No abstract available

[en] This paper provides guidance in applying the requirements of DOE O 413.3A to Deactivation and Decommissioning (D and D) projects. A list of 41 engineering and design activities relevant to D and D projects was generated. For several activities in this list, examples of the level of development and/or types of deliverables that might be expected at the completion of the conceptual, preliminary and final project design phases described in the Order are provided

[en] Building 247-F at SRS was a roughly 110,000 ft² two-story facility designed and constructed during the height of the cold war naval buildup to provide additional naval nuclear fuel manufacturing capacity in early 1980s. The building layout is shown in Fig. 1. A photograph of the facility is shown in Fig. 2. The manufacturing process employed a wide variety of acids, bases, and other hazardous materials. As the cold war wound down, the need for naval fuel declined. Consequently, the facility was shut down and underwent initial deactivation. All process systems were flushed with water and drained using the existing process drain valves. However, since these drains were not always installed at the lowest point in piping and equipment systems, a significant volume of liquid remained after initial deactivation was completed in 1990. At that time, a non-destructive assay of the process area identified approximately 17 (+/- 100%) kg of uranium held up in equipment and piping

[en] We are used to hear a success company in today's world is not possible unless a continuous improvement is developed. How can we be successful in the nuclear plant? We have to achieve safety for workers, people and environment in the first step, and for the second step availability and reliability for systems and components to avoid failure of components that could reduce availability. The aim is to search for new measures to reach this way. One of the improvements implemented in the plants to improve continuously was mainly Operating Experience activities, which was based in event analysis in the plants, causes identification, and to implement corrective actions. For External Operating Experience the aim was to learn from others to avoid occurrence of events in our plants. This was the lessons learned from Three Mile Island event. This was the learning process implemented so far, to get a continuous improvement. So far, the developed capabilities for process improvement follow the Operating Experience process that could be considered classical and will be revitalized nowadays. (Author)

[en] Even if solving Markovian systems is usual for dependability engineers, the choice of an adequate method to compute these systems is an actual problem for them. The object of this technical note is to contribute to the practician's information by presenting a comparison between the performances of the two most frequently used computation methods: indirect exponentiation and O.D.E. integration approaches. The retained comparison criteria and desired accuracy, computer time and computer storage required are calculated separately, although the two former are often interconnected. The O.D.E. integration method appears to be a good choice in the context of this limited study, but the optimized indirect exponentiation methods are interesting for systems with one hundred or more states--because of their good control of accuracy

[en] Purpose: This research analyzes the maturity of environmental management as well as the degree of to which the Circular Economy has been implemented in Basque SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 17 case studies were carried out in industrial SMEs companies in the Basque Country. Findings: The main results show that companies are limited to complying with the law and in many cases are worried about the image of the company, although they are not committed to environmental issues. There is still a lot to do in SMEs, as they are the companies that face the biggest challenges due to a lack of resources. Originality/value: Circular Economy aims to change a linear economy into promoting sustainability of the economy while also engaging in sustainable environmental protection. This research has focused on small and medium enterprises as they represent a 99% of companies in Europe and they are the ones that have the most difficulty reaching a stage of environmental excellence due to their limited resources.

[en] In the last decade, four platforms on radiation protection issues have been created in Europe: ALLIANCE (radioecology), EURADOS (dosimetry), MELODI (effects of low dose) and NERIS (emergency preparedness and management). The work done in close collaboration within the platforms is contributing to the sustainability of the RTD activities in radiation protection. The platforms have developed Strategic Research Agendas, defining long-term research priorities in their respective disciplines. The ultimate goal is to develop a joint Strategic Research Agenda for radiation protection in Europe

[en] In a circular economy context, agrofood industries have to seek more efficient ways for water and resources management. However, for an efficient management of water and wastewater, different aspects, all of them interrelated, must be taken into account: water-energy nexus, economical costs, potential resource recovery or social and environmental impacts among others. This makes that’s electing the optimum solution for water management in an industry is not a straightforward task. Industrial operators face two main challenges trying to obtain these solutions in their industries. First, to obtain reliable information about water consumptions and qualities at different points of the water network and second, to identify the best solution for water management considering at the same time water quality, energy, costs and possibility of resources recovery. In an industry 4.0 context and considering these two aspects, it´s clear that new tools for acquiring relevant information of the studied water network and simulation tools for decision support for the exploration of different alternatives are presented as very useful tools for finding efficient solutions.

[en] Short communication

[en] A PC-based discrete tomography imaging software system for assaying radioactive waste containers for use in facilities in Mexico has been developed. The software system consists of three modules: (i) for reconstruction transmission tomography, (ii) for reconstruction emission tomography, and (iii) for simulation tomography. The Simulation Module is an interactive computer program that is used to create simulated databases for input to the Reconstruction Modules. These databases may be used in the absence of physical measurements to insure that the tomographic theoretical models are valid and that the coding accurately describes these models. Simulation may also be used to determine the detection limits of the reconstruction methodology. A description of the system, the theory, and a demonstration of the systems capabilities is provided in the paper. The hardware for this system is currently under development