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NEWSLETTER  Nº 1 of 2005
I write this at Chinese New Year, so it is still not too late to
wish all members a Happy New Year!

The Executive Committee of the International Nuclear Energy Academy held a successful meeting in the margins of the Winter Meeting of the American Nuclear Society in Washington on 14 November last. As on other occasions we invited any members of the Academy who happened to be in Washington for the ANS meeting to join the Committee’s deliberations. There were several present, and they made valuable contributions to the discussion. Indeed, this was as a result the most successful meeting of the Academy for some time.

Subscriptions

We discussed the subscription. The Secretary reported that as a result of repeated invoicing a better response had been achieved than hitherto. It was agreed to maintain the existing rates at $150 for those who could claim it back from their employers and $25 for the rest. If anyone wished to make a donation by paying more that was to be encouraged, but it was noted that a payment of above $99 attracted bank charges.

An invoice for the Subscription for 2005 is attached to this Newsletter. Early payment would by appreciated

New INEA Papers

The Secretary introduced a list of possible papers which the INEA might write and publish. He did this in the context of possibly seeking sponsorship for them. This provoked a lively discussion on most subjects and volunteers to take the lead in producing most of the papers. It was agreed to continue to collaborate with the INSC. The discussion did not in practice take the idea of sponsorship much further forward, so if anyone has constructive views on this way of increasing the resources available to the Academy please communicate them to the Chairman or Secretary.

If anyone wishes to take part in the composition of any of the papers listed below, they should either be in touch with the Secretary or with the lead author, whose co-ordinates can be found in the member’s list which is regularly circulated. The papers agreed by the Committee as worth proceeding with were as follows:

  1. Financing new nuclear power stations in the private sector
    – it was clear that in many countries deregulation of the electricity markets meant that governments were likely to leave the building of any new or replacement reactors to the private sector. It was agreed that a review paper should be initiated, and the Secretary volunteered to take the lead.

  2. How can nuclear power contribute to the security of supply?
    It was clear that big nuclear investment would reduce a country’s dependence on imported oil and gas, and would have a calming effect on the volatility of fossil fuel prices. It was agreed this might make an Executive Statement in support of 1 above.

  3. What are the implications of the South African Government’s cautious approval of the "Pebble bed" project? It was agreed that there was a case for a paper.

  4. The need to take a positive view on the application of nuclear power in developing countries.
    Given that most increases in energy use in the next fifty years were likely to be in developing countries the Academy out to take a lead in dealing with the objections which were often heard to promoting the spread of nuclear power there. Mr Aragones volunteered to lead a study group and to draft an Executive Statement.

  5. The implications of the Finnish decision to build an EPR.
    Although the original idea had been to contrast the Finnish decision with the negative policies of some of their neighbours the meeting thought it would be useful to expand the remit to examine how the Finns, Indians and Japanese came to decide to expand their present nuclear commitment. A Review paper seemed required.

  6. The need for a rapid expansion of uranium exploration.
    There had been a number of reports about a coming crunch in the uranium market, which may have been propaganda from the miners, but there had certainly been little exploration for the last twenty years. Julian Steyn volunteered to draft an Executive statement.

  7. The use of existing sites for the construction of new reactors. Although this seemed self-evident it was thought an Executive Statement would be worth while.

  8. A review of progress in decommissioning old sites.
    The establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in the United Kingdom had drawn public attention to the issue of decommissioning. It was agreed that there was a good case for a literature review, and that it would be worth approaching the ANS for assistance.

  9. The environmental impact of widespread use of renewables to counter the threat of climate change.
    The Secretary said this was an aspect which was never discussed.
    Dr Kadak proposed that a paper should be prepared comparing subsidies and investment aid in renewables and in nuclear, on a level basis. He offered to take the lead.

  10. Reform of the non-proliferation treaty.
    This provoked a lively discussion, and it was agreed that the INEA had a duty to blow the whistle on the failures of the NPT, and to suggest ways in which its effectiveness might be renewed. However it was agreed to wait until John Deutsch’s paper was published. (It has since appeared in the journal of the IISS, "Survey".)

Membership Review

The Secretary reported that there was now more exchangebetween himself and the members, but plenty of room for further improvement. He suggested that the implementation of the translation of dormant members into an "Emeritus" list would give room for the recruitment of fresh blood, and was authorised to write to dormant members at the end of the year to achieve it. This has been done.

World Nuclear University project

Bertrand Barre reported that there had been some significant progress. Four secondees were about to join the WNA headquarters staff to jumpstart the administration of the project. They are now already engaged in preparing a six week summer seminar at the National Laboratory in Idaho, to be financed largely by the US department of Energy.

Completed INEA papers

In addition to the topics proposed above the meeting noted that two papers (on Hazardous Radiotoxic Waste, and on Nuclear Installations and Terrorism) had been completed and distributed to all members and to most national nuclear societies. (As a result of representations made at the meeting consideration is being given to a possible revision of the former.) A further outline skeleton draft on Low level radiation was circulated for consideration. Mr Hori said that his INSC paper on The hydrogen economy was now with the printers, and it was agreed that no further action was needed.

Dates for your diary

The next meetings of the Executive committee are likely to take place near the INSC meetings scheduled for 15 May in Seoul and 11 December in Versailles. The first may again be a teleconference due to the difficulty of attracting a decent attendance in Korea.

It was agreed that the next AGM should as in 2004 be held in the margins of the IAEA’s annual General Conference in September in Vienna.

Retirement of the Chairman

Neville Chamberlain formally took his leave from the chair of the Academy after four years service thanking members for their unstinting support during that time. Jorge Spitalnik took over from him as Chairman with effect from 1 January 2005.

Gerald Clark - Secretary INEA
January 2005

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