Covariance Workshop. April 22-23, 1999 Brookhaven National Laboratory

The NCSP is a comprehensive program established to help assure continued safe, efficient operations with fissile materials in the US. The major Tasks included in the NCSP are Critical Experiments, Benchmark Evaluations, Analytical Methods, Applicable Ranges of Bounding Curves and Data (AROBCAD), Information Preservation and Dissemination, Training and Qualification, and Nuclear Data. The Nuclear Data Task provides newly measured differential data and newly evaluated nuclear data for use in analyses of fissile material systems. One feature of the effort to improve the nuclear data for criticality applications is the inclusion of covariance data and sensitivity parameters that then allows the analyst to assess the uncertainty in calculated performance parameters due to uncertainties in the nuclear data. A characteristic of currently available nuclear data libraries is a lack of such covariance information. It was felt that gathering noted experts in the field would help assess the current status and offer guidance to the NCSP Nuclear Data Task on how to proceed in developing covariance information useful for criticality safety analysts. Since many of the experts in the field are in the international community, we scheduled the Workshop to be held just prior to a meeting of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Working Party on Evaluation Cooperation (WPEC). Hence, the Nuclear Data Covariance Workshop, held April 22-23, 1999 at Brookhaven National Laboratory, was able to attract 28 experts from 16 institutes in 8 countries to help assess the status of nuclear data covariance information. The presentations and discussions focused on practical technical matters associated with the generation of covariance matrices, formats for covariance matrices (particularly for evaluated files), mathematical issues related to the manipulation of covariances, and applications for covariance matrices. This publication provides a means of documenting the formal and informal presentations. The chairs of the four sessions also provided a summary of the discussions and exchange of ideas that took place. The meeting provided a rekindling of interest in this important area of work and representatives of the various international cross-section libraries were supportive of the efforts being made in the NCSP to provide evaluated data files with comprehensive covariance information. It is recommended that Workshops of this kind be planned for the future and the additional activities related to nuclear data covariances be included in the program of the NEA/NCS WPEC

Available computer codes and data for radiation transport analysis

The Radiation Shielding Information Center (RSIC), sponsored and supported by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) and the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), is a technical institute serving the radiation transport and shielding community. It acquires, selects, stores, retrieves, evaluates, analyzes, synthesizes, and disseminates information on shielding and ionizing radiation transport. The major activities include: (1) operating a computer-based information system and answering inquiries on radiation analysis, (2) collecting, checking out, packaging, and distributing large computer codes, and evaluated and processed data libraries. The data packages include multigroup coupled neutron-gamma-ray cross sections and kerma coefficients, other nuclear data, and radiation transport benchmark problem results. (auth

The information analysis center concept as developed by the Radiation Shielding Information Center in its computer codes activities

Information analysis center concept and computer codes for calculating radiation transport, and shield design

BUGLE-96: A revised multigroup cross section library for LWR applications based on ENDF/B-VI Release 3

A revised multigroup cross-section library based ON ENDF/B-VI Release 3 has been produced for light water reactor shielding and reactor pressure vessel dosimetry applications. This new broad-group library, which is designated BUGLE-96, represents an improvement over the BUGLE-93 library released in February 1994 and is expected to replace te BUGLE-93 data. The cross-section processing methodology is the same as that used for producing BUGLE-93 and is consistent with ANSI/ANS 6.1.2. As an added feature, cross-section sets having upscatter data for four thermal neutron groups are included in the BUGLE-96 package available from the Radiation Shielding Information Center. The upscattering data should improve the application of this library to the calculation of more accurate thermal fluences, although more computer time will be required. The incorporation of feedback from users has resulted in a data library that addresses a wider spectrum of user needs

VITAMIN E: a multipurpose ENDF/B-V coupled neutron-gamma cross section library

The US Department of Energy Office of Fusion Energy and the Division of Reactor Research and Technology jointly sponsored the development of a coupled fine-group cross section library (VITAMIN-C). The experience gained in the generation, validation, and utilization of the VITAMIN-C library along with its broad range of applicability has led to the request for updating this data set using ENDF/B-V. Additional support in this regard has been provided by the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) and by EPRI in support of weapons analyses and light water reactor shielding and dosimetry problems, respectively. The rationale for developing the multipurpose ENDF/B-V-based VITAMIN-E library is presented, with special emphasis on new models used in the data generation algorithms. The library specifications and testing procedures are also discussed in detail. The distribution of the VITAMIN-E library is currently subject to the same restrictions as the distribution of the ENDF/B-V data. 2 tables

Population awareness of risks related to medicinal product use in Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR: a cross-sectional study for public health improvement in low and middle income countries

BACKGROUND: While essential medicines have been made more available in all but the most remote areas in low and middle income countries (L/MICs) over the past years, inappropriate and incorrect use of good quality medicines remains a key impediment for public health. In addition, as medicines have a potential to cause harm (medicine risks), adequate awareness by medicine users of the risks of adverse reactions is essential, especially as self-medication is common in L/MICs. This study aimed to investigate the awareness of Lao residents regarding medicine risks in Vientiane Capital, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires of 144 residents older than 16 years were carried out in 12 randomly selected villages out of the 146 villages of Vientiane Capital with at least one health facility. RESULTS: The respondents were mainly (85.0 %) the heads of households or their husband/spouse . The majority of the respondents were unaware (61.8 %) of medicine risks. Compared to residents living in the urban district of Xaysetha, living in peri-urban and even more in rural areas were identified as factors associated with being unaware of medicine risks [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) =3.3, 95 % Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.1–9.4]) and aOR =7.5 (95 % CI = 2.3–24.2), respectively]. In addition, more than half of the respondents had never heard of poor quality medicines, with a higher rate in rural/peri-urban compared to urban districts (55.6 % vs 38.9 %, respectively, p = 0.02). Finally, approximately one third of all respondents thought that traditional medicines could not cause harm. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results suggest a lack of awareness about medicinal product risks. Differences according to the place of residence are apparent and could be partly explained by a lower level of training of healthcare providers in contact with the population in the rural districts in particular. Communication on medicinal product risks to patients through well-trained healthcare providers could probably make a valuable contribution towards the appropriate use of medicines in L/MICs

Cross Section Evaluation Group shielding benchmark compilation. Volume II

At the time of the release of ENDF/B-IV in 1974, the Shielding Subcommittee had identified a series of 12 shielding data testing benchmarks (the SDT series). Most were used in the ENDF/B-IV data testing effort. A new concept and series was begun in the interim, the so-called Shielding Benchmark (SB) series. An effort was made to upgrade the SDT series as far as possible and to add new SB benchmarks. In order to be designated in the SB class, both an experiment and analysis must have been performed. The current recommended benchmark for Shielding Data Testing are listed. Until recently, the philosophy has been to include only citations to published references for shielding benchmarks. It is now our intention to provide adequate information in this volume for proper analysis of any new benchmarks added to the collection. These compilations appear in Section II, with the SB5 Fusion Reactor Shielding Benchmark as the first entry