A Systems Analysis Approach to Nuclear Facility Siting

In recent years there has been a growing tendency in science to conduct multi-disciplinary studies of large-scale systems. These studies include the entire spectrum of economic, technological, environmental and societal factors which characterize the complex problems of advanced industrialized societies. One of the more promising ways of addressing these problems is the broad research strategy of applied systems analysis. Basically this is a rational approach to problem-solving which attempts to identify and model interactions between the systems under study and all other systems. This results in a thorough understanding of the system being studied which may then serve as an aid in decision-making. This paper attempts to demonstrate an application of the techniques of systems analysis, which have been successful in solving a variety of problems, to the question of nuclear facility siting

A systems analysis approach to nuclear facility siting

This paper attempts to demonstrate an application of the techniques of systems analysis, which have been successful in solving a variety of problems, to the question of nuclear facility siting. Within the framework of an overall, regional land use plan, a methodology for establishing the acceptability of a combination of site and facility is discussed. The consequences, e.g., the energy produced, thermal and chemical discharges, radioactive releases, aesthetic values, etc., of the site-facility combination are identified and compared with formalized criteria in order to ensure what might be called legal acceptability. Failure of any consequences to satisfy standard requirements results in a feedback channel which works to effect design changes in the facility. When legal acceptability has been assured, the project enters the public sector for consideration. The responses of individuals and of various interested groups to the external attributes of the nuclear facility gradually emerge. The criteria by which interest groups judge technological advances reflect both rational assessment and unconscious motivations. This process operates on individual, group, societal and international levels and may result in two basic feedback loops: one which might act to change regulatory criteria; the other which might influence facility design or site selection. Such reactions and responses on these levels result in a continuing process of confrontation, collaborative interchange and possible resolution in the direction of an acceptable solution. Finally, a Paretian approach to optimizing the site-facility combination is presented for the case where there are several possible combinations of site and facility. A hypothetical example of the latter is given, based upon typical preference functions determined for four interest groups. The article summarizes the research efforts of the Project on Energy systems of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, IIASA, in Laxenburg, Austria, and its joint research project with the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, on risk assessment

Tandem MS analysis of brain clathrin-coated vesicles reveals their critical involvement in synaptic vesicle recycling

Tandem MS has identified 209 proteins of clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) isolated from rat brain. An overwhelming abundance of peptides were assigned to the clathrin coat with a 1:1 stoichiometry observed for clathrin heavy and light chains and a 2:1 stoichiometry of clathrin heavy chain with clathrin adaptor protein heterotetramers. Thirty-two proteins representing many of the known components of synaptic vesicles (SVs) were identified, supporting that a main function for brain CCVs is to recapture SVs after exocytosis. A ratio of vesicle-N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors to target-N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors, similar to that previously detected on SVs, supports a single-step model for SV sorting during CCV-mediated recycling of SVs. The uncovering of eight previously undescribed proteins, four of which have to date been linked to clathrin-mediated trafficking, further attests to the value of the current organelle-based proteomics strategy