EventOutcomes of the STAR network of excellence presented during its final dissemination symposium 2015/06/22
The final dissemination symposium of the
STAR network (Strategy for Allied Radioecology) has been held on June 9,
10 and 11, 2015 in Aix-en-Provence (France). For four years and a half,
this network of excellence, which was launched in February 2011, was
coordinated by the IRSN (Institute for Radiological Protection and
Nuclear Safety) and funded under the European Commission's FP7 (7th
Framework Program). It brought together 11 partners from 10 different
countries, primarily in order to strengthen the science of radioecology
by sharing and mutualising the knowledge, tools, infrastructure and
research efforts of the partners involved.
This symposium has been an opportunity to present the main outcomes of the project, including:
- the
integration of the radioecology community into an ever-evolving
European landscape, including the production of a Strategic Research
Agenda (SRA) dedicated to radioecology;
- the reinforcement and development of radioecology training programs at the European level;
- the implementation of tools to promote data sharing and dissemination, with the creation of a dedicated website;
- the
integration of methods for assessing radiological risk to human health
and the environment, with the production/creation of a new tool
dedicated to integrated risk assessment (CROMERICA);
- an
examination of the adequacy of current environmental radiation
protection criteria in more complex and realistic exposure situations
such as multi-pollutant contexts and chronic low doses of ionising
radiation, along with proposal of endpoints relevant from an ecological
point of view.
A
special session was dedicated to research work carried out in relation
to the Fukushima accident, with discussion sessions enhancing exchanges
between the hundred or so participants operating in research, civil
society, operators, regulators, and international organisations.
A new version of the CRISTAL criticality package is now available
2015/06/08
The
IRSN just delivered a new version of the CRISTAL criticality package,
developed as part of a collaboration with AREVA and the French Atomic
Energy Commission. The CRISTAL package is a calculation tool for
evaluating the risk of criticality (unintentionally starting and
maintaining a nuclear fission chain reaction) in fuel cycle
installations or during the transport of radioactive materials. It
comprises neutronic software (including the MORET Monte Carlo code
developed by the IRSN), a nuclear database, calculation procedures, and a
graphical user interface (the LATEC workbench developed by the IRSN).
Version
2.0 offers new features and improvements upon the previous version that
was made available in 2007, taking into account collected feedback on
previous versions of the CRISTAL package. It boasts improved calculation
models, updated nuclear data, and the latest advances in calculation
software. The LATEC workbench, the new graphical user interface, offers
features that are better than those of the previous CIGALES interface:
- using a unique model, input files for various
CRISTAL calculation routes are automatically generated and the
calculation options best suited to the modeled configurations are
automatically selected
- calculation series are automatically launched for different sets of input parameters
- modeled
configurations are displayed in 3D and data verifications and
modifications are tracked to facilitate sharing for collaborative
projects
Lastly, the validation database for the CRISTAL package has been
increased from 2300 criticality experiments to 3127, so as to meet the
needs expressed by users to the fullest extent possible, validate new
features for the package, and integrate new programs that are currently
available in the literature. To date, more than 2300 experiments out of
the planned 3127 have already been calculated using CRISTAL V2.0. The
resulting discrepancies with regard to the previous version have been
analyzed to verify that the new version yields acceptable discrepancies
between calculations and experimental results and to identify
improvements that should be made.
Notably,
the CRISTAL package was used for the Mirte research program that was
completed last year. The goal of the program was to study how structural
materials that may be used between or around fissile environments
affect criticality risk.
CollaborationsIRSN strengthens its relationship with the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
2015/05/11
The IRSN has just obtained
funding from the NIH (National Institutes of Health), the American
national agency for health and biomedical research, for a one-year pilot
project on the Evaluation of the therapeutic effects of exosomes in the
gastro-intestinal syndrome. The aim of this project is to extend the
research conducted by IRSN's Research laboratory in irradiated healthy
tissue regeneration (LR2I) to new therapeutic approaches based on the
use of stem cells to treat induced by high doses of ionizing radiation.
The NIH is an agency of
the US Government's Department of Health and Human Services and is one
of the world's most prestigious and reputed medical research
institutions. The IRSN's pilot project is part of the CMCR program
(Center for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation), which aims to
promote collaboration between different university institutions to
conduct new research on development of medical countermeasures in the
event of accidental exposure of the civil population. The NIH is
financing the pilot project, which will be conducted in association with
a team from the department of oncology from Albert Einstein College of
Medicine, New York. In obtaining this funding, the IRSN strengthens its
relations in international research, with the NIH and more broadly with
the USA.
EventMajor IRSN presence at ICAPP 2015 2015/04/29
From 3 to 6 May in Nice, France,
the IRSN will be participating in the 2015 International Congress on
Advances in nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP), organized by
the
Société française d'énergie nucléaire and sponsored by the American
Nuclear Society, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, and the Korean
Nuclear Society. Reflecting the debate under way, especially in France,
on the future of energy production, this year’s theme is ‘Nuclear
Innovations for a Low-Carbon Future’.
The
IRSN will play a major role in the conference, where events will be
organized into ten distinct tracks. The institute’s representatives will
be presiding over several technical discussions on facility safety
assessment and regulations (Track 5, which the IRSN is in charge of
coordinating) and fourth-generation reactors (Track 3), and they will be
presenting nineteen papers in six of the ten tracks.
ICAPP
2015 will address breakthroughs in nuclear facility and reactor design,
the fuel cycle, and extended applications of nuclear energy, including
cogeneration, transport, and the industrial sector.
Registration is still open.
Publication
The 7th issue of Aktis, IRSN’s scientific newsletter, is available
2015/04/15
The seventh English-language issue of Aktis, the quarterly newsletter
on IRSN’s research, is available on a HTML and PDF package. Aktis is
published only in a digital version and available in HTML or text format
for e-mail, RSS and
a pageflip PDF.
In this issue, focus on advanced modeling
of fuel behavior during reactivity accidents; it also talks about
tritium concentration in marine organisms and about an international
approach to identifiy the root causes of childhood leukemia.
The subscription for the English and French versions is complimentary. To read this issue or subscribe, go to
www.irsn.fr/aktis-EN.
To read the pageflip PDF
The IRSN presents its first "Three minutes thesis" award
2015/04/08
The first IRSN "Three minutes thesis" contest took place during the 2015 edition of the
Journées des thèses (Theses Days), a seminar for IRSN PhD
students. Élodie Mintet, a PhD student at the Research on Radiobiology
and Radiopathology Laboratory (L3R), received the award for her
presentation entitled "Irradiated endothelial cells: a
migratory
population?" about her thesis, "Phenotypic changes in irradiated
endothelial cells: implication of endothelial to mesenchymal cell
transition in the development of healthy tissue injury during radiation
therapy."
Ten volunteer PhD
students participated in the contest, with the following goal: to
summarize three years of thesis work in three minutes in the most
interesting and clear way possible in front of the
Journées des thèses visitors. This was an excellent way for
them to improve their communication skills and to become able to
synthesize their research topics while putting them in perspective. The
winner was elected by a jury composed of members of the public, the IRSN
Strategy Director, and a representative of the Scientific Director.
The IRSN contest, "Three minutes thesis", was inspired by the contest entitled
"Ma thèse en 180 secondes" (MT180, My thesis in 180 seconds)
organized in France by groups of volunteer universities, with support
from the CNRS and the Conference of University Presidents (CPU). The
concept originally came from an Australian university in Queensland,
which created "Three minutes thesis" (3MT) in 2008, an initiative later
replicated in 2012 by the
Association des savoirs francophones (Acfas, Association of Francophone knowledge).
Photo: Élodie Mintet during the contest.
© IRSN
AwardMarc Barrachin receives the IRSN Creativity Award 2015/04/07
Marc Barrachin, a researcher at the Corium
Study and Radioelement Transfer Laboratory (LETR), received the second
IRSN Research Creativity Award on April 1st, 2015. The aim of this award
is to reward innovative research projects which possess a quite high
industrial risk coefficient, referred to as “exploratory” research
projects.
The award was presented at the Exploratory Research Day, which was held during the 2015
Journées des thèses
(Theses Days), a seminar dedicated to IRSN PhD students. It was given
in recognition of the researcher’s BESTAIR project (Beryllium Source
Term due to an Accident in the ITER experimental reactor) which aims at
creating thermal-hydraulic database for the gaseous forms of the
Beryllium-Oxygen-Hydrogen-Tritium system. The goal of the project was to
increase knowledge on the amounts and chemical forms of the berylliated
and tritiated substances which could be released to the environment in
the case of a loss of containment at the ITER’s experimental fusion
facility. The BESTAIR project, conducted in partnership with LETR
post-doctorate student François Virot, relied on a critical analysis of
the existing literature and on theoretical chemistry calculations in
order to fill the knowledge gaps.
The
IRSN’s “exploratory” research instrument is designed to foster the
innovation and creativity of the researchers. It offers them the
opportunity to promote an original idea on a topic which is not covered
in current or planned research programs; a program which gathers great
scientific or societal significance for the Institute and high
industrial risk due to its innovative nature. “Exploratory” projects are
selected by a permanent internal assessment committee made up of
members appointed by the Scientific Director. Each project has a maximum
budget of 150,000 euros for 24 months of research, and is evaluated at
its very end after submission of a final report.
The
award was presented to one of six noteworthy projects selected among
the ones completed in the period 2012-2014. The coordinators of the six
projects were asked to present on them during the Exploratory Research
Day.
In 2012, the first IRSN
Creativity Research Award was attributed to Sabine Charmasson, a
researcher at LERCM (Laboratory for Continental and Marine
Radioecological Studies), for her work on high levels of radioactivity
in organisms living near hydrothermal sources deep in the ocean.
Photo : François Virot and Marc Barrachin (on the right) during Thesis Days. © IRSN
2015/03/31
A
new version of the DRACCAR software has just been finalized. This tool,
used to simulate the behavior of one or more fuel assemblies during
loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), now has new functions (such as
refining the azimuthal meshing of fuel rods and a point neutronic model)
thanks to research carried out at the Institute.
Developed
by the IRSN and cofinanced by EDF, this software sets itself apart from
other similar programs by offering detailed modeling of the
thermo-mechanical effects of contact between fuel rods during a LOCA.
Version 2.2 of the DRACCAR
software has been supplied to EDF as well as the ENEA (the Italian
National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic
Development). It has been validated against 119 tests from sixteen
different experimental in-pile programs, such as CORA 13 (ISP 31),
PHEBUS LOCA, PHEBUS FPT, Halden IFA 650, and out-of-pile tests such as
EDGAR, FEBA and PERICLES.
EventIRSN is organizing an iodine workshop in conjunction with the NEA and European Commission
2015/03/27
In conjunction with the NEA (the OECD's
Nuclear Energy Agency), the European Commission and the NUGENIA/SARNET
network of excellence, the IRSN is organizing an international workshop
focusing on what we know about how iodine behaves during nuclear reactor
accidents. The workshop will take place in Marseille (France) from
March 30 to April 1 2015.
During
the seminar, emphasis will be placed on recent advances made in the
chemical modeling of iodine and ruthenium in the primary circuit and
containment building of a nuclear reactor where there has been an
accident. A major objective will be to consolidate the priorities for
future research programs, particularly upon the conclusion of the STEM,
BIP2 and THAI 2 programs that are being run by the OECD.
This
workshop will bring together over seventy experts from thirty-one
organizations (representing research, safety, technical support and
producers) across fourteen different countries. There will be thirty-one
presentations spread out over six sessions.
EventIRSN co-organizes, under the aegis of the CNRS, the "Deform School' on earthquakes 2015/03/13
In
February, the IRSN helped organize, alongside the CNRS, the CNES, the
IUGG (International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics) and a number of
laboratories (IPGP, Géoazur, Cerege), the "Deform School 2015": a
week-long thematic school on tectonic plates deformation and
earthquakes. This event was designed to match the modeling methods with
the data collected on the ground, in order to help improve the effic
iency
of earthquake assessments. The school was held at the Séolane center in
Barcelonnette, in the southern French Alps, and brought together some
80 students and 30 scientists from around the world.
For one full week, the
doctoral and post-doctoral researchers invited to the event were able to
benefit from the teaching dispensed in the form of lectures, classes
and poster presentations from senior researchers, specialists in
seismology, geomorphology, fault geometry, paleoseismology, rheology,
etc.
As event sponsor, the
IRSN also contributed to the various theoretical and practical taught
elements, in particular by organizing and guiding a geology trip in the
Digne region. The Institute also presented methods for assessing
earthquake hazards, which it is developing for its requirements in
nuclear safety expertise.
Photo: Jean-Claude Hippolyte (Cerege) teaching students. © IRSN
Mermose project: final test campaign
2015/02/13
The
aircraft engine emission reactivity measurement and study project
"Mesure et Etude de la Réactivité des émissions de MOteurS
aEronautiques" (Mermose) has entered its final phase, after a final
series of tests carried out in December 2014. Bringing together
researchers and engineers from the IRSN, CNRS, ONERA and Snecma, the
Mermose project is aimed at achieving a better characterisation of
particulate emissions from aircraft engines (especially soot) to assess
their effect on the climate. This involves the study of the contrails
induced by these particles. Indeed, these trails may evolve into clouds
(cirrus) and contribute to the increase in the cloud cover in
geographical areas where the air corridors are located. The IRSN has
contributed to this project through its specialized knowledge of the
physics and metrology of aerosols, which it acquired about soot within
the context of its research programs on fires.
Two test campaigns were conducted on a Snecma and Onera test
bench, to study the formation conditions of the soot emitted by an
aircraft engine (a Safran turbojet) and the ice that forms at the engine
outlet at cruise altitude, as well as the interactions between this
soot and ice. The purpose of the last series of tests was to study the
functioning of the engine combustion chamber under realistic flight
conditions (temperature and pressure representative of the cruising
altitude). The previous campaign was used to test cruising engine speed
conditions "on the ground" (temperature and pressure on the ground). The
researchers also received the Medal of the French National Air and
Space Academy for this campaign, last November in Toulouse. This medal,
which grants recognition to public figures who have contributed to
progress in the field of Air and Space, was awarded to all of the
participating teams.
The IRSN will participate in the comparison of the test campaigns
and the analysis of the final results, which will take place throughout
2015.
Find out more about Aerosol Physics and Metrology Laboratory (LPMA)
Find out more about Mermose
Find out more about Air and Space Academy
Launching of the second OPERRA call for projects
2015/02/06
The
OPERRA consortium (Open Project for European Radiation Research Area)
published its second call for radiation protection research projects on
the 15th of December. Submissions will be accepted up until the 12th of March 2015, with proposals on four research themes:
- Development of radiological monitoring strategies, processes and tools;
- Spatial and temporal environmental modelling and human dose assessment after a nuclear accident;
- Development of health surveillance procedures;
- Biological
indicators of radiation exposure, effects, health risk and disease
susceptibility to inform emergency management and epidemiological
studies.
This call for proposals was launched under the coordination of
the IRSN and the other 33 partners in the European consortium; it is
based on the identification of 15 research priorities established by a
group of experts and supported by the survey among the scientific
community conducted between the 1st of July and the 15th of September
last year, the results of which were published in Barcelona last October
at the 6th MELODI conference. This call is thus aimed at improving the
cooperation between the four European radiation protection platforms
MELODI (low doses),
ALLIANCE (radioecology),
NERIS (emergency management) and
EURADOS (dosimetry).
The OPERRA project is a four-year project that is aimed at
establishing a coordination and integration structure for European
radiation protection research. The European Commission will delegate the
organisation of future calls for radiation protection research projects
to this structure.
Find out more about the call for projects
Find out more about the OPERRA project
New dissertation in the IRSN’s Authorization to Direct Research (HDR) series
2015/01/20
The
IRSN’s HDR series was enriched with a new Authorization to Direct
Research dissertation by Pascal Bailly du Bois in October 2013. Its
title is "Dispersion des radionucléides dans les mers du nord-ouest de
l’Europe : observations et modélisation". This dissertation presents the
work carried out by Pascal Bailly du Bois at the Cherbourg-Octeville
Radioecology Laboratory (LRC-Oct).
It summarises thirty years of research
on the movement and fate of radionuclides in the seas of North-West
Europe, especially the English Channel, the North Sea, the Celtic Sea
and the Irish Sea. The fields addressed open up research opportunities
in the fields of hydrodynamics, sediment transport and the knowledge of
pollutant transfers within the marine ecosystem. Operational tools may
also benefit from it.
This HDR dissertation is now available
on the website in PDF format, in the Scientific Books Collection, but it
is also possible to order a paper copy.
New appointments to the Scientific Council of the IRSN
2015/01/16
The new members of
the IRSN's Scientific Council have been appointed for five years by a
joint order of six ministries (Environment, Research, Health, Defense,
Labor, and Industry), issued December 29, 2014, and published in the
government gazette on January 3, 2015. In keeping with the terms of its
founding decree, each ministry put forward two members. Below is the
list of the 12 members:
- Mr. Pierre
Toulhoat, scientific director at theNational competence centre for
Industrial Safety and Environmental Protection(INERIS). He has been
assigned the position of president of the Scientific Council.
- Mr.
Jean-Christophe Amabile, chief medical officer and a radiation
protection specialist at the French Armed Forces' Radiation Protection
Department (SPRA).
- Mr. Hugues Delorme, a neutron transport professor at the French School of Military Applications for Atomic Energy (EAMEA).
- Ms. Patsy Thompson, director of environmental assessment and protection at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
- Mr.
Frank Hardeman, director in charge of radiation protection,
environment, and health at the Belgian Nuclear Research Center
(SCK-CEN).
- Mr. Jean-Paul Moatti, university professor and
director of Mixed Research Unit 912, Economic & Social Sciences of
Health and Medical Information Processing (AMU/INSERM/IRD).
- Mr. Guy Frija, doctor and radiology professor at the Paris-Descartes Faculty.
- Mr. Denis Veynante, research director at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
- Mr. Eric Andrieu, professor at the National Polytechnique Institute of Toulouse.
- Mr.
Bernard Bonin, deputy scientific director of the nuclear energy
department within the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy
Commission (CEA).
- Mr. Denis Gambini, medical practitioner and researcher at the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris.
- Mr.
Didier Baptiste, scientific director of the French National Institute
for Research and Safety for the prevention of accidents at work and
occupational illnesses (INRS).
The aim of the IRSN's Scientific Council
is to promote the Institute's scientific excellence by issuing opinions
on its programs and assessing its performance. It can formulate
recommendations about the orientation of the establishment's activities.
Its opinions and recommendations are submitted to the board of
directors and the supervising ministers.
Find out more about the Scientific Council
Official notice of appointment, December 2014 (in French)
The 6th issue of Aktis, IRSN’s scientific newsletter, is available
2015/01/15
The sixth English-language issue of Aktis, the quarterly newsletter on
IRSN’s research, is available on a HTML and PDF package. Aktis is
published only in a digital version and available in HTML or text format
for e-mail, RSS and
a pageflip PDF.
In this issue, focus on new methods for
the treatment of radiological burns.; it also talks about exposure to
radon in certain homes and about studying the explosion of hydrogen and
dust mixtures.
The subscription for the English and French versions is complimentary. To read this issue or subscribe, go to
www.irsn.fr/aktis-EN.
To read the pageflip PDF
2015/01/14
At
the instigation of a group of international experts led by the Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institution*, a new working group (WG) -
Radioactivity in the Ocean: 5 Decades Later (RIO5) - has been created
with the aim of studying the radioactivity of oceans, in depth and on a
global scale. Unique in its scope, RIO5 emerged from meetings between
several experts from major bodies - including the IAEA, Fukushima
University, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the IRSN,
which represents France within the group - following the questions that
were raised after the Fukushima accident concerning the extent of
oceanic contamination. In addition to these questions, which were raised
both by scientists and the general public, the Fukushima accident
prompted renewed interest in observing marine radioactivity on a global
scale, an effort that had been dormant for several years, and
highlighted the clear need to create RIO5.
The
members of RIO5 want to conduct an exhaustive assessment of current
knowledge on marine radioactivity by bringing together the capabilities
of radiochemists and radioecologists from around the globe. The ultimate
objective is to improve the knowledge and understanding of all
audiences (scientists, students, the general public, etc.) about the
presence and fate of natural and artificial radionuclides in marine
systems (oceans and inland seas), as well as to train the next
generation of marine radioactivity specialists.
The RIO5 WG joins existing bodies at a European level, such as research platforms and the
OSPAR Commission
(concerned with protection of the marine environment in the Northeast
Atlantic), by bringing a global dimension to marine radioactivity
research. The WG is comprised of ten permanent members and eight
associate members, some of whom also take part in European platforms and
the OSPAR Commission. RIO5 was formed as part of the Scientific
Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), the main international
nongovernmental organization that promotes and coordinates ocean-related
research activities.
RIO5 aims to implement six main actions, in which the IRSN takes part together with all of the other members:
- Compile as much data as possible about the distribution in all marine environments of natural and artificial radionuclides in
the existing database Maris (IAEA portal), which can be accessed online both by the scientific community and the general public;
- Summarize
and publish synthesis papers on this set of data to help improve
knowledge about oceanic processes and thereby achieve a better
understanding of what happens to contaminants in oceanic environments;
- Identify the shortcomings in scientific knowledge about radioactivity in the marine environment;
- Bring
together academic parties, companies in the nuclear industry, and
national analysis laboratories at an international symposium on
radionuclides in the oceans;
- Provide a set of educational tools
to educate and train the next generation of radiochemists and
radioecologists, as well as to aid the understanding of marine
radioactivity starting from primary school classes;
- Develop web tools to advance the general public's understanding of radioactivity in the oceans.
The IRSN will take part in each of these actions by regularly
interacting with each of the members and helping to organize a RIO5
international conference during the group's third year of existence.
* The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private,
nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study
of all aspects of marine science and engineering and to the education of
marine researchers. Established in 1930, it is the largest independent
oceanographic research institution in the U.S.
