International database to collate all nuclear research information?
The Organisation for economic cooperation and development (OECD), along with the nuclear science committee (NSC) from the nuclear energy agency (NEA) are calling for the establishment of international databases containing information on nuclear research. The report, written by six experts from France, Slovenia, Hungary and the USA sees the databases as containing relevant information on reactor physics, shielding and the physics of the fuel cycle in a standard format in computer accessible form. The information would be used on an international basis for the validation of current and new calculational schemes including computer codes and nuclear data libraries, assessing uncertainties, confidence bounds and safety margins and to record measurement methods and techniques. The proposal states that current information is not sufficiently exploited and that 'this wealth of information needs to be preserved in a form more easily exploitable by modern information technology and for use in connection with novel and refined computational models with limitations of the past removed.' The experts believe such a database would be a catalyst leading to further research into more advanced nuclear technology as it would facilitate identification of gaps in current knowledge. The report writers also emphasise that every country with nuclear capabilities is carrying out experiments and that 'reactor physics experimental data represents a massive amount of data that needs to receive full attention now if it is not to be lost'. The passing on of information from the older to the younger generation of researchers is also highlighted as an incentive for such a database. The European Commission was unavailable for comment on the proposal.