Scientific Report 2001 Contact Anne Verledens Public Relations Boeretang 200 B-2400 Mol, Belgium +32 14 33 25 86 (fax 33 25 84) anne. verledens@ sckcen.be Responsible editor ; i Paul Govaerts . * ' Boeretang 200 ,' / B-2400 Mol, Belgium _... \ / Laboratories Boeretang 200 B-2400 Mol, Belgium +32 143321 11 (fax 33 50 21) Registered Office Avenue Herrmann-Debrouxlaan 40-42 B-1160 Brussels, Belgium +32 2 661 19 51 (fax 661 19 58) www.sckcen.be ISSN 1377-9915 To better respect the environment, SCK»CEN prints its annual reports on chlorine-free paper. STUDIECENTRUM VOOR KERNENERGIE CENTRE D'ETUDE DE L'ENERGIE NUCLEA1RE BELGIAN NUCLEAR RESEARCH CENTRE MOL BELGIUM CONTENTS SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2001 INTRODUCTION v ORGANISATIONAL CHART vi ADVISORY COMMITTEES vii MEMBERS OF THE BOARD viii RADIATION PROTECTION 1 s Introduction 2 8 Radiation protection research 4 s Low-level radioactive measurements 17 B Safeguards & physics measurements 20 ® Decision strategy research and policy support 29 ss Education and training 36 »Integration of social sciences in nuclear research 37 RADIOACTIVE WASTE & CLEAN-UP 47 ss Introduction 48 ss Waste and disposal: research & development 49 5 Waste and disposal: demonstration 63 a Nuclear chemistry and services 69 6 Site restoration 73 REACTOR SAFETY 89 si Introduction 90 is Reactor materials research 91 S Fusion reactor materials 111 K Instrumentation 119 H Reactor physics 129 » MYRRH A 137 BR2 147 s Introduction 148 S8 Reactor operation 149 88 R&D programme 151 APPENDIX 157 s Doctoral theses prepared at SCK«CEN 158 $s Best university and college final year theses and awards 163 s$ PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers selection 2001 163 a Scientific output 2001 164 is Organisations and visitors in 2001 165 ;S Index 168 ill INTRODUCTION The present report is edited on the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre. Other publications such as the history brochure: "SCK-CEN1952-2002 " highlight this event. rrihe annex to the Law Gazette of April 19, 1952 reads: "Het doel van het Studiecentrum voor de A Toepassing van de Kernenergie is alle navorsingen met betrekking tot de toepassing van de kernenergie uit te voeren en dergelijke onderzoekingen, met alle middelen te bevorderen en aan te moedigen - Le Centre d'Etudes pour ['application de 1'Energie nucleaire a pour objet de faire toutes recherches relatives aux appli- cations de 1'energie nucleaire, de promouvoir et d'encourager par tous moyens pareilles recherches" or in a free translation: " It is the task of the Research Centre on the Applications of Nuclear Energy to perform all research related to the application of nuclear energy and to promote and foster the like research by all means". Fifty years later, in the annex to the Law Gazette of November 1997, the basic mission is still the same. The bulk of our research concentrates on radiation protection, reactor safety and the back-end of the fuel cycle. The nuclear community from the very beginning addressed human health and societal problems with a pio- neer attention for the precautionary principle. On the one hand generalised public concern on science and technology and on the other hand, the nuclear expert, struggling with society, made perceive the need for a broader more holistic approach to address the social interaction. On initiative of the president of the Board, social sciences are associated to the basic technical nuclear research. This extended the well-established multidisciplinary approach of SCK-CEN. A structured collabo- ration became fully operational in 2001. Projects started on thematic demand from internal departments with interested supply of Belgian universi- ties: a technological aspects of nuclear science and technology in view of sustainability; si ethics and decision making in nuclear waste management a.o. transgenerational ethics and retrievability; socio-psychological aspects and local involvement; S3 law and liability more particular, the need for an optimal preventive approach and an appropriate com- pensation regime for nuclear activities; ss the role of the organisation in safety culture. In parallel a reflection group focussed on ALARA and the precautionary principle within the context of new trends in low dose effects, such as genetic susceptibility while another analyses expert attitudes and behav- iour and dilemmas in nuclear problem solving and communication. The reflections and research projects contribute to bridge in the polarised debate on nuclear in particular and on science and technology in general. SCK»CEN ORGANISATIONAL CHART President of the Board FRANK DECONINCK General Manager PAUL GOVAERTS Advisor Medical Service GILBERT EGGERMONT LUC HOLMSTOCK Quality Assurance Operational Safety PETER VERMAERCKE PASCAL DEBOODT Safety EURIDICE Contracts MARC BUYENS LUDO VEUCHELEN Scientific co-ordinator FRANS MOONS Safeguards & Nuclear Physics Chemistry & Measurements Services ROLAND CARCHON Low-level Site Restoration Radioactive LUC NOYNAERT Measurements CHRISTIAN HURTGEN ERIC VAN WALLE Radiation Instrumentation Protection Research MARC DECRETON HANS VANMARCKE Decision Strategy Research FRANK HARDEMAN VI External advisory committees continuously evaluate the scientific programmes of SCK>CEN. Their members are selected by the board of directors among the academic world and among senior actors of the nuclear com- munity. SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE YVAN BRUYNSERAEDE - CHAIRMAN KULEUVEN FRANK DECONINCK VUB PAUL DEIONGHE SCK-CEN MICHEL GJOT UCL PAUL GOVAERTS SCK-CEN CHRIS HUYSKENS TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN FRANS MOONS SCK-CEN ERNEST MUND VLB ETIENNE VANSANT VIA Departmental Advisory Committees (DAC's) DAC Radioactive waste, DAC Radiation protection and dismantling and radiochemistry site rehabilitation ETIENNE VANSANT - CHAIRMAN UIA CHRIS HUYSKENS - CHAIRMAN TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT EINDHOVEN PETER DE PRETER ONDRAF/NIRAS JEAN FUGER ULG AUGUSTIN JANSSENS EUROPEAN COMMISSION ALEX HERMANNS VUB AUGUSTE PlRON ULB LUC VAN DEN NOORTGATE WTCM/CRIF PATRICK SMEESTERS FANC ANDRE WAMBERSIE UCL DAC Reactor safety, materials and fuels ERNEST MUND - CHAIRMAN ULB WALTER BOGAERTS KULEUVEN WILLIAM D'HAESELEER KULEUVEN BENOIT DE BOECK ASSOCIATION VINCOTTE NUCLEAIRE DIDIER HAAS EUROPEAN COMMISSION HUGO VAN DAM T.U. DELFT - INTERFACULTAIR REACTOR INSTITOUT GEORGES VAN GOETHEM EUROPEAN COMMISSION - DG-RESEARCH CLAUDE VANDENBERG BELGONUCLEAIRE VII SCK-CEN is governed by a board of directors The board has the widest ranging authority to perform all management and disposition actions related to SCK'CEN. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SCK'CEN Vice President President Managing director MICHEL GIOT FRANK DECONINCK CLAUDE TRUFFIN PAUL DIRVEN Membres LEON BINDLER — HENRI BONET — YVAN BRUYNSERAEDE — BART DE MOOR — GEORGES DENEF - JAN HUYLENBROECK LAURENT lACQUET MARK MlCHffiLS RAF SUYS Government commissioners Observers of the trade union Honorary member RENAAT HANSSENS KAREL DIELTJENS BARON ANDRE JAUMOTTE JACKY DEKEYSER JAN MICHIELS REDY DE LEEGE General manager Secretary PAUL GOVAERTS JOSELINE LEROY VIII Radiation Protection MARK Loos RADIATION PROTECTION Introduction European Commission chose SCK-CEN to chair the thematic clusters of all 5th Framework projects in SCK-CEN considers it as a national responsibility to this field, to ensure enhanced coherence and to stim- maintain an active state-of-the-art expertise on each ulate collaboration. aspect of radiation protection from health physics measurements, dosimetry, radiological assessment We support the Belgian authorities by applying sci- and optimisation, radioecology, radiobiology and entific and international knowledge in the practical epidemiology to radiation protection management operation of emergency management and response techniques and policy support. We apply this exper- teams. Therefore, we (and also our partners IRE - tise not only for the own needs of the Centre, but also National Institute of Radioelements and AVN - in interdisciplinary actions in the field of nuclear Association Vingotte Nucleaire), concluded a long- emergency management, for the surveillance of the term convention with the Belgian Ministry of Belgian territory, for the remediation of radioactive- Internal Affairs. This convention is amended with ly contaminated sites, in medical applications and for annexes describing tasks to be performed by the part- the study of the effects of low doses of ionising radi- ners, guaranteeing a better operational level of the ation. Research projects in social sciences deal with Belgian emergency organisation. Various groups in non-technical aspects of radiation protection and SCK«CEN participate in these tasks. nuclear energy. All our research projects are strongly linked with international programmes. Our Radiation protection research International School for Radiological Protection (isRP) is highly significant for the continuous educa- The aim of this research group is to study the effects tion and training programmes on radiological protec- and the impact of radiation on the population. tion. On the biosphere scale, the "impact assessment group" evaluates the radiological impact of radioac- Environmental remediation tive contaminations in the environment. The calcula- tion of the exposure of relevant groups, takes the SCK*CEN's departments work together to cover migration of radionuclides through various compart- most stages of environmental and site remediation. ments and pathways into account. The radioecology We contribute to the problem handling for cases in group performs research