An international assembly of government experts in energy, nuclear energy and the environment gathered in Paris to mark the 40th anniversary of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency on September 30, 1998. The theme, "The Contribution of Nuclear Energy Co-operation to a New Global Age," offered an opportunity to consider the role nuclear energy will play in providing electricity. Presentations by such prominent speakers as Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Christian Pierret, the French Secretary of State for Industry; and Ernest J. Moniz, the U.S. Under Secretary for Energy, addressed world energy prospects, nuclear energy and sustainable development, and the role of international cooperation. According to Donald Johnston, Secretary-General of the OECD, "The NEA continues to be a unique forum for pooling the nuclear research efforts of its members, and a center of technical excellence in the nuclear field." In addition, he emphasized the benefit of ". . . closer integration of the NEA in the work of the Organization as a source of technical and policy advice on matters of nuclear energy and for its on-going, efficient co-operative action to keep this source of energy as a safe, environment friendly and cost-effective one in the near term and over the long term."
Feedback from developers and users on issues related to Y2K compatibility of RSICC-distributed codes is welcome and needed! Please contact RSICC via e-mail or post related information on our electronic notebook. If you have concerns about Y2K you may find the information you need at http://www-rsicc.ornl.gov/year2000.html. The following information was supplied by the Code Integration Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
| We are very confident that MCNP execution and tally results will not be affected by year 2000 (Y2K) concerns.
Two-digit dates are used and stored in our code as ASCI strings for problem identification. Dates and timing
information are accessed via Unix and Windows system calls to report quantities of interest (e.g., Figures of
Merit) in the output. Thus we rely on the reliability of these system calls for some non-essential output
information.
A new release of MCNP, version 4C, is expected in calendar year 1999. We plan to test MCNP on PCs and workstations with dates turned ahead to the year 2000 to ensure MCNP Y2K compliance before the release of version 4C. Gregg W. McKinney, Monte Carlo Team Leader |
Barry Parks, U.S. Department of Energy, ER-83/GTN, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874-1290 (barry.parks@oer.doe.gov), sent the following information.
| October 22, 1998
Does your computer program always give the same answers to anyone who uses it? Maybe not. I recently had the unpleasant experience of finding out my computer program wasn't giving reproducible results. The good news is, I was able to figure out why. The bad news is that it wasn't just my program; it's an operating system issue that could affect other programs as well. First, some background. I distribute a computer program called CAP88-PC via the World Wide Web*, which people use to calculate dose from radionuclide emissions to air. The program has two parts, a legacy FORTRAN module which does all of the calculations, and a graphical user interface (GUI) which allows the user to easily set up the input data. The GUI is designed to check for errors and set up a properly formatted input data file for the FORTRAN module. Although CAP88-PC is designed primarily to demonstrate compliance with EPA regulations in the United States, it is widely used around the world for other applications, with about 1200 registered users to date. There are now two versions of CAP88-PC; with v1.0 being written for MS-DOS(tm) and v2.0 for Windows(tm). I got an E-mail recently from someone using the Windows(tm) version of my program in another country, saying he was getting results that didn't seem right. I asked him to E-mail me a copy of the results and promised to take a look. What I found surprised me; the numbers were not only wrong, some of them were flatly impossible (or so I thought). And, I couldn't reproduce them. The only thing I could figure was that the basic input data was getting corrupted somehow before the FORTRAN calculations took place. So, I asked my user to E-mail me a copy of his input data file. I looked it over, and noticed that there were commas everywhere that decimal points were supposed to be. But, my program was designed to write decimal points as periods, not commas. How could this be happening? I hadn't really thought about it before, but in many countries commas are used for decimal points, instead of a period. I experimented with Windows95(tm) and found that there is a Control Panel called 'Regional Settings', which can configure the computer to automatically use commas for decimal points. Apparently, my user's computer was configured to do exactly that. The results were profound, and even worse, the errors were almost invisible to the user. With the computer configured to use commas for decimals, every time my program read or wrote data all of the decimal points were automatically converted to commas, and the numbers were saved to the input files in that format. Interestingly enough, my program did run, although with completely unintended results. The problem is that my program does calculations in FORTRAN, which doesn't interpret commas as decimal points. FORTRAN takes commas as field delimiters. This had the effect of chopping off any numbers to the right of the decimal (comma), and then assigning those leftover numbers to the next variable in the program, instead. For example, say the FORTRAN was supposed to read in values for X and Y, and my input file was supposed to supply values of 1.1 and 9.9 for X and Y, respectively. The 'Regional Settings' configuration would alter the input file to |
Two changes or additions were made to the computer code collection during the month. One code system was extended with an additional hardware version, and one code system was corrected. Feedback from developers and users on issues related to Y2K compatibility of RSICC-distributed codes is welcome and needed! Please contact RSICC via e-mail or post related information on our electronic notebook. Those of you with Y2K questions may find the information you need at http://www-rsicc.ornl.gov/year2000.html
SAIC, McLean, Virginia, contributed a new hardware version of ORNL's Computerized
Radiological Risk Investigation System for assessing atmospheric releases of radionuclides
(CRRIS). The original IBM 3033 version was updated to run in an MS-DOS box on an
IBM-compatible PC under Windows 95/NT. The compiler used for the conversion was Absoft's Fortran 77 for Windows
95/Windows NT V4.2. General comments on the conversion of the code package from the IBM 3033 VS Fortran format as
well as program specific porting issues are included in the package. Overall, the conversion was relatively straightforward
with the use of several extensions provided by the Absoft compiler, including but not limited to UNIX-equivalent routines for
time and date functions, random number generation, and file I/O.
CRRIS consists of eight fully integrated computer codes which calculate environmental transport of atmospheric releases of radionuclides and resulting doses and health risks to individuals or populations. Each code may be used alone for various assessment applications. Because of its modular structure, CRRIS allows assessments to be tailored to the user's needs. Radionuclides are handled by CRRIS either in terms of the released radionuclides or the exposure radionuclides which consist of both the released nuclides and decay products that build up during environmental transport.
| PRIMUS: | Prepares radionuclide ingrowth matrices from user-specified sources. |
| ANEMOS: | Estimates air concentrations and ground deposition rates for nuclides emitted to the atmosphere. |
| SUMIT: | Interpolates and sums multiple ANEMOS results onto a master grid. |
| RETADD-II: | Models long range atmospheric dispersion using a trajectory model with consistent treatment of deposition loss and species growth and decay. |
| DFSOIL: | Calculates dose conversion factors for MLSOIL. |
| MLSOIL: | Estimates effective ground surface concentrations for dose computations. |
| TERRA: | Simulates transport of atmospherically released radionuclides through agriculture. |
| ANDROS: | Computes doses and health effects from atmospheric releases of radionuclides. |
The package is transmitted on CD-ROM as a compressed, self-extracting DOS file which includes Fortran source, executables, data and test cases. References: ORNL/TM-8573 (August 1985), ORNL-5912 (October 1984), ORNL-5913 (November 1986), ORNL-5914 (October 1984), ORNL-5785 (November 1984), ORNL/CSD-99 (August 1984), ORNL-5974 (November 1984), and ORNL-5889 (November 1986). Fortran 77; PC (C00518/PC486/00).
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, contributed a corrected version of this
code system for the radiological assessment for consequence analysis. The Source Term to Dose
model (ST-DOSE) was updated to correct calculation of the cloud shine dose. Modifications were
also made to the user interface so that the Ice Condenser source term options are available for the
Generic PWR, and some materials sites were added to the list of site names. No changes were
made to the DECAY calculator or Field Measurement to Dose model (FM-DOSE). RASCAL,
Version 2.2, estimates reactor source term, atmospheric transport and doses resulting from
radiological emergencies and can be used to assist in making protective action decisions. It includes a "close-in" straight-line
Gaussian plume model that computes doses at distances from 25 to 800 meters.
The recommended minimum configuration is a 386 PC and an EGA (or better) graphics adapter. MS-DOS 5.0 or higher is recommended; it also runs under Windows95. Microsoft compilers were used to compile the Fortran (Version 5) and C (Version 7) sources. Compiling the C source also requires Vermont Creative Software's Vermont Views libraries, used only for data input. The package is transmitted on 3 DS/HD 3.5-in. (1.44 MB) diskettes which include source files, executables, data, help files, and batch jobs in DOS files. References: NUREG/CR-5247 Vol. 1, Rev. 2, Supp. 1 (June 1997), and NUREG/CR-5247 (ORNL-6820) Vol. 1, Rev. 2 (December 1994). Fortran 77, C; PC 386 (C00553/PC386/04).
RSICC attempts to keep its users/contributors advised of conferences, courses, and symposia in the field of radiation protection, transport, and shielding through this section of the newsletter. Should you be involved in the planning/organization of such events, feel free to send your announcements and calls for papers via email to raf@ornl.gov.
The First Latin American Symposium on Nuclear Tracks will be held April 5-9, 1999, in Caracas, Venezuela. The symposium will be devoted to review of the present knowledge of nuclear track science and technology and its applications in physics, health, environmental studies, earth sciences and industry. Participants are encouraged to submit one-page abstracts, even if they might be seen as preliminary results. The list of suggested topics are:
Abstracts with the complementary registration page can be sent in three ways by the February 15, 1999 deadline:
1. By FAX to one the following numbers:
(+58-2) 906-3155 (Laboratorio de Física Nuclear, USB)
(+58-2) 906-3888 (Laboratorio de Física Nuclear, USB)
(+58-2) 605-2188 (Escuela de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, UCV)
2. By E-mail to one of the following addresses:
rmartin@fisica.ciens.ucv.ve
lsajo@usb.ve
asajo@usb.ve
fgutt@pion.ivic.ve
3. Send the abstract either by FAX or E-mail and then proceed with the electronic registration.
Details may be found on the internet at http://fisica.ciens.ucv.ve/~rmartin/1lasont/1lasont.html.
The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has released the program for the 1999 Annual Meeting. The meeting will be held April 7-8, 1999, in Arlington, Virginia. In keeping with its mission to formulate and disseminate information, guidance and recommendations on radiation protection and measurements which represent the consensus of leading scientific thinking, the theme of the meeting is Radiation Protection in Medicine: Contemporary Issues. A summary of the program topics follows:
| General Issues | |
| The Linear-Nonthreshold Dose--
Response Model: A Critical Reappraisal |
Arthur C. Upton Rutgers University |
| Update of Medical Radiation Dosimetry | Keith F. Eckerman Oak Ridge Associated Universities |
| Developmental and Reproductive Risks--Radiological and Nuclear Medicine Procedures During Pregnancy | Robert L. Brent Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children |
| Diagnostic Radiology | Andrew K. Poznanski Session Chair |
| Radiation Protection Issues in Imaging Infants and Children | Andrew K. Poznanski Children's Memorial Hospital |
| Mammography | Lawrence N. Rothenberg Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center |
| New Developments in Computed Tomography | Elliott K. Fishman Johns Hopkins Hospital |
| Patient Dose and Quality Control
in Computed Radiography |
J. Anthony Seibert University of California, Davis |
| Doses in Diagnostic Radiology--How and Why They Vary | Orhan Suleiman Food and Drug Administration |
| Nuclear Medicine | Henry D. Royal Session Chair |
| Therapy with Monoclonal Antibodies | Richard L. Wahl University of Michigan Medical Center |
| Outpatient Radionuclide Therapy | Jeffry A. Siegel Nuclear Physics Enterprises |
| Radiation Risk in the Thyroid | Elaine Ron National Cancer Institute |
| Radiation Oncology/Biology | Sarah S. Donaldson Session Chair |
| 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy | Steven A. Leibel Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center |
| Second Malignancies and Genetic Susceptibility | Eric J. Hall Columbia University |
| Accidents and Lessons Learned | Fred A. Mettler, Jr. University of New Mexico Medical School |
| Twenty-Third Lauriston S. Taylor Lecture Back to Background |
Naomi H. Harley New York University Medical School |
| Interventional Procedures | Jerrold T. Bushberg Session Chair |
| Interventional Neurology | Richard E. Latchaw University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital |
| Vascular and Interventional Radiology--Spectrum of Procedures and Radiation Risks | Helen C. Redman Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas |
| Interventional Cardiology | Bruce D. Lindsay Washington University School of Medicine |
| Perspectives on Risks of Radiation Skin Dose in Fluoroscopy | Louis K. Wagner University of Texas, Houston Medical School |
| Management of Patient Dose During Fluoroscopy | Benjamin R. Archer Baylor College of Medicine |
| High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy in Coronary Artery Restenosis | Ron Waksman Cardiology Research Foundation |
| Policy Issues | Barbara McNeil Session Chair |
| Training of Physicians and Support Staff | Joel E. Gray |
| Irradiation of Human Subjects in Research | Ruth R. Faden Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health |
No registration fee is required, but those wishing to attend should register in advance with the NCRP office (Suite 800, 7910 Woodmond Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814-3095, phone 301-657-2652) or at the meeting reception desk. Additional information about the organization and meeting is available at the following web site: http://www.ncrp.com/.
The Tenth International Symposium on Reactor Dosimetry will be held September 12-17, 1999, in Osaka, Japan. This Symposium is held about every three years to provide a forum for the interchange of state-of-the-art techniques, databases and standardization of radiation metrology. The Symposium will be of value to those involved in reactor dosimetry, including researchers, manufacturers and representatives from industry, utilities and regulatory agencies. The Symposium is jointly sponsored by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the European Working Group on Reactor Dosimetry (EWGRD). It is organized by ASTM Committee E10 on Nuclear Technology and Applications and EWGRD.
The Symposium theme is dosimetry for the assessment of irradiated reactor materials and reactor experiments, featuring
radiation metrology techniques, databases and standardization. Inquiries and requests to be added to the mailing list should be
sent to one of the following:
Dr. David W. Vehar
ASTM Program Secretary
Sandia National Laboratories, MS-1136
P.O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1136, USA
Phone: 505-845-3414, fax: 505-844-0798
email: dwvehar@sandia.gov
Europe, Africa, Asia (other), and Australia:
Dr. Hamid Ait Abderrahim
EWGRD Programme Secretary
SCK/CEN
Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, BELGIUM
Phone: 32-14-332277, fax: 32-14-321529
email: haitabde@sckcen.be
"Half a Century of Radiation Shielding Research and Its Evolution into the Next Era" is the theme for the 9th International Conference on Radiation Shielding to be held October 17-22, 1999, in Tsukuba, Japan. It is sponsored and organized by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute and co-sponsored by the OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency-Nuclear Science Committee (NEA-NSC), Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ), and the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center (RSICC). Participants in the conference explore the scientific, technological and engineering issues associated with radiation shielding in broad nuclear energy systems, accelerator facilities, space and general environments. Detailed information about the conference may be obtained from Yujiro Ikeda, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai Research Establishment, Neutron Science Research Center, Spallation Neutronics Laboratory, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-11 Japan (phone 81-29-282-6074, fax 81-29-282-5709, email ikeda@fnshp.tokai. jaeri.go.jp) or from the web page at http://icrs9.tokai.jaeri.go.jp.
Your attention is directed to the following events of interest.
November 1998
International Symposium on Evolutionary Water-Cooled Reactors, Nov. 30-Dec. 4, 1998, Seoul, Republic of Korea, sponsored by the IAEA. Contact: IAEA, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria (phone 43-1-20600, fax x43-1-20607, email official.mail@iaea.org).
December 1998
Nuclear Decom '98, Dec. 2-3, 1998, London, sponsored by the Inst. of Mechanical Engineers. Contact: Alison Hamlett (phone 44-0171-304-6864, fax 44-0171-222-9881, email a_hamlett@imeche.org.uk).
1998 Meeting of the National Organization of Test, Research, and Training Reactors, Dec. 13-16, 1998, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Contact: John Bernard, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology Nuclear Research Lab (phone 617-253-4202, fax 217-253-7300, email jbernard@mit.edu).
March 1999
1999 Hardened Electronics and Radiation Technology (HEART), March 8-12, 1999, Monterey, California. Contact: Ralph Nadell, Palisades Institute, Suite 1006, 201 Varick St., New York, NY 10014 (phone 212-620-3341, fax 212-620-3379).
April 1999
First Latin American Symposium on Nuclear Tracks and Radiation, April 5-9, 1999, Caracas, Venezuela, Institute for Advanced Studies, Convention Centre. Contact: Professor Laszlo Sajo, Universidad Simon Bolivar, FE-1, Apdo 89000, Caracas, Venezuela, (phone 58-2-906- 3590, fax 58-2-906-3712, email lsajo@fis.usb.ve).
35th Annual Meeting of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Apr. 7-8, 1999, Arlington, Virginia. Contact: NCRP, Suite 800, 7910 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814-3095 (phone 301-657-2652, fax 301-907-8768, email ncrp@ncrp.com).
June 1999
Conference on Radionuclide Metrology and its Application, June 7-11, 1999, Prague. Contact: Pavel Dryák, Czech Metrological Institute, Radiova 1, CZ 102 00 Prague, Czech Republic (phone 420-2-67008244, fax 420-2-67008466, email pdryak@cmi.cz).
September 1999
Tenth International Symposium on Reactor Dosimetry, Sept. 12-17, 1999, in Osaka, Japan. Contact: Dr. David W. Vehar (505-845-3414, fax 505-844-0798, email: dwvehar@sandia.gov) or Dr. Hamid Ait Abderrahim (32-14-332277, fax 32- 14-321529, email haitabde@sckcen.be).
October 1999
Half a Century of Radiation Shielding Research and Its Evolution into the Next Era (ICRS-9), Oct. 17-22, 1999, Tsukuba, Japan, sponsored and organized by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. Contact: Yujiro Ikeda, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai Research Establishment, Neutron Science Research Center, Spallation Neutronics Laboratory, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken 319-11 Japan (phone 81-29-282-6074, fax 81-29-282-5709, email ikeda@fnshp.tokai.jaeri.go.jp, url http://icrs9.tokai.jaeri.go.jp).
The following literature cited has been reviewed and placed in the RSICC Information Storage and Retrieval Information System (SARIS), now searchable on the RSICC web server (http://www-rsicc.ornl.gov/SARIS.html). This early announcement is made as a service to the shielding community. Copies of the literature are not distributed by RSICC. They may generally be obtained from the author or from a documentation center such as the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virginia 22161. For literature listed as available from INIS contact INIS Clearinghouse, International Atomic Energy Agency, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna.
Health Phys., 75, 259-268 . . . Evaluation of the Japanese Health Risks Induced by Global Fallout Tritium. . . . Nishimura, R.; Morisawa, S.; Shimada, Y. . . . September 1998 . . . Mitsubishi, Research Institute, Inc., Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto City, Japan.
Health Phys., 75, 269-277 . . . Three-Parameter Model for Estimating Atmospheric Tritium Dose at the Savannah River Site. . . . Hamby D.M.; Simpkins, A.A. . . . September 1998 . . . University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Aiken, SC.
Health Phys., 75, 278-284 . . . Residual 60Co Activity in Steel Samples Exposed to the Hiroshima Atomic-Bomb Neutrons. . . . Shizuma, K.; Iwatani, K.; Hasai, H.; Oka, T.; Endo, S.; Takada, J.; Hoshi, M.; Fujita, S.; Wataname, T; Imanaka, T. . . . September 1998 . . . Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan; Hiroshima-Denki Institute of Technology, Hiroshima, Japan; Kure University, Kure, Japan; Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan; Research Reactor Inst., Osaka, Japan.
Health Phys., 75, 285-290 . . . Multisphere Neutron Spectra Measurements Near A High Energy Medical Accelerator. . . . Veinot, K.G.; Hertel, N.E.; Brooks, K.W.; Sweezy, J.E. . . . September 1998 . . . Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA; Emory University of Medicine, Atlanta, GA; NPTU-Bettis, Goose Creek, SC.
Medical Phys., 25, 1702-1710 . . . Forward and Adjoint Methods for Radiotherapy Planning. . . . Difilippo, F.C. . . . September 1998 . . . Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.
INDC(NDS)-383 . . . Co-ordination of the Nuclear Reaction Data Centers, Report on an IAEA Advisory Group Meeting, IAEA Headquarters, Vienna (11-15 May 1998). . . . Pronyaev, V.G.; Schwerer, O. eds. . . . July 1998 . . . IAEA Nuclear Data Section, Vienna, Austria.
ORNL/TM-13315 . . . Validation of Scale (SAS2H) Isotopic Predictions for BWR Spent Fuel. . . . Hermann, O.W.; DeHart, M.D. . . . September 1998 . . . Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.
ORNL/TM-13624 . . . ORIGEN-S Decay Data Library and Half-Life Uncertainties. . . . Hermann, O.W.; Daniel, P.R.; Ryman, J.C. . . . September 1998 . . . Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.
