Alain Michel - 2000: A discussion of people's lack of enthusiasm for nuclear energy and the need for emotional presentations to change this. This article points out how fiction influences people - often creating images such as mad scientists that affect real decisions about scientific projects and technology investment. For the nuclear industry this influence has been overhwlmingly negative. A more vigorous presentation of positive aspects of nuclear energy would probably be effective, and it is surprising that the industry leaders have not done this. This leads into a discussion of the general understanding of nuclear fission, and of the steps that could be taken to create fission applications that people like, instead of tolerate. Building new nuclear plants underground instead of in the middle of pristine agricultural land might help, and be well worth the small cost increase. A more confident, realistic, and people oriented approach to gaining public support and even enthusiasm seems to be possible.

UNSCEAR - 2000: Report to the General Assembly, Annex J. The most recent information about Chernobyl from the UNSCEAR 2000 report The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) A full assessment of the Chernobyl accident is included in the UNSCEAR 2000 Report as Annex J "Exposures and effects of the Chernobyl accident". This web article reproduces that annex. The annex is well written and easy to read. But you will need some definitions, such as: t : metric tonne, 1000 kg GWd t-1 : gigawatt days per tonne, the amount of thermal energy produced from each tonne of nuclear reactor fuel PBq : peta becquerel, 10**15 becquerels um : micro meter, one millionth of a meter kBq m-2 : kilo becquerels per square meter MBq m-2 : mega becquerels per square meter Ci km-2 : curies per square kilometer Gy : gray Gy h-1 : grays per hour mSv : milli sieverts A "becquerel" (Bq) of radioactivity occurs if there is one nucleus decay event every second. So kBq indicates one thousand nucleus decay events every second, i.e. one thousand becquerels. MBq indicates one million becquerels. Associating this with a square meter gives a measure of the radioactivity of a land area. A "curie" (Ci) of radioactivity is 37 giga becquerels (GBq), i.e. 37,000,000,000 Bq. A "gray" (Gy) is a measure of an absorbed dose of radioactivity. A "sievert" (Sv) is a measure of a dose equivalent of radioactivity. A milli sievert is one thousandth of a sievert.

Dr. Jeremy Whitlock - 2000 Apr: The CANDU technology can extend fuel use, destroy military plutonium, and reuse spent fuel from other reactors, while producing inexpensive electricity. Canada has developed a significant means for producing electricity with its CANDU reactor, a system that consumes uranium oxide fuel. This fuel does not require enrichment, a complex procedure with militaristic overtones. The CANDU technology includes: pressure tube geometry, simple fuel design, a once-through fuel cycle, and on-line refuelling. These characteristics match the CANDU system to the Canadian industrial and political environment. The CANDU reactor has a high moderator to fuel ratio, and several means to control the fission rate. This allows many different types of fuel to be fissioned: natural uranum, weapons grade plutonium, and even spent fuel from other reactors. Thorium, which is more abundant than uranium, can also be used to fuel a CANDU plant. Given its relatively simpler design, and its versatility, along with its proliferation resistant fuel cycles, the CANDU technology is an ideal choice for extending the use of fission world-wide.