ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(78)214
Vol.1978/0072

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(78)214final.
Brussels.26May1978
Proposalfora
COUNCILDECISION
modifying "theCouncilDecision74/642adoptingaresearchand
trainingprogrammefortheEuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunityon
plutoniumrecyclinginlight-waterreactors
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission)
Γ-^? .\ΐ.·1o.ry-v^ r:fv-7H ■'C.
£\-3 sV-«S AC
•"^ *–»»>».v--"-'.'-N- -
COM(78)214final.

COMMUNICATION PROMTHECOMMISSION
TOTHECOUNCIL
Proposaltoextend,byoneyeartheresearchanddevelopment
programmeonplutoniumrecyclinginlight-waterreactors-
indirect-actionprogrammeundertheEURATOMTreaty
On17December1974»aresearchanddevelopment programmeonplutonium
recyclinginlight-waterreactorswasadoptedbytheCouncil.
Thisprogramme,whichwasforadurationoffouryears,expireson
31December1978(OJN°L349/61of28December1974)*
TheCommissionhas,withfavourableopinionoftheAdvisoryCommitteeonPro­
grammeManagement ,undertakenthroughcontractstheprojectsdeemed
meritingaCommunitycontribution withaviewto:
-solvingsomegeneralproblemsassociatedwiththeuseofplutonium ;
againstthisbackground,theCommissionwillin1979 "beinpossession
ofalltheinformation neededforassessingtheeffectsofpluto­
niuminlight-waterreactorsontheenvironment ;
-tobridgesomegapsintheavailablescientificandtechnicalin­
formationonplutoniumrecyclinginlight-waterreactors;againt
thisbackground,theCommissionparticipates invariousstudies
andresearchprojectswithaviewtoadvancing :
a)basicneutronphysicsknowledgeofthehigherisotopesofplu­
toniumandthetransplutonium elements;
b)knowledgeofthestaticanddynamicbehaviouroflight-water
reactorsloadedwithplutoniumfuels;
o)technological knowledgeofplutoniumfuels(participation in
fuelpost-irradiation examinationcampaigns).
Provisionaiaddress:RuedelaLoi200,B-1049Brussels–Telephone7350040/7358040–Telearaphicaddrets:COMSURScusse!?'–
Telex:"21877COMEUB"

Theprogrammeisprogressingsatisfactorily .Ithasgivenriseto
fruitfulcomparative andcollaborative work,includingduringthe
precisespecification oftheprojectsto"beperformed.Ithascarried
outaminimumcostbyfrequentlyusingtheCommunitysystemofdis­
cretionary tenderingonthe.basisofdetailedt-echnicalspecifi­
cations.
Ananalysisoftheprogressoftheprogrammecarriedoutundercon­
tractsissetoutintheAnnex.
ByJune1977»theACFM ■andtheCommissionhadnotfoundanyvalid
reasonsforaprogrammerevision;theCommissionnotifiedthe'Coun­
cilaccordinglyon19September1977inDoc.R/2091/77(ATO96).
Althoughtheinitialresultsfromthisworkarebeginningtobecome
availableandarethesubjectofcommunications (Article13ofthe
EURATOMTreaty)orpublication,someactivities,especiallythose
relatingtopost-irradiation examinations ,willnothavebeencom­
pletedby31December1978andwill,inafairnumberofcases,pro­
ceedduring1979-
Suchastateofaffairsisinherentinthiskindofresearchproject,
whichrequiresworkoverseveralyears,andinthefactthatsome
post-irradiation examinationcontractscanonlybesignedin1978-,
sincetheyrelatetofuelswhichthenuclearpowerstation
operatorsarestillirradiatingintheirreactors.
Incidentally ,themajorityoftheotherfinalresultsofthepro­
grammewillnotbeavailableuntiltheendof1978and.itseems
desirabletoproduceadigest.
Itisforthisrsasonthat,ontheonehand,thestaffofthree
neededtocarryoutthisprogrammeshouldremainsecondedtoit
during1979andthat,ontheotherhand,theAdvisoryCommitteeon
ProgrammeManagementshouldcontinuetooperateoverthesame
period.

-3-
TheCommissionthereforesharestheOpinionsdeliveredbytheAdvisory
CommitteeonProgrammeManagementon16June1977andbytheScien­
tificandTechnicalCommitteeon17February1978thatitwouldbe
isoundpolicytoextendtheprogrammeinprogressbyoneyearand
requeststheCounciltoadopttheDecisionsetoutinAnnex1*

ANNEX I
Proposal ofaCouncil Decision
modifying "theCouncil Decision 74/642
Adopting aresearch andtraining programme fortheEuropean
Atomic Energy Community onplutonium recycling inlight-water
reactors
-(indirect-action nuclear project )
THECOUNCIL OPTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
Having regard totheTreaty establishing theEuropean Atomic
Energy Community ,andinparticular Article ^thereof ;
Having regard tothe proposal from theCommission submitted
after consultation with theScientific andTechnical Committee ;
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEuropean Parliament ;
Having regard totheOpinion oftheEconomic andSocial Committee ;
Whereas theCouncil hasadopted ,bydecision 74/642on17December
1974 ,aresearch andtraining programme fortheEuropean Atomic
Energy Community onplutonium recycling inlight-water reactors
(indirect -actionnuclear project );
Whereas ,taking into account thepresent status ofthework
involved intheprogramme ,theextension ofitsduration by
oneyear would enable thebest advantage tobederived from
theefforts thereunder ;
Whereas ,since itissuitable tomodify theCouncil decision
mentioned before ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :

Article1
Article1ofthedecision74/642ismodifiedasfollows:
"Aprogrammeofresearchandeducationonplutoniumre­
cyclinginlight-waterreactors,assetoutinAnnexesI
andII,shallbeadoptedforaperiodoffiveyears
startingon1January1975"*
Article2
Article2ofthedecision74/642ismodifiedasfollows:
"Fortheimplementation ofthisprogramme,themaximumamount
oftheexpenditure commitmentsshall"be4750000european
unitsofaccountandthemaximumstaffshall"bethreeper­
sons.Theeuropeanunitofaccountshallbeasdefinedin
thefinancialregulationapplicabletothegeneralbudget
oftheEuropeanCommunities #
DoneatBrussels
FortheCouncil
Thepresident

ANNEX2
INFORMATION NOTEONTHEPROGRESS
OPTHEPROGRAMME ON
PLUTONIUM RECYCLINGINLIGHT-WATER REACTORS

-2-
1.Introduction
On17December1974,subjecttoabudgetappropriation of4.5MUC,
includingabout4MUCtofinancethe.projectundercontract,the
Councilapprovedtheprogrammeonplutoniumrecyclinginlight-
waterreactorsputforwardbytheCommission.
Thisprogrammeisaimedatacquiringtheinformation neededfor
theootimumuseofplutoniuminlight-waterreactorsbeforefast
reactorscometoindustrialmaturity.
Itcomprisestwoparts:
a)thefirstisconcernedwithsolvingthegeneralproblems
attendantupontheuseofplutoniumj
b)thesecondisconcernedwithbridgingthegapsinscientific
andtechnicalknowledgeofplutoniumrecyclinginlight-water
reactors.
AnAdvisoryCommitteeonProgrammeManagement (ACPM)wassetup;
itmetthreetimesduringeachoftheyears1975',1976and1977•
Inaddition,theCommissionhasdrawnontheadviceofspecialists
fordetailingtheprogramme;henceitwasthatseveralgroupsof
expertswereformedinthefollowingsectors:
-aspectsrelatingto"theenvironment oftheplutoniumindustry
(transport,fabricationofmixedfuels,radiologicaleffects);
-neutroncalculationcodes(cellandassembly)adaptedtothe
requirements ofplutoniumrecycling ;
-post-irradiationexaminations ofmixedfuels,includingisotopic
analyses;
-controlandsafetyofplutoniiun-fuelled powerstationreactors.

-3-
TheACPMdeliveredthreeOpinions,in197511976and1977respec­
tively;inthelightofthelast-mentioned (seeAnnexA),the
Commission decidednottorevisethetechnicalcontentofthe
programmeandnotifiedtheCouncilaccordingly (COM77-402)-(ATO96).
Cooperation withtheACPMandthevariousgroupsofexpertshas
ensuredaverylargemeasureofconsistencyinthedefinitionof
thevariousprojectsundertaken.
BymakingfrequentuseoftheCommunitysystemofdiscretionary
tenderingonthe"basisofdetailedtechnicalspecifications ,the
Commissionhasensuredoptimumexecutionoftheprogrammeat
thelowestcost*
Thestatusoftheprogrammeattheendof1976wasthesubject
ofapublication (Ref.l).
InSeptember1977»thirty-three contracts,representing afinan­
cialcommitmentof2.35millionU.a.,weresigned,sevencontracts,
representing afinancialcommitmentofabout1.000,000u.a.were
inthecourseofnegotiation ;thelastprojectstobeundertaken
in1978weredetermined.
2.Generalaspectsassociatedwiththeuseofplutonium
Theaimsofthispartoftheprogrammeare,ontheonehand,to
.assessthequantitative useofplutoniumupto1990withtheaid
offorwardstudiesand,ontheotherhand,todefinebetter .
theroleoftheplutoniumindustryagainsttheeconomicandin­
dustrialbackgroundoftheCommunity.Tothisend,andinthelight
oftheprobablesituationintheCommunityin1990-2000,theCom­
missionhasarrangedforasurveytobemadeoftheeffectsof
plutoniumrecyclinginlight-waterreactorsontheenvironment and
hasinitiatedsomepreliminaryresearchprojectstoreducethese
effects.Asumofabout1.000.000u.a.isallocatedtothispart
oftheprogramme.

-4-
2.1Forwardstudyoftheuseofplutonium
Thisstudyhasbeenconstructed bytheCommissionwiththehelp
of,amongstotherthings,informationfurnisheddirectlybythe
membersoftheACPMconcerningthesituationsintheVarious
MemberStates.
Thefirstversion,draftedinDecember1975»wasthesubjectofa
publication (Ref.2).
Anupdatingamendmentofthisstudyisattheprinters'(Ref.3);
itservesasageneralframeworkforthesurveyoftheeffectsof
theplutoniumindustryontheenvironment.
2.2Aspectsrelatingtotheplutoniumindustryenvironment
TheCommission ,assistedbyvariousgroupsofexperts,determined
thetopicstobeconsideredforthepurposeofthesurveyofthe
effectsofplutoniumrecyclingontheenvironment ;thesetopics
werethengroupedintosometwelvesubjectsforspecificstudies.
Thisconcertedworkhasalsoenabledalisttobedrawnupof
researchanddevelopmentsubjectsmeritingprioritytreatment,
withtheaimofreducingtheeffectsoftheuseofplutoniumon
theenvironment .
Thedetailedtechnicalspecifications ofthesestudyorresearch
anddevelopmentsubjectswerethenformulatedandincludedinthe
Communitysystemofdiscretionary tenderingattheendof1976and
thebegiiiningof1977•
Allthecontractsrelatingtothesestudiesorresearchanddevelop­
mentworkweresignedbeforetheendof1977•

-5-
-Theforward ,studies(industrialoutlookattheendofthe
twentiethcentury)coverthefollowingsubjects:
-effectsofplutoniumfuelfabricationplantsontheenvironment
(normalandaccidentoperatingmodes);
-effectsofplutoniumtransportontheenvironment (normaland
accidenttransportconditions);
-differential effectsontheenvironment oflight-waterreactors
burningplutoniumfuelinsteadofuraniumfuel;
-differential effectsontheenvironment ofreprocessing plants
reprocessing irradiatedmixed-oxidefuelsinsteadofirradiated
uraniumoxidefuels;
-overallradiological effectsofplutoniumreccylinginlight-
waterreactorsafterasummaryhasbeenmadeofthemetabolism
andtoxicityofplutoniumandtheactinides.
-Theresearchanddevelopment workwillbefocusedontheimprove­
mentoftheconditiontinderwhichplutoniumisstoredandconveyed#
Thecontractsrelatingtothispartoftheprogrammecoverasum
ofabout1.000.000u.a.
4
Aninformation meetingonalltheseactivities washeldbytheCom­
missionattheendofOctober1977fundertheplutoniumrecycling .
programme,forthebenefitofCommissioncontractors.
TheCommissionwillbeinpossessionoftheresultsofallthese
contractsbytheendof1978orthebeginningof1979andplans
toproduceasummaryofthemduring1979*

-6-
3.Improvement ofscientificandtechnicalknowledgeofplutonium
recyclinginlight-water reactors
Theaimofthissecondpartoftheprogrammeistheadvancement
fothescientificandtechnicalknowledgeneededforindustrial
plutoniumrecyclinginlight-waterreactors.
Asumofabout3.000.000u.a.isallocatedtothispurpose.
3.1Improvement ofknowledgeoftheneutronphysicsofthehigher
isotopesofplutoniumandtransplutonium elements
Thispartoftheprogrammeconsistsoffourprojects:
a)a"bibliographic study,summarizingthestatusofinformation
inregardtotheuseofplutoniuminlight-waterreactors.This
studywascarriedoutbythecompetentCommissiondepartment and
hasbeenpublished(Ref.4)»
b)asensitivitystudycarriedoutatthebeginningof1976under
contract,withtheaimofsettinginpriorityorderthegapsto
bebridgedintheneutronphysicsinformation onthehigher
isotopesofplutonium,americiumandcurium.Thisstudywas
completedandhasbeenthesubjectoftwocommunications (Refs.5)
and6);
c)theexperimentaldetermination ofthecapturecross-sections
oftheisotopesselectedasaresultofStudyb);thisisin
progressandtheresultsaxeexpectedattheendfo1978°r
beginningof1979*
d)variousisofcopicanalysesoftheplutoniumfuelslistedbelow
insection3»4willbackupthefissilematerialneutronbalance
calculations .

-7-
3.2.Comparison oftheneutroncalculation codesadaptedto
light-water reactorsloadedwithplutoniumfuels
Theenquiryintotheusefulness ofcomparingneutroncalculation
codes,initiated bytheCommission inMarch1975,revealedthe
desirability ofsuchacomparison .
Representatives ofthecirclesinterested deputedexpertstothe
Commission inordertospecifyasetofstandardcalculations
(threeplutoniumcellsandonefuelassembly),anexercisetobe
carriedoutonavoluntary andunpaidbasisforthepurposeof
comparingtheresults.
Theresultswereexaminedindepthbytheparticipants during
severaltechnical meetings.
Asummarystudyperformed underanexpertcontracthasenabled
someconclusions tobereached(Ref./7/)*whileallowingeach
participant toseewherehestandsinrelationtotheothers.
Thisworkwillhavesignificant repercuss ionsontheadvancement
oftheinformation onthesubject,sincetheparticipants inthis
coordinated projectrepresenttheprincipalquartersconcerned
intheCommunity.
Thisexercisehasnowbeencompleted.
3.3.Controlandsafetyoflight-water reactorsburningplutonium
fueIs
Anenquiryintoresearchanddevelopment requirements inthisfield
wasinitiatedbytheCommission inApril1976withtheaidofa
questionnaire devisedincooperation withACPMatits1975and
1976meetings.
Havingexaminedtheproposalssubmitted,theCommission adopted,
byagreementwiththeACPMatitsmeetingof15October1976,
1
somefifteenstudiesandresearchprojects.

-8-
Theprogrammeincludesanexperimental partslantedtowardssome
neutronphysicsaspectsofplutoniumfuelassemblies (powerdistri­
bution,reactivitycoefficients )andtowardstheestablishment
ofatritiumbalanceinapressurized-waterreactor,
Asecond,theoretical partisdevotedtoastudyofthecontrol
andsafetyofpiutonium-fueIIedpowerstations,i.e.,static
anddynamicaspectsofthestation,fuelhandlingandstorage
problemsandananalysisofthemaximumcredibleaccident*
Thecontractscoveringthesestudiesandresearchprojectswere
negotiated andsignedduring1977•
Thisworkwillbecarriedoutduringtheyears1977and1978
andearIy1979«
Animportantsummarization taskwillremaintobecarriedout;
atbest,itcouldnotbestarteduntilthesecondhalfof1978
andcontinueinto1979.
3■4■Post-irradiationexaminations andisotopicanalysesofpiu-
toniumfueIs
Theenquiryintotherequirements ofindustryandtheelectricity
producers asregardspost-irradiationexaminations andisotopic
analysesofplutoniumfuels,whichwassetonfootbytheCommis­
sioninMarch1975#arousedagreatdealofinterest;allthe
proposalsreceivedfarexceedthebudgetfundsavailable.
TheCommission examinedtheseproposalswiththehelpofexperts
andadoptedsometwelveprojects.
Threecontracts wereconcludedattheendof1975Itheycover
post-irradiationexaminations ofaplutoniumfuelassemblyirra­
diatedintheBR-3reactor(Ref./W)#post-irradiationexamina­
tionsandisotopicanalysesofaplutoniumfuelassemblyirra-
diatedintheDodewaardpowerstation(Ref./W7)andpost-irra­
diationexaminations offuelpinsfabricated bytheVibrasol
technique(Ref./l0/0.
••■/••«

-9-
Twofurthercontractswereconcludedin1976#theycoverpost-
irradiation examinations andisotopicanalysesoffuelphsirra­
diatedintheGariglianopowerstation(Refs./JiT"anc'Z.^^)
andisotopicanalysesofthethorium/plutoniumelementirra­
diatedintheLingenpowerstation.Duringthefirsthalfof1977
thecontractrelatedtotheverification isotopicanalysis MISsigned.
Anotherprojectcoveringthepost-irradiationexamination of
fuelsirradiated intheDodewaardpowerstationwaspostponed
forayearinordertosubjectthefueltoanadditional one-
yearirradiation .
Inaddition,fivecontractsarebeingdrafted;theycover.post-
irradiation examinations offuelsirradiated,orbeingirradiated,
intheGarigliano,BR-3,SENAandDodewaardreactors.
Theworkunderthesecontractswillforthemostpartbecarried
outduring1979.
Atechnicalinformation meetingheldbytheCommission on15June
1977/attendanceatwhichwasrestrictedtoCommissioncontractors
undertheprogrammeonplutoniumrecyclinginlight-waterreactors,
wastheoccasionforassessingtheworkperformed.Thequality
andinterestoftheexperiments wereacknowledged bytheforty
orsospecialists delegatedbytheirfirmsorbodiestoattend
thismeeting.
Theworkunderthispartoftheprogramme,althoughitwillhave
beencontractedforbeforetheendof1978,willbecarriedout
during1979.
Theexecutionofthisworkwillexceedthefour-year(1975-1978)
periodsetfortheprogramme.
Suchadevelopment isinherentinthiskindofresearchproject
andinthefactthatsomeprojectsrelatetomodernfuelsstill
beingirradiated.
Majorsummarization taskhasstilltobecarriedoutanditcould
onlybeginin1979«
•a•/*m

)
10-
3.5 .Second-generation recycling
Several projects covering second-generation recycling ,putforward
byvarious Community bodies in1975# were judged inagreement with
the ACPM ,tobepremature andmay only beadopted aspart ofa
Iater programme ,mainly because ofthe financial implications *
4.Conc Iusions
The programme isprogressing very well indeed ,fully inline with
the Opinions del ivered bythe ACPM .
Thanks tothe high degree ofcooperation reached within the groups
ofexperts ,avery large measure ofcons istency hasbeen attained
inthe deta iIedqaec ificat ionofthe work tobeundertaken .
Furthermore ,frequent use ofthe Community system ofdiscret ionary
tendering for the execution ofthe work has enabled the Commu­
nity 'sskills tobeexploited rationally *
Nevertheless ,the majority ofthe results ofthe programme will
only beavailable asfrom themiddle of1978 *Major summarization
task has still tobecarried out ;itisfor this reason that
theteam assigned totheprogramme (2A+1B)will berequired
tocontinue atwork during 1979 ifthe maximum advantage isto
bederived from theeffort deployed (seetheACPM Opinion of
16June 1977#setout inAnnex A).
Inconclusion ,ithas appeared tothe Commission and themembers
ofthe ACPM that ,inthe light ofthe work undertaken ,there are
still some further research anddevelopment requirements tobe
satisfied inthe use ofplutonium inthermal reactors *
Anexamination ofthese requirements isproceeding and will form
the subject ofdiscussions bythe ACPM atit3forthcoming meetings *