematics and the extrapolated 2⁺₁ excitation energy, the value β₂=0.27 ± 0.03 was extracted for the quadrupole deformation. An improved value for the half-life of ²⁵⁴No, T_1/2=(48 ±3)s, was determined. (orig.)

[en] The Baltic Sea was the sea most affected by the Chernobyl accident, because the first radioactive clouds from Chernobyl travelled north and caused high deposition in the Baltic Sea region. The distribution pattern of Chernobyl-derived ¹³⁷Cs in the catchment area of the Baltic Sea was very scattered, with the highest deposition values occurring in the areas surrounding the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. The highest ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in bottom sediments also occurred in these gulfs, but the scattered nature was further emphasized as a consequence of river discharges, sea currents and different sedimentation rates on hard and soft bottoms. The present report contains a revised estimate based on a larger quantity of sediment data than the previous estimates

No abstract available

[en] The JYFL gas-filled recoil separator, RITU, combined with efficient Ge-detector arrays has been employed in in-beam γ-ray studies of very neutron-deficient nuclei close to the Z = 82 shell. Gamma-rays from nuclei produced at the few νb cross-section level have been detected. (author)

[en] Sedimentation rates at 98 stations in several coastal and open sea areas in the Gulf of Finland were determined using ¹³⁷Cs distribution in sediment profiles. The ¹³⁷Cs activities of the sediment cores were measured using direct gamma spectrometric measurements either on board research vessels or at the respective institutes. Relative rates were calculated. The highest activities are found in layers corresponding to the year 1986 from areas mostly affected by the fallout cloud of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. The areal distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in sediments is correlated with that measured on land but the activities and distribution pattern in sea sediments has been modified by drainage from land and secondary transport in the sea

[en] The ground-state yrast band in ¹⁷⁶Hg has been observed up to I 10ℎ by using the recoil decay tagging (RDT) method. The irregularity of this band indicates that the prolate intruder band, seen in the heavier Hg isotopes near the neutron mid-shell, crosses the nearly spherical ground-state band of ¹⁷⁶Hg above I = 6ℎ

[en] High-spin states have been populated in ¹¹⁴₅₄Xe via the ⁵⁸Ni(⁵⁸Ni, 2p) reaction at 210 MeV, using the JUROSPHERE γ-ray spectrometer to record γ-ray coincidences. The known level scheme has been significantly extended and includes two positive-parity and three negative-parity structures. At the highest spins, one of the negative-parity bands becomes yrast and shows the characteristics of a smoothly terminating band. Quadrupole moments for two of the bands at high spin have been estimated through a Doppler-broadened lineshape analysis; the terminating band has a reduced quadrupole moment implying that it is not far from full termination into a noncollective oblate state. Extracted B(E1) strengths are discussed in terms of possible octupole collectivity