Nordic Nuclear Safety: Research, Operations and Beyond

Joint NKS-R and NKS-B Seminar, Finlandshuset, Stockholm, 19-20 January 2022 (1st announcement)

NKS proudly announces a new joint NKS-R and NKS-B seminar, which will shed light on the current status in Nordic nuclear safety, and also look at the extent to which scientific problem solutions have been implemented operationally.  In a world of constant changes we have to keep on our toes, and as demonstrated in the past, NKS can quickly address new challenges.  The seminar programme is in the final stages with several international key speakers, including Jacques Lochard (Vice-chair of ICRP), and Roger Coates (President of IRPA).  More detailed information, including possibilities for registration, will follow in the next announcement in September. 

Summary Report from the NKS Board Meeting, Teams, June 8, 2021

NKS-R Call for Proposals 2022

There will be a Call for Proposals for NKS-R programme in the autumn of 2021 for activities beginning January 2022 with an expected budget of at least 3 million DKK. This Call for Proposals will be opened on September 1st with a deadline of October 15th.

NKS-B Call for Proposals 2022

There will be a Call for Proposals for NKS-B programme in the autumn of 2021 for activities beginning January 2022 with an expected budget of at least 3 million DKK. This Call for Proposals will be opened on September 1st with a deadline of October 15th.

Decisions on funding based on proposals received for both the NKS-R and NKS-B Call for Proposals 2022 will be made at the NKS board meeting held in January 2021, with successful applicants notified immediately afterwards.

Upcoming seminars

NKS-B ECOFOOD

ONLINE Workshop: EcoFood - A tool for assessment of radiation exposure in terrestrial environments impacted by airborne releases

7 September 2021: 9-12 am and 8 September 2021: 9-12 am

EcoFood is a software package for modelling the transfer in terrestrial food chains of radionuclides released to the atmosphere during a nuclear or radiological accident. EcoFood implements all FDMT sub-models, which are incorporated in the decision support systems JRODOS and ARGOS.  EcoFood includes some improvements of the FDMT models and some additional models, which have been added for addressing gaps identified during the ECOFOOD project.

In the first session (day 1) of the workshop EcoFood´s main components will be demonstrated: the Simulator, the Model Library, and the Parameter Database. In the second session (day 2) hands-on exercises with EcoFood will be completed. 

Organizer: Rodolfo Avila (AFRY)

Registration: Please register by email to Rodolfo Avila (rodolfo.avila@afry.com).

NKS-B RNSARBOOK

Online workshop 2 in September 2021 and possible work-meeting in August 2021

RNSARBOOK is coordinated by the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre North Norway and counts with the participation of the Icelandic Radiation Safety Authority, the Icelandic Coast Guard, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Denmark, the Danish Emergency Management Agency, the Finnish Border Guard, and Nord University.

The purpose of RNSARBOOK is to create a handbook that will help enhancing search and rescue (SAR) capabilities in the context of radiological and nuclear (RN) incidents by strengthening the preparedness for national and international SAR operations, harmonizing and clarifying the existing procedures. As well as, assisting the radiation authorities’ mandate in providing advice for the SAR-responsible authorities in order to increase the rate of lives saved while decreasing the risks for first responders and damage to the environment.

A potential physical work-meeting is suggested to be held in Denmark in the end of August and is open to the RN expert partners and invited participants. The aim of the workshop is to quality check the radiation contents of the first draft of the handbook prior to the September Project Workshop. In case of travel restrictions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the work-meeting will be held online.

In addition to our previous one-day online project workshop on April 19, a second two-day online project workshop will be held in September. During the first day a table-top exercise (TTX) will be organized were Rescue Coordinators will test the use of the guidelines and Standard Operational Procedures presented in the handbook. The second day will be used to discuss and revise the content of the handbook in light of the experiences from the TTX. The workshop will be open to project partners and invited participants. The exact date of the workshop will be determined by a doodle poll.

Project coordinator:

Øyvind Aas-Hansen (Oyvind.Aas-Hansen@dsa.no) 

NKS-B CRESCENT

Two workshops on credible release scenarios for nuclear-powered vessels operating in Nordic waters

Workshop 1: 5-6 October 2021, Oslo area, Norway

Workshop 2: 23-24 November 2021, Iceland

The purpose of the workshops are to review and update existing information and establish credible scenarios and release pathways for incidents or accidents related to nuclear-powered vessels operating in Nordic waters. The first workshop is related to information gathering on vessels, reactor designs, fuel specifications, past incidents and accidents, and a review of available literature, and will be from noon 5^th of October and the following day. The second workshop is related to discussions on credible release scenarios, and will be from noon 23^rd of November and the following day.

Participation in the workshops are by invitation only.

Workshop organizers:

• Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA), Norway
• Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), Sweden
• The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), Denmark
• Icelandic Radiation Safety Authority (IRSA), Iceland

Project coordinator:

Øyvind Gjølme Selnæs (oyvind.selnaes@dsa.no)

NKS-B GammaRay X

Seminar for users of gamma-ray spectrometry

19-21 October 2021, STUK – Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki, Finland

The Roman numeral X in the acronym refers to the tenth event in the popular series of gamma-ray seminars. This anniversary seminar is relevant to all gamma spectrometry practitioners in the Nordic countries. Especially students and younger scientists are encouraged to attend the seminar. The scope will be broad allowing a range of topics in gamma-ray spectrometry to be addressed from basic to advanced aspects. High-level international experts are invited to give talks on selected topics and challenges in gamma-ray spectrometry.

Detailed information on the seminar is available at the GammaWiki site (http://halla.gr.is/wiki/GammaWiki/index.php/GammaRayX_2021) where you can find a registration form.

Note: Although personal attendance is recommended the organizers of the seminar will arrange remote video connection (MS Teams) if relevant corona restrictions in Finland still exist in October. The link to the registered participants will be sent later. No video connections will be arranged if there are no restrictions. Additional information will be sent in due time.

Project coordinator:

Roy Pöllänen (roy.pollanen@stuk.fi)

NKS-B NUCSEM

Workshop on Use of nuclear weapons towards a Nordic country: Scenarios, impact assessments and protective measures

2-3 November 2021, Oslo, Norway

Several Nordic countries have currently an interest in scenarios related to the use and detonation of nuclear weapons within their borders. In order to coordinate efforts, and exchange knowledge and views in this work, we are arranging a workshop on scenarios, impact assessments and possible protective measures related to the use of nuclear weapons towards a Nordic country.

The workshop will be held in the Oslo area in Norway from noon 2^nd of November and the following day. It will be divided in three parts:

1. Scenarios,
2. Impact assessments and methodologies, and
3. Protective measures.

The workshop will have presentations and discussions on each topic, and key speakers will be invited to the workshop.

Workshop organizers:

• The Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA), Norway
• Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), Finland
• The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), Denmark
• Icelandic Radiation Safety Authority (IRSA), Iceland

Project coordinator:

Øyvind Gjølme Selnæs (oyvind.selnaes@dsa.no)

NKS-B NORDICNANO

SIMS Workshop and User Seminar

22-26 November 2021, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Seminar Venue:

The workshop and seminar will take place at Chalmers Johannberg campus - located in Gothenburg on the west coast in Sweden.

The seminar consists of two parts:

22^nd to 26^th of November: SIMS workshop at Chalmers Johanneberg Campus and the Bioventure Hub, Mölndal (Very limited number of participants)

24^th November: Invited lectures and presentations from participants, a combination of online (zoom) and on-site at Chalmers (Open for all)

Seminar objectives:

The seminar aims to strengthen the education of MSc/PhD students and young scientists and to increase competence of staff involved to explore the application of SIMS techniques for different purposes in nuclear and radiochemistry fields.

The workshop will consist of a theoretical part focusing on SIMS principles and lectures from specialists on correlated techniques like AMS, ICP-MS, gamma and X-ray spectroscopy, electron microscopy. This will be followed by, and second practical part focusing on SIMS training focusing on data acquisition, data mining, data interpretations, isotopic imaging of radionuclides of a few samples along with certified materials or standards to demonstrate the capabilities of the SIMS.

Seminar Organizers:

• Chalmers University of Technology / Göteborg University
• Norwegian University of Life Sciences
• Technical University of Denmark
• Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut
• University of Helsinki

Registration:

Please fill out the registration form:

https://www.chalmers.se/en/researchinfrastructure/chemicalimaging/organisation/Pages/Registration.aspx

Registration deadline 15^th August 2021.  The registration is free. Lunch and light refreshment will be provided. Participants are expected to cover their own travel and subsistence costs.

Contact person:

Per Malmberg (malmper@chalmers.se), +4631-7728321.

NKS Young Scientist Travel Assistance

Updated information that NKS offers travel assistance for young scientists wishing to attend NKS-R and NKS-B events as well as related non-NKS events even outside the Nordic countries - under certain conditions. More information on the conditions and how to apply for travel assistance can be seen on the NKS web site here (http://www.nks.org/en/nksr/travel_assistance/travel_assistance.htm) for NKS-R related events, and here (http://www.nks.org/en/nksb/travel_assistance/travel_assistance.htm) for NKS-B related events.

NKS on LinkedIn

Follow NKS on LinkedIn! Please click on the link below. 

http://www.linkedin.com/company/nks---nordic-nuclear-safety-research/