UK Irradiated Materials Archive Options Study

摘要对于使用NNUF和其他设施对核能进行大量学术和工业研究的人来说，重要的是获得已知来源的中子辐照材料。在反应堆中对样品进行辐照既耗时又昂贵，应该尽可能多地利用现有材料。英国有各种各样的监控和其他样本，由核退役管理局(NDA)、EDF Energy和劳斯莱斯等组织拥有。英国政府的核创新和研究咨询委员会(NIRAB)已将建立可供研究人员访问的精选材料的中央或分布式档案确定为优先事项。该档案是EPSRC NNUF阶段2电话会议青睐投资表中的第二项。尽管由大学、国家核实验室(NNL)、英国原子能管理局(UKAEA)、NDA和其他利益攸关方组成的辐照材料档案小组(IMAG)已经提出了这一概念，但在关键利益攸关方能够决定是否以及如何继续进行之前，还需要进一步的工作。选择范围可能包括将材料留在目前的位置，并建立系统，使个人能够确定可用的材料和谱系，并为他们的研究索取样本，或者将样本从英国的地点带到Sellafield的专用商店(活动较多)和英国AEA的Culham站点(活动较少)。因此，建议分两个阶段推进档案工作。第一阶段是一项备选方案研究，也是本提案的主题。在第一阶段结束时，主要利益攸关方--包括EPSRC、材料所有者和拟议商店的经理--将决定是否继续以及采用哪种选择。第二阶段将需要一个基于第一阶段建立的成本估算的新的资金方案。然而，该方案指出了后者的上限。第一阶段的重要考虑包括：确定哪些材料样本是可用的，哪些是英国研究人员感兴趣的；包括所有权和责任、运输和废物处理在内的后勤问题；以及对档案数据库的要求(S)。对于最后一种选择，一个有吸引力的选择可能是NDA和其他材料拥有者管理自己的数据库，允许用户询问这些数据库并要求样本。UKAEA、NNL和布里斯托尔大学(UOB)建议进行第一阶段，并在征求所有利益攸关方的意见后，为EPSRC及其NNUF管理团队编制一份备选方案评估。这将需要19个月的时间，需要524,000 GB。亨利·罗伊斯先进材料和AWE研究所首席执行官Dame Sue Ion(Nirab第一主席)的信件证实了对这一提议的广泛支持。在起草这项建议时，已经征求了新开发协会的意见，并表示愿意在该项目中进行合作，劳斯莱斯在其支持函中也是如此。美国拥有国家档案馆已经有好几年了，学习它的经验将是这个项目的一部分；爱达荷州国家实验室核科学用户设施主任的一封信确认了档案馆的价值。

SummaryFor a lot of academic and industrial research into nuclear energy, using NNUF and other facilities, it is important that neutron-irradiated material of known provenance is available. Getting samples irradiated in reactors is both time-consuming and expensive, and as much use as possible should be made of existing material. There is a wide range of surveillance and other samples in the UK, owned by organisations like the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), EDF Energy and Rolls-Royce. Establishing either a central or distributed archive of a selection of this material that can be accessed by researchers has been identified as a priority by the UK Government's Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board (NIRAB). The archive is the second item in the table of favoured investments in EPSRC's NNUF Phase 2 call. While the Irradiated Materials Archive Group (IMAG), comprising universities, National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), NDA and other stakeholders, has developed this concept, further work is required before the key stakeholders are in a position to decide if and how to proceed. Options could range from leaving the material where it presently is and having systems that enable individuals to ascertain the material and pedigree available, and request samples for their research, to bringing samples from locations in the UK to dedicated stores at Sellafield (higher activities) and UKAEA's Culham site (low-activity). It is, therefore, proposed that the archive is taken forward in two stages. Stage 1 is an option study and the subject of this proposal. At the end of Stage 1, key stakeholders - including EPSRC, the owners of the material and the managers of proposed stores - would decide whether to proceed and with which option. Stage 2 would require a new proposal for funding based on cost estimates established in Stage 1. However, an upper bound for the latter is indicated in this proposal.Important considerations in Stage 1 include: ascertaining what material samples are available and which are of interest to UK researchers; logistical issues including ownership and liability, transport and waste disposal; and the requirements for the archive database(s). An attractive option for the last of these may be for NDA and other owners of material to manage their own databases in a way that permits users to interrogate these and request samples.UKAEA, NNL and the University of Bristol (UoB) propose to undertake Stage 1 and produce an options appraisal for EPSRC and its NNUF Management Team, having consulted all stakeholders. This would take 19 months and require £524,000.Wide-ranging support for this proposal is confirmed by letters from Dame Sue Ion (first chair of NIRAB), the CEO of the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials and AWE. The NDA has been consulted in the drafting of this proposal and expressed its willingness to collaborate in the project, as has Rolls-Royce in its letter of support. The US has had a national archive for some years and learning from its experience would be part of this project; a letter confirming the value of the archive is from the Director of Nuclear Science User Facilities at Idaho National Laboratory.