Advancing Fissile Materials Production Modeling with Adaptive Computing Environment and Simulations (ACES)

This chapter clarifies the content and operation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which works to ensure the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It examines the content and status of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, including the concomitant situation in Iran. It also outlines the role of the United Nations (UN) Security Council with respect to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). The chapter talks about the operation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MCTR), which was initiated by like-minded countries in order to address the increasing proliferation of nuclear weapons. It covers the development and use of nuclear weapons and mentions new technologies under development for their delivery.

The article is an attempt to explain the IAEA’s critical role in ensuring global nuclear safety and on the global nuclear governance system. The objective of the Agency’s operation is promotion of the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including the use of energy to produce electricity, along with establishment of a system of safeguards to ensure that the countries do not use the peaceful assistance for military purposes.The aim of the article is to present the principles of the internationalsystem of nuclear safeguards and the role of the IAEA in maintaining nuclear peace and nuclear challenges of non-proliferation regime reform. The duality of nuclear technology (dual use) causes the need of strengthening the competence-control and institutional resources of the IAEA. It is necessary to oblige the Member States to cooperate with the Agency’s inspectors. The Agency should also develop a procedure to standardize the rules, structure, and legal restrictions. In addition the UN Security Council should react faster in the case of non-compliance detection. A separate issue is the internationalization of the fuel cycle.

The history of the WMD control regime began in the early years of the United Nations with the most ambitious plan, the Baruch Plan, to create an international authority responsible for the development and peaceful use of nuclear energy. It would take custody of all fissionable material and technological information essential for producing nuclear weapons. It would also verify the freeze on weapons production and the destruction of existing stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Although the plan was not accepted, it launched a process that broadened the arms control objective to include chemical and biological weapons and classified them all together as weapons of mass destruction, a concept used to distinguish them from conventional weapons. All the proposals that evolved during the first decade were then pulled together to form a comprehensive model for General and Complete Disarmament (GCD). The model was then considered to be unrealistic as a basis for negotiating a convention for phased across-the-board disarmament to be implemented by a single international disarmament and verification organization. However, it established a firm conceptual foundation and an outline of partial or collateral measures that would be separately negotiated as building blocks towards verified disarmament in all areas.

Angela Merkel received her degree in physics from the University of Leipzig and her Ph.D. from the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences, in East Berlin. Since 1990, she has been a member of the German Parliament, and since 1994, she has been the Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety. She is the author of Der Preis des Uberlebens. Gedanken und Gesprache uber zukunftige Aufgaben der Umweltpolitik (Deutsche Verlangsanstalt, Stuttgart, 1997). ![Figure][1] G lobal change is creating enormous challenges for humanity. The world's population is expected to grow from nearly 6 billion today to 8.5 billion by the year 2025. Global energy requirements will continue to increase. The newly industrialized countries of Asia and Latin America are experiencing very rapid economic growth that is bringing modern society's environmental problems, including air and water pollution and waste problems, to wider areas of the globe. The ecological problems caused by human economic activity are worsening and taking on global dimensions. Climate change, ozone-layer depletion, and loss of forest cover are important examples. At the same time, social conditions continue to worsen in many developing countries. It is estimated that more than 1 billion people now live in poverty without sufficient food, adequate educational opportunities, or any possibility of political participation. Although financial and economic markets are becoming more and more interconnected and we like to think in terms of a “global village,” our efforts to enshrine environmental protection and development as the common task and responsibility of all countries have just begun to make headway. The key aim for the 21st century is “sustainable development,” which the international community embraced at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. Sustainable development seeks to reconcile environmental protection and development; it means nothing more than using resources no faster than they can regenerate themselves, and releasing pollutants to no greater extent than natural resources can assimilate them. If we are to move toward sustainable development, the industrialized countries will have to accept special responsibility—not only because of their past ecological sins, but also because of their present technological know-how and financial resources. Yet, one must keep in mind that sustainable production and consumption involve not merely technical progress, but also cultural patterns of individual behavior and values. The German government has chosen the socio-ecological market economy (okologische und soziale Markwirtschaft) as the framework for shaping production and consumption in keeping with sustainable development, while at the same time encouraging innovation in industry and society. The key is to sever the traditional link between economic growth and the consumption of resources, which increasingly threatens the natural basis for life and the preservation of natural and landscape diversity. There are several possible ways to achieve environmental compatibility in lifestyles and economies. Technical and scientific innovations provide excellent prospects for environmental protection. As we approach the end of the 20th century, industrial society is becoming a knowledge-based society. It is vital that we use our growing knowledge and capabilities responsibly, and that we use them in the interest of environmentally appropriate development. Science must play an important role in the pursuit of sustainable development, especially in the following categories: ![Figure][1] Energy use. The key technologies of sustainable development include new energy and propulsion technologies that will help reduce emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Simply to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations at twice their preindustrial levels, we will have to reduce current global greenhouse emissions by over 50%. Germany has set a goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 25% by the year 2005, with respect to the 1990 level. Achieving this goal involves focusing on improved thermal insulation in buildings, on the use of heat/power cogeneration, and on efficient support for the use of renewable energies. Currently the most progress is found in the area of wind energy; in the medium term, the use of solar energy, with photovoltaic technology, will continue to grow in significance. An honest consideration of our options indicates that we cannot afford to discontinue peaceful use of nuclear energy. Closure of substance cycles. Modern microsystems and control technologies are also providing new opportunities to design environmentally friendly production processes. While filter and wastewater-treatment technologies have considerably enhanced air and water quality in recent years, they are never more than the second-best solution, and have been surpassed by integrated environmental technology, that is, technology that optimizes the use of materials and energy. This involves material-efficient, energy-efficient production processes as well as the manufacture of environmentally compatible products, especially those that generate little waste. We have created the necessary framework for this with the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act, which came into force in 1996. Instruments such as eco-audits, which help identify the saving potentials from environmental protection investments, also promote development of such “clean” technologies. Environmentally compatible mobility. Environmentally compatible traffic concepts are a particularly important category for innovation. In Germany, the automobile industry now accounts for about 20% of all industrial investments in research and development. “Three-liter cars” (that is, cars consuming less than 3 liters of gasoline per 100 km), natural-gas engines, electric cars, hydrogen engines, and fuel-cell engines can all play a role in eliminating motor-vehicle emissions. Telematics can enable traffic to move more efficiently. Information and communication technologies can eliminate the need for physical transports in some areas, and computerized logistics in goods transports can reduce total transport distances. Biotechnology. Biotechnology is expected to bring important advances in medical diagnosis and therapy, in solving food problems, in energy saving, in environmentally compatible industrial and agricultural production, and in specially targeted environmental protection projects. Genetically altered microorganisms can break down a wide range of pollutants by being used, for example, in bio-filters and wastewater-treatment facilities, and in the clean-up of polluted sites. Genetically modified organisms can also alleviate environmental burdens by reducing the need for pesticides, fertilizers, and medications. Sustainability, as a strategic aim, involves optimizing the interactions between nature, society, and the economy, in accordance with ecological criteria. Political leaders and scientists alike face the challenge of recognizing interrelationships and interactions between ecological, economic, and social factors and taking account of these factors when seeking solution strategies. To meet this challenge, decision-makers require interdisciplinary approaches and strategies that cut across political lines. Environmental discussions must become more objective, and this includes, especially, debates about the risks of new technologies, which are often ideologically charged. In light of the complex issues involved in sustainable development, we need clearer standards for orienting and assessing our environmental policies. In this context I consider the current work on indicator models as a means to assess and monitor the success of sustainability strategies, to be of great significance. Sustainable development can succeed only if all areas of the political sector, of society, and of science accept the concept and work together to implement it. A common basic understanding of environmental ethics is needed to ensure that protection of the natural foundation of life becomes a major consideration in all political and individual action. A dialogue among representatives of all sectors of society is needed if appropriate environmental policies are to be devised and implemented. In the long term, “progress” works against us if it continues to be detrimental to nature. This realization will find increasing acceptance. Environmental protection will play a central role in the 21st century and will be a major challenge for politicians and scientists alike. [1]: pending:yes

昨今の原子力平和利用と核不拡散の国際情勢には2つの大きな潮流がある。1つは「原子力ルネサンス」と呼ばれる状況, すなわち米国での原子力回帰, 欧州での脱原子力政策の見直しやアジアの原子力利用拡大等であり, もう1つは北朝鮮の核実験実施, イランの核開発問題, カーン博士の「核の闇市場」, そして核テロの現実化等の核拡散の懸念が一層深刻化していることである。

An international regime may broadly consist of a ‘set of purposes, norms, rules and procedures’, which are intended to affect, channel, contain and shape patterns of behaviour. Such a “‘regime is cither a conscious creation’ of actors or at least is recognised and consciously used by them regardless of its manner of creation.”1 The nuclear non-proliferation regime which the Nuclear Weapons States (NWS)—USA, USSR and UK, had sought to establish ever since the 1960s fulfils most of the parameters of the international regime. The germs of the non-proliferation regime can be traced back to the policy of denial and secrecy adopted by the United States and the Soviet Union in the early phases of the development of nuclear energy and technology. The Western Suppliers’ Group (WSG), a precursor of the 1975 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), formed in 1954 at the initiative of the United States, was meant even at that time to control the sales of uranium to prevent the spread of nuclear capabilities. The WSG consisted of South Africa, Britain, Canada, France, Belgium, Australia and the United States. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which was established in 1957 with the concurrence and explicit support of the Soviet Union, was on the one hand meant to provide the peaceful use of nuclear energy and on the other to create an international safeguards system to check and control the diversion of nuclear materials for non-peaceful purposes. Over the years the IAEA with all its safeguard measures has emerged as the key component and instrument of the international non-proliferation regime.

Peaceful use of nuclear energy and the problem of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons

Since 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expanded its role in nuclear security. While it was only intended to focus on promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy in line with safeguards implementation to prevent nuclear proliferation, its mandate has, in time, evolved to address the emerging threats to nuclear technology, i.e., nuclear terrorism and illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. In this historical perspective, the article analyses the development of the IAEA's nuclear security framework. Over time, there have been key points, such as the need for physical protection in the 1970s and the establishment of comprehensive security measures after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Currently, the IAEA's nuclear security program consists of guidance, training, and international cooperation efforts, which are only available upon the request of Member States. More recently, it has expanded its nuclear security efforts to provide technical assistance and monitor nuclear safety and security in conflict zones. However, this expansion has not been easy for the IAEA as it has challenges such as funding limitations and the tension between national sovereignty and international oversight. Ultimately, the IAEA's nuclear security role as the global platform shows its critical importance in enhancing international efforts to mitigate nuclear security threats. However, while the IAEA has made important progress in nuclear security, structural and political limitations constrain its effectiveness.

A survey is presented of the transport of nuclear and other radioactive material in Germany. The amount of transport of spent fuel shipments for more than 25 years is gi ven. For example, at present, more shipments are carried out within Germany to the licensed interim storage facilities since the possibility of a direct final storage was introduced into legislation in 1994. Since the transport is the part of the nuclear fuel cycle which brings the fuel into the closest contact with the public, the general protests against the peaceful use of nuclear energy often culminate in activities during the transport of radioactive material, and the paper reports some particular events in this field. The influence of the development of the nuclear industry in Germany on the shipments of radioactive material is also given. One of the provisions in the shipment approval concerning the German atomic energy law for the licence holder is the ‘48-hours-notification’: this means that at least 48 h in advance, special authorities and also the Federal Office for Radiation Protection have to be informed about the transport (e.g. date and time of the shipment, consignor, consignee, type and mass of the material). Thus, much data exists in the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, especially for the transport of nuclear material and also for the transport of other radioactive material with a high amount of radioactivity (large sources). The choice of the mode of transport plays an important role in various aspects with respect to radiation exposure, physical protection, the use of the packagings, and others, The influence of these issues on the mode of transport is investigated.

The German Nuclear Society (KTG) is a non-profit scientific technical association with more than 2500 members. KTG strives for the development and dissemination of the stateof-the-art in nuclear science and technology to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and related disciplines. In 2009 the KTG has celebrated its 40 anniversary. The technical work of the KTG members is performed in the framework of currently 9 topical sections, which for instance jointly organize the KTG Annual Meetings, topical meetings devoted to selected subjects and several other activities. In recent years, the topical sections Reactor Safety, Thermal and Fluid Dynamics, as well as Reactor Physics and Computational Methods, have successfully established a series of meetings on “Topical Issues of Reactor Safety Research in Germany”. These meetings represent a forum for authorities, operators, technical support organizations, and vendors. A Technical Programm Committee (TPC) consisting from members of the participating topical sections, is responsible for selecting the issues to be addressed at the meeting. The acceptance and success of this series of meetings is mainly due to the current subjects dealt with. Also this forum offers the chance for a free exchange of opinions outside licensing and supervisory procedures. A balance is presented between survey papers on the background and the state of the art in the related field, specific technical presentations, and outlook papers. The participants are provided with a general overview on the area addressed and with new ideas and impetus for their future work. In order to further promote these kind of meetings the TPC has initiated co-operation with the Independent Journal for Nuclear Engineering, Energy Systems, Radiation and Radiological Protection KERNTECHNIK. For enhanced dissemination of the state-of-the-art, the key papers of the meetings are published in special issues of the journal. The 2010 meeting on “Topical Issues of Reactor Safety Research in Germany” was held at the Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (FZD) on October 7–8 2010. It was hosted by the Institute of Safety Research (IfS) of FZD. The second day of the 2010 meeting was devoted to the ensurance of emergency core cooling (ECC) at PWRs and BWRs during loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) involving the release of thermal insulation material, which may lead to the clogging of the sump or the wet well strainers. The presentations were assigned to three sessions: “Overview and International Situation”, “Experiments and Model Development” and “Ensuring the Emergency Core Cooling for PWRs and BWRs”. A selection of these presentations is published in this special issue of KERNTECHNIK. In 1977, the first precursor of such a strainer clogging event occurred in BWR Gundremmingen (KRB-A), Germany. During an overfeeding transient a safety valve was damaged leading to a LOCA and almost complete release of the thermal insulation material around the break area. Some portions of the released material were collected in front of the strainers. Since KRB-A had an emergency condenser the ECC system was not started. Therefore, no coolant loaded with mineral fibers was sucked in and the fibrous material did neither clog the strainers nor enter the core. Nevertheless, the analysis of the event identified the potential of fiber entry and deposit into the core and its influence on core cooling. Because of the decommissioning of KRB-A the safety case of this event was inadequately assessed and the conclusions drawn were insufficiently distributed nationally, as well as internationally. Further events with release of insulation material and/or the clogging of strainers by mineral wool or other types of material later on occurred, for instance the Swedish NPP Bareback-2 (1992), and the US NPPs Susquehanna-2 (1988), Perry (1993), and Limerick-1 (1995). In German PWRs and BWRs several strainer modifications and backfittings were implemented over the last 10 years. These measures take into account the recommendations of the German Reactor-Safety Commission (RSK) on the robust demonstration of the effectiveness of the ECC during loss-of-coolant accidents involving the release of insulation material or other substances and on the removal of deposits from the PWR strainers by back flushing as required for PWRs in the RSK statements of July 2004 and March 2008. The RSK requirements are based on the following fundamental acceptance criteria:

The success of any new build project is reliant upon all stakeholders — applicants, vendors, contractors and regulatory agencies — being ready to do their part. Over the past several years, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has been working to ensure that it has the appropriate regulatory framework and internal processes in place for the timely and efficient licensing of all types of reactor, regardless of size. This effort has resulted in several new regulatory documents and internal processes including pre-project vendor design reviews. The CNSC’s general nuclear safety objective requires that nuclear facilities be designed and operated in a manner that will protect the health, safety and security of persons and the environment from unreasonable risk, and to implement Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. To achieve this objective, the regulatory approach strikes a balance between pure performance-based regulation and prescriptive-based regulation. By utilizing this approach, CNSC seeks to ensure a regulatory environment exists that encourages innovation within the nuclear industry without compromising the high standards necessary for safety. The CNSC is applying a technology neutral approach as part of its continuing work to update its regulatory framework and achieve clarity of its requirements. A reactor power threshold of approximately 200 MW(th) has been chosen to distinguish between large and small reactors. It is recognized that some Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) will be larger than 200 MW(th), so a graded approach to achieving safety is still possible even though Nuclear Power Plant design and safety requirements will apply. Design requirements for large reactors are established through two main regulatory documents. These are RD-337 Design for New Nuclear Power Plants, and RD-310 Safety Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants. For reactors below 200 MW(th), the CNSC allows additional flexibility in the use of a graded approach to achieving safety in two new regulatory documents: RD-367 Design of Small Reactors and RD-308 Deterministic Safety Analysis for Small Reactors. The CNSC offers a pre-licensing vendor design review as an optional service for reactor facility designs. This review process is intended to provide early identification and resolution of potential regulatory or technical issues in the design process, particularly those that could result in significant changes to the design or analysis. The process aims to increase regulatory certainty and ultimately contribute to public safety. This paper outlines the CNSC’s expectations for applicant and vendor readiness and discusses the process for pre-licensing reviews which allows vendors and applicants to understand their readiness for licensing.

The Hungarian Parliament’s Decision 25/2009 (IV.2.) gave the approval to start preparatory activities for establishing new reactors on-site at Paks Nuclear Power Plant. Furthermore, Hungary ratified a treaty with the Russian Federation, signed in Moscow on January 14, 2014, for cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Through these activities, Hungary has made its commitment to nuclear energy clear. In this article, we attempt to prove that neither the law of the European Union, nor the current national legislation can present obstacles to this decision. At the same time, we will draw upon the circumstances that accompanied the decision-making process. In doing so, we will reveal that by violating the access to information, public participation and integration and precautionary principles, the legitimacy of this decision was needlessly damaged.

The issue of international responsibility arising from nuclear activities is one of the fundamental challenges in international law due to the wide-ranging impacts of nuclear incidents on humans and the environment. Despite advancements in the development of international treaties such as the Vienna and Paris Conventions, these frameworks still suffer from significant limitations and shortcomings, underscoring the need for substantial reforms. This article first examines ambiguities in legal definitions, including the lack of precise definitions for nuclear damage and hazardous activities, and then analyzes the deficiencies in international treaty systems, such as weak enforcement mechanisms and geographical and legal discrepancies between treaties. Furthermore, the conflict between customary rules and international treaties and the imbalance in the distribution of responsibilities between states and nuclear operators are assessed as barriers to the fair implementation of nuclear liability. Solutions such as designing a comprehensive liability system combining civil and criminal responsibility, establishing international compensation funds, strengthening oversight of nuclear activities through transparent and independent mechanisms, and imposing legal sanctions on violators are proposed. The necessity of enhancing international cooperation through strengthening the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and creating comprehensive conventions with robust enforcement mechanisms is also emphasized. The article concludes that reforming international treaties and designing an efficient and comprehensive legal framework not only improves the management of nuclear crises but also enhances global trust in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Energy security has become a defining factor in contemporary international relations, with nuclear energy playing a critical role in long-term diversification strategies. Today, Russia possesses one of the most geographically diversified portfolios of cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The purpose of this study is to identify how Russia influences different regions in the field of energy security through its nuclear projects. The basic research method is content-analysis of the annual reports of Atomenergoprom JSC for 2018–2023, conducted in MAXQDA. More than 1,300 text segments referring to 41 partner countries were coded and grouped into eight regional clusters. Each cluster was further classified by the main areas of cooperation: nuclear projects; nuclear fuel and the fuel cycle; technological innovation; operation and maintenance. The results show that Russia’s nuclear strategy exhibits regional variation. Post-socialist Eastern and Central Europe countries as well as post-Soviet Eastern European countries remain the core of the strategy, ranging from the construction of new power units to the modernization of existing plants. The Middle East and North Africa, as well as South Asia, form the most active clusters with large multi-unit projects that support diversification of the energy mix in Turkey, Egypt, India, and Bangladesh. In East and Southeast Asia, extensive cooperation with China stands out on water-water energetic reactors and fast reactors. In Central Asia, traditional formats of uranium mining are combined with plans for nuclear power plants construction and the deployment of Small modular reactors. Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa represent new directions, focused on research centers, while in Western Europe and North America, after 2022, limited cooperation has shifted to structural competition.

In March 2015, China issued an action plan which described the main objectives of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As part of the BRI, Beijing launched the Digital Silk Road (DSR) in 2015 with a loose mandate. It has since become a significant part of Beijing’s overall BRI strategy, under which China provides aid, political support, and other assistance to recipient states. In June 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the sixth session of the ministerial meeting of the China–Arab States Cooperation Forum. During the meeting, Xi put forward the strategic concept of China–Arab cooperation mode as ‘1 + 2 + 3,’ with the ‘3’ including nuclear energy, aerospace and satellite technology and new energy. The two sides have agreed on the establishment of the China–Arab Centre for Technology Transfer, the construction of training centres for Arabian countries peaceful use of nuclear energy, and research on the use of China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite system in the Arab states. in Tunisia in April 2018. This paper will review the collaboration of China and the Arab states to implement a positive model of technological development and digital connectivity. Further, the ICT development of the Arab states in comparison to China will be investigated to explain changes observed in the countries ICT Exports.