Direct Meta-Analyses Reveal Unexpected Microbial Life in the Highly Radioactive Water of an Operating Nuclear Reactor Core.

The pools of nuclear reactor facilities constitute harsh environments for life, bathed with ionizing radiation, filled with demineralized water and containing toxic radioactive elements. The very few studies published to date have explored water pools used to store spent nuclear fuels. Due to access restrictions and strong handling constraints related to the high radioactivity level, nothing is presently known about life in water pools that directly cool nuclear cores.

Fit-for-purpose modelling of radiocaesium soil-to-plant transfer for nuclear emergencies: a review.

Numerous radioecological models have been developed to predict radionuclides transfer from contaminated soils to the food chain, which is an essential step in preparing and responding to nuclear emergencies. However, the lessons learned from applying these models to predict radiocaesium (RCs) soil-to-plant transfer following the Fukushima accident in 2011 renewed interest in RCs transfer modelling. To help guide and prioritise further research in relation to modelling RCs transfer in terrestrial environments, we reviewed existing models focussing on transfer to food crops and animal fodders.

Short-term air pollution exposure decreases lung function: a repeated measures study in healthy adults.

Background: Daily changes in ambient concentrations of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone are associated with increased cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality, with the lungs and their function being a vulnerable target.

Methods: To evaluate the association between daily changes in air pollution and lung function in healthy adults we obtained annual lung function measurements from a routine worker health surveillance program not designed for research purposes. Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC and Peak Expiratory flow (PEF) from a cohort of 2449 employees were associated with daily measurements of PM, NO and ozone at a nearby monitoring station in the North of Belgium.

Derivation of irrigation requirements for radiological impact assessments.

When assessing the radiological impacts of radioactive waste disposal, irrigation using groundwater contaminated with releases from the disposal system is a principal means of crop and soil contamination. In spite of their importance for radiological impact assessments, irrigation data are scarce and often associated with considerable uncertainty for several reasons including limited obligation to measure groundwater abstraction and differences in measuring methodologies. Further uncertainty arises from environmental (e.

The use of μCT and ESEM in the study of the osmosis-induced water uptake by Eurobitum bituminized radioactive waste.

Laboratory water uptake tests are performed at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK•CEN to obtain insight into the hydromechanical behavior of Eurobitum bituminized radioactive waste under geological disposal conditions. Small nonradioactive and radioactive Eurobitum samples are hydrated in restricted swelling conditions (i.e.

Application of EPMA data for the development of the code systems TRANSURANUS and ALEPH.

In the present article, electron probe microanalysis data for Pu and Nd is being used for validating the predictions of the radial power profile in a nuclear fuel rod at an ultrahigh burn-up of 95 and 102 MWd/kgHM. As such the validation of both the new Monte Carlo burn-up code ALEPH and the simpler TUBRNP model of the fuel rod performance code TRANSURANUS has been extended. The analysis of the absolute concentrations and individual isotopes also indicates potential improvements in the predictive capabilities of the simple TUBRNP model, based on the one-group cross sections inferred from the neutron transport calculations in the ALEPH code.

An inquiry of the opinions of the French and Belgian populations as regards risk.

IRSN (France) and SCK-CEN (Belgium), two institutes of research and expertise in radiation protection and nuclear safety, simultaneously organised a very similar public opinion survey in their respective countries in November 2002. The study explores subjects such as: major people's concerns, perception of environmental risks, perception of risks in general, the role of experts in decision making, opinions on nuclear matters and aspects of nuclear emergency preparedness. In each country, more than 1000 citizens representing the general public have been consulted in face-to-face interviews.