Covariances for the 56Fe radiation damage cross sections

The energy-energy and reaction-reaction covariance matrices were calculated for the n + 56Fe damage cross-sections by Total Monte Carlo method using the TENDL-2013 random files. They were represented in the ENDF-6 format and added to the unperturbed evaluation file. The uncertainties for the spectrum averaged radiation quantities in the representative fission, fusion and spallation facilities were first time assessed as 5–25%. Additional 5 to 20% have to be added to the atom displacement rate uncertainties to account for accuracy of the primary defects simulation in materials. The reaction-reaction correlation were shown to be 1% or less

EASY-II: a system for modelling of n, d, p, {\gamma} and {\alpha} activation and transmutation processes

EASY-II is designed as a functional replacement for the previous European Activation System, EASY-2010. It has extended nuclear data and new software, FISPACT-II, written in object-style Fortran to provide new capabilities for predictions of activation, transmutation, depletion and burnup. The new FISPACT-II code has allowed us to implement many more features in terms of energy range, up to GeV; incident particles: alpha, gamma, proton, deuteron and neutron; and neutron physics: self-shielding effects, temperature dependence, pathways analysis, sensitivity and error estimation using covariance data. These capabilities cover most application needs: nuclear fission and fusion, accelerator physics, isotope production, waste management and many more. In parallel, the maturity of modern general-purpose libraries such as TENDL-2012 encompassing thousands of target nuclides, the evolution of the ENDF format and the capabilities of the latest generation of processing codes PREPRO-2012, NJOY2012 and CALENDF-2010 have allowed the FISPACT-II code to be fed with more robust, complete and appropriate data: cross-sections with covariance, probability tables in the resonance ranges, kerma, dpa, gas and radionuclide production and 24 decay types. All such data for the five most important incident particles are placed in evaluated data files up to an incident energy of 200 MeV. The resulting code and data system, EASY-II, includes many new features and enhancements. It has been extensively tested, and also benefits from the feedback from wide-ranging validation and verification activities performed with its predecessor.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

L’Etat et la profession universitaire en France et en Allemagne

Cet article repose sur une analyse des relations entre la profession universitaire et l'administration de tutelle en France et en Allemagne et de l'autonomie respective des disciplines et des gestionnaires de l'enseignement supérieur. En France, les relations sont fortes et fréquentes entre la tutelle parisienne et certains représentants de la profession universitaire qui influencent les décisions prises à travers de multiples mécanismes (consultations, expertises, groupes de réflexion,...) Dans les trois ministères de Land étudiés en Allemagne, en revanche, les relations avec la profession académique sont rares. Les ajustements entre les disciplines obéissent à des mécanismes plus locaux (sans régulation fédérale) qui contribuent à modifier leur poids relatif au sein de chaque Land. Cette comparaison nous permettra de conclure sur la nature des relations entre la profession universitaire et l'Etat dans les deux pays

SPACERGY:

SPACERGY builds upon the need for planning authorities to develop new models to implement energy transition strategies in the urban environment, departing from the exploitation or reciprocity between space and energy systems. Several policies have been made by each EU nation, but effective and practical tools to guide the urban transformations towards a carbon-neutral future present several challenges. The first challenge is to confront long term changes in envisioning how a specific socio-cultural context can respond to the application of solutions for energy efficiency. Secondly, the engagement of communities in bottom-up approaches mainly includes the sphere of urban planning that underestimates the importance of relating spatial transformations with the energy performances generated in the urban environment. The third challenge regards the tools used for the assessment of the energy performance and the necessity of enlarging the scale in which energy demand is analyzed, from the scale of the building to that of the district. In this context, the project explores the role of mobility, spatial morphologies, infrastructural elements and local community participation in regards to the smart use of local resources. The project addresses a knowledge gap in relation to interactions and synergies between spatial programming, energy and mobility systems planning and stakeholder involvement necessary to improve models of development and governance of urban transformations. Based on detailed spatial morphology and energy use modeling, SPACERGY develops new toolsets and guidelines necessary to advance the implementation of energy-efficient urban districts. New toolsets are tested in three urban areas under development in the cities of Zurich, Almere, and Bergen, acting as living laboratories for real-time research and action in collaboration with local stakeholders. The results of this research project support planners and decision-makers to facilitate the transition of their communities to more efficient, livable and thus prosperous urban environments

Bringing science and pragmatism together a tiered approach for modelling toxicological impacts in LCA

Goal, Scope and Background: The EU 5th framework project OMNIITOX will develop models calculating characterisation factors for assessing the potential toxic impacts of chemicals within the framework of LCA. These models will become accessible through a web-based information system. The key objective of the OMNIITOX project is to increase the coverage of substances by such models. In order to reach this objective, simpler models which need less but available data, will have to be developed while maintaining scientific quality. Methods. Experience within the OMNIITOX project has taught that data availability and quality are crucial issues for calculating characterisation factors. Data availability determines whether calculating characterisation factors is possible at all, whereas data quality determines to what extent the resulting characterisation factors are reliable. Today, there is insufficient knowledge and/or resources to have high data availability as well as high data quality and high model quality at the same time. Results: The OMNIITOX project is developing two inter-related models in order to be able to provide LCA impact assessment characterisation factors for toxic releases for as broad a range of chemicals as possible: 1) A base model representing a state-of-the-art multimedia model and 2) a simple model derived from the base model using statistical tools. Discussion. A preliminary decision tree for using the OMNIITOX information system (IS) is presented. The decision tree aims to illustrate how the OMNIITOX IS can assist an LCA practitioner in finding or deriving characterisation factors for use in life cycle impact assessment of toxic releases. Conclusions and Outlook: Data availability and quality are crucial issues when calculating characterisation factors for the toxicity impact categories. The OMNIITOX project is developing a tiered model approach for this. It is foreseen that a first version of the base model will be ready in late summer of 2004, whereas a first version of the simple base model is expected a few months late

Comparison between three different LCIA methods for aquatic ecotoxicity and a product environmental risk assessment: Insights from a Detergent Case Study within OMNIITOX

Background and Objective: In the OMNIITOX project 11 partners have the common objective to improve environmental management tools for the assessment of (eco)toxicological impacts. The detergent case study aims at: i) comparing three Procter &c Gamble laundry detergent forms (Regular Powder-RP, Compact Powder-CP and Compact Liquid-CL) regarding their potential impacts on aquatic ecotoxicity, ii) providing insights into the differences between various Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods with respect to data needs and results and iii) comparing the results from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with results from an Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA). Material and Methods: The LCIA has been conducted with EDIP97 (chronic aquatic ecotoxicity) [1], USES-LCA (freshwater and marine water aquatic ecotoxicity, sometimes referred to as CML2001) [2, 3] and IMPACT 2002 (covering freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity) [4]. The comparative product ERA is based on the EU Ecolabel approach for detergents [5] and EUSES [6], which is based on the Technical Guidance Document (TGD) of the EU on Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) of chemicals [7]. Apart from the Eco-label approach, all calculations are based on the same set of physico-chemical and toxicological effect data to enable a better comparison of the methodological differences. For the same reason, the system boundaries were kept the same in all cases, focusing on emissions into water at the disposal stage. Results and Discussion: Significant differences between the LCIA methods with respect to data needs and results were identified. Most LCIA methods for freshwater ecotoxicity and the ERA see the compact and regular powders as similar, followed by compact liquid. IMPACT 2002 (for freshwater) suggests the liquid is equally as good as the compact powder, while the regular powder comes out worse by a factor of 2. USES-LCA for marine water shows a very different picture seeing the compact liquid as the clear winner over the powders, with the regular powder the least favourable option. Even the LCIA methods which result in die same product ranking, e.g. EDIP97 chronic aquatic ecotoxicity and USES-LCA freshwater ecotoxicity, significantly differ in terms of most contributing substances. Whereas, according to IMPACT 2002 and USES-LCA marine water, results are entirely dominated by inorganic substances, the other LCIA methods and the ERA assign a key role to surfactants. Deviating results are mainly due to differences in the fate and exposure modelling and, to a lesser extent, to differences in the toxicological effect calculations. Only IMPACT 2002 calculates the effects based on a mean value approach, whereas all other LCIA methods and the ERA tend to prefer a PNEC-based approach. In a comparative context like LCA the OMNIITOX project has taken the decision for a combined mean and PNEC-based approach, as it better represents the ‘average' toxicity while still taking into account more sensitive species. However, the main reason for deviating results remains in the calculation of the residence time of emissions in the water compartments. Conclusion and Outlook: The situation that different LCIA methods result in different answers to the question concerning which detergent type is to be preferred regarding the impact category aquatic ecotoxicity is not satisfactory, unless explicit reasons for the differences are identifiable. This can hamper practical decision support, as LCA practitioners usually will not be in a position to choose the 'right' LCIA method for their specific case. This puts a challenge to the entire OMNIITOX project to develop a method, which finds common ground regarding fate, exposure and effect modelling to overcome the current situa-tion of diverging results and to reflect most realistic condition

Consumption-based material flow indicators - Comparing six ways of calculating the Austrian raw material consumption providing six results

Understanding the environmental implications of consumption and production depends on appropriate monitoring tools. Material flow accounting (MFA) is a method to monitor natural resource use by countries and has been widely used in research and policy. However, the increasing globalization requires the consideration of "embodied" material use of traded products. The indicator raw material consumption (RMC) represents the material use - no matter where in the world it occurs - associated with domestic final demand. It provides a consumption-based perspective complementary to the MFA indicators that have a territorial focus. Several studies on RMC have been presented recently but with diverging results; hence, a better understanding of the underlying differences is needed. This article presents a comparison of Austrian RMC for the year 2007 calculated by six different approaches (3 multi-regional input-output (MRIO) and 3 hybrid life-cycle analysis-IO approaches). Five approaches result in an RMC higher than the domestic material consumption (DMC). One hybrid LCA-IO approach calculates RMC to be lower than DMC. For specific material categories, results diverge by 50% or more. Due to the policy relevance of the RMC and DMC indicators it is paramount that their robustness is enhanced, which needs both data and method harmonization