National Atomic Energy Commission Research Articles

Measurements performed in Goiânia after a new intervention action in 2001.

Brazil's worst radiological accident took place in 1987, in the city of Goiânia. In 1999 and 2000, detailed measurements of 137Cs contamination were performed in junkyard II, one of the places involved in the accident. High values of 137Cs activity per unit mass were found in soil layers at depths between 10 and 40 cm from the surface, reaching values as high as 175 kBq x kg(-1). High values of 137Cs concentration in fruits and plants were also observed. Moreover, values of ambient dose equivalent rate at 1 m above the ground were found to be higher than the limit of 1.0 microSv x h(-1) set by the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) in 1987. In February 2000, the CNEN was informed about the results of our measurements. As consequence, in August 2001, the CNEN performed a new intervention action in the area, covering all its extension with a concrete layer and removing some plants and trees. The new remedial action reduced the dose rate to approximately 13% of the value prior to covering the site in concrete, reaching values below the CNEN limit, as demonstrated by the measurements presented here.

Best of intentions: America's campaign against strategic weapons proliferation

Foreword by Jim Woolsey Preface The First Half Century The Baruch Plan Atoms for Peace The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Proliferation Technology Control Regimes Counterproliferation The Next Campaign Appendix I: The Baruch Plan, Presented to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, June 14, 1946 Appendix II: President Eisenhower's Address Before the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, December 8, 1953 Appendix III: Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Appendix IV: Multilateral Export Control Regimes: Membership and Related Websites Appendix V: Secretary of Defense Les Aspin's Remarks before the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control. December 7, 1993 Bibliography Index

Remains of 137Cs contamination in the city of Goiânia, Brazil.

The results of measurements, performed in 1999, of the remaining 137Cs contamination in some of the sites where fragments of a radioactive source of a teletherapy unit had been manipulated in 1987 are presented. This episode occurred in the city of Goiânia, during Brazil's worst radiological accident ever reported. Using the technique of gamma ray spectrometry, analyses of both surface and profile soil and vegetable samples were made. High values of 137Cs activity per unit mass were found in soil layers at depths between 10 and 40cm from the surface. Some values exceeded by up to eight times the action level of 22.5 kBq x kg(-1) proposed by the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) during the decontamination process at the time of the accident, for the first year after the accident. Absorbed dose rates at 1 m above the ground were calculated from the data of 137Cs concentration in the soil and compared with those obtained from in situ gamma ray spectrometry and from thermoluminescence dosimetry.

Quality of radionuclide analysis in environmental samples

To supply Brazilian needs in the field of quality of radionuclide analyses in environmental samples, the Institute for Radioprotection and Dosimetry of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (IRD/CNEN has begun a national intercomparison program (PNI) to encourage the development and optimization of analytical methodologies for radionuclide determination in environmental samples. Since its initiation, the PNI has promoted eight intercomparison runs involving 221 studies in a total of 485 analyses. These studies consist of the determination of different radionuclides in many kinds of environmental simulated matrices, like water, milk and filtered air. The total analytical performance reached by the 16 participant laboratories was: 73.7% good results (within all limits), 10.2% of results in the warning zone and 16.1% unacceptable results (out of the control limits). As was expected, the analytical performance of the laboratories had improved after their participation in the intercomparison runs, which emphasizes the importance of this cooperative work.

The italian neutron scattering community

Abstract The neutron scattering activity in condensed matter in Italy started in the late 1950s in a close collaboration with the most important' laboratories in the United States (one can not forget the work of Fermi's group in Rome in 1930, but this activity is a well-known story). The experience gained from this collaboration was used in Italy, where two facilities were built. The two facilities were located first in Ispra, near Turin, which was part of a EURATOM center, and second in the Casaccia center close to Rome, which belonged to the National Atomic Energy Commission. A third facility, located in Pisa and belonging to the Defense Ministry was also used for some time in the period from 1970–1975. In all cases, the research activity during the two decades of the '60s and '70s was mainly devoted to condensed matter physics and involved a rather large number of scientists at the level of the most developed countries. One can mention that the first polarized neutron diffractometer and the first tripl...

Experience on radionuclide calibrators at the National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina

Experience on radionuclide calibrators at the National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina

International Control of the Uses of Nuclear Energy

It has often been emphasized that the uses of nuclear energy call for new methods in regulating cooperation among states, methods more appropriate to its technological character. Einstein is often cited in this connection as having said that the dangers of destructive power of nuclear energy are so vast that 'a new way of thinking is necessary if we want to survive'.1 The British experts Webster, Salter and Franks (1948) made similar statements when, having discussed the problem of nuclear energy control and the development of international organizations, they stated that 'the new discovery is revolutionary. New methods are needed to deal with it'. And as a solution to the situation in which 'suspicion and fear will be so widespread that good political relations will be impossible', due to the uncontrolled possession of nuclear energy on the part of individual states, they proposed the establishment of a special organization for international control.2 Hence, the problem of nuclear energy control became the basic issue of a lengthy discussion which continued until the principle of international control gradually emerged and asserted itself in a clearer form in the light of practical experience. In effect, every subsequent proposal concerning cooperation in the nuclear field which is debated now, takes the need to establish international controls for granted, which was not the case during the early discussions held in 1946 in the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. It is well known that the Soviet Union at that time, in contrast to Western powers, failed to consider this control a vital element in the prohibition of nuclear weapons and only later accepted the idea of the creation of a special organization for armaments control, along with all the consequences related to onthe-spot inspection. This method of control has also been accepted in principle during the Geneva talks for the working out of a draft agreement concerning a nuclear test ban, although it could not have been expressed in the Moscow Agreement on the Partial Prohibition of Nuclear Tests. Since similar instances can be found in a number of bilateral and multilateral agreements on cooperation among states in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the international character of this control reflects one of the principal characteristics of the novelties which the existence of nuclear energy added to international law.3 Due to the unprecedently great dangers that might arise from the improper uses of nuclear energy, some countries, in the interest of international community, gave their consent to the idea of the application of international control on their own territory. This does not mean, however, that solutions adopted in this domain were uniform in all cases where the principle of international control was accepted. States approached the organization of this control in various situations, and from different standpoints. During this process several solutions were envisaged. To present them it is necessary to dwell first on those control systems that were adopted in the field of

Control Systems Engineering . William W. Seifert and Carl W. Steeg, Jr., Eds. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1960. xiv + 964 pp. Illus. $15.

<i>Control Systems Engineering</i> . William W. Seifert and Carl W. Steeg, Jr., Eds. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1960. xiv + 964 pp. Illus. $15.

Radioisotopes and Radiation in the Life Sciences . 2nd Inter-American Symposium on the Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Energy, Buenos Aires, 1959. Inter-American Nuclear Energy Commission and the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission. Pan American Union, Washington, D.C., 1960. 264 pp. Illus.

<i>Radioisotopes and Radiation in the Life Sciences</i> . 2nd Inter-American Symposium on the Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Energy, Buenos Aires, 1959. Inter-American Nuclear Energy Commission and the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission. Pan American Union, Washington, D.C., 1960. 264 pp. Illus.

Radioisotopes and Radiation in the Life Sciences . 2nd Inter-American Symposium on the Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Energy, Buenos Aires, 1959. Inter-American Nuclear Energy Commission and the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission. Pan American Union, Washington, D.C., 1960. 264 pp. Illus.

<i>Radioisotopes and Radiation in the Life Sciences</i> . 2nd Inter-American Symposium on the Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Energy, Buenos Aires, 1959. Inter-American Nuclear Energy Commission and the Argentine National Atomic Energy Commission. Pan American Union, Washington, D.C., 1960. 264 pp. Illus.

H. A. Kramers

H. A. Kramers, Dutch theoretical physicist who in 1946 served as technical representative for the Netherlands on the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, died on April 24th in Leyden at the age of 57.

The USSR and the Atom

On June 14, 1946, the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission met in New York to negotiate a treaty for the international control of atomic energy. The General Assembly of the United Nations, with the affirmative vote of the Soviet Union and the Soviet satellites, had given the Commission instructions to “make specific proposals:(a) for extending between all nations the exchange of basic scientific information for peaceful ends;(b) for control of atomic energy to the extent necessary to ensure its use only for peaceful purposes;(c) for the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction;(d) for effective safeguards by way of inspection and other means to protect complying states against the hazards of violations and evasions.”

Atomic energy and foreign policy

The fifth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations was celebrated under circumstances no more promising for world peace than those of earlier such occasions, yet the event was notable because the UN has lived five full years, and has in the process shown a growing awareness of its responsibilities and its strength. Of the UN's efforts in international relations, two have been of special concern to scientists. One has had to do with the work of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, apparently lifeless for the past many months. The other, the work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, has had more immediate effect in terms of demonstrating the value of science as an instrument for bettering human society. The following pages summarize both the present situation in the UNAEC and the works in progress of Unesco.

Atomic Impasse 1948: A Collection of Speeches by Frederick Osborn, Deputy United States Representative to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission

Atomic Impasse 1948: A Collection of Speeches by Frederick Osborn, Deputy United States Representative to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission

International Control of Atomic Energy: Policy at the Crossroads: An Informal Summary Record of the Policy Developments Concerning the International Control of Atomic Energy, October 15, 1946, to May 17, 1948.The International Control of Atomic Energy: The Third Report of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission to the Security Council.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsInternational Control of Atomic Energy: Policy at the Crossroads: An Informal Summary Record of the Policy Developments Concerning the International Control of Atomic Energy, October 15, 1946, to May 17, 1948. The International Control of Atomic Energy: The Third Report of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission to the Security Council.Hornell HartHornell Hart Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Political Economy Volume 57, Number 1Feb., 1949 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/256776 Copyright 1949 The University of Chicago PressPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Third Report of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission

AbstractThe following material is Section I of the Third Report of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission presented by the French, United Kingdom and United States Delegations on May 7. Before the vote was taken on May 17, Mr. Gromyko addressed the UN AEC urging that negotiations be continued and declaring that the United States does not want an agreement. The Third Report, breaking off negotiations, was then approved by a vote of 9 to 2, with the USSR and the Ukraine in the minority. The question of international control was then referred to the Security Council for consideration in September. Annex I of this report contains the terms of reference of the UN AEC; Annex II is a summary of the Majority Plan of Control; and Annex III is the Rejection of the Soviet Control Proposals, printed in the BULLETIN, Vol. 4, No. 5.

The Failure of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission: An Interpretation

AFTER nearly two years of work, the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission has apparently brought its life to a close. The tremendous responsibilities which were assigned to it have not been fulfilled. It has been impossible to achieve agreement between the Union and the United States; the Union has twice refused to accept the majority reports of December 1946 and September 1947, while the majority has just concluded after further study that the Soviet proposals of June II, 1947 ... do not provide an adequate basis for the effective international control of atomic energy and the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons, and for this reason no useful purpose can be served by further discussion of these proposals by the Working Committee. Without having been discharged by the Security Council, the Commission has discontinued its activity. Why has this happened? Progress has certainly been made. The Second Report represented a definite advance in concreteness and specificity over the First Report. Both reports presented the outlines of a control scheme, the workability of which has never been contested by the Union. The proposals of June ii, 1947 were far more specific than the vague and contradictory statements of the delegates in the preceding year. The majority had approached its task with a very serious desire to construct a practicable scheme. And at the very end, Mr. Gromyko, who at the beginning of the year has warned against expecting anything much from the re-examination of his proposals of June 1, 1947, suggested that the Union would like to have the discussions continue. Yet the Atomic Energy Commission, its task still unfulfilled, has ended its activities.

Organization and Administration of the International Agency

The following report is a condensed version of the statement made by Mr. Lilienthal before the Control Committee of the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission on June 2. Mr. Lilienthal analyzes here the organizational and administrative aspects of the two great projects directed by himself—the Tennessee Valley Authority and the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission—showing the differences and similarities between such national agencies and the proposed International Control Agency.

Erratum

The description of the book entitled The International Control of Atomic Energy reviewed in Rev. Sci. Inst. 18, 237 (1947) should read as follows:Scientific Information transmitted to the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission, June 14, 1946—October 14, 1946. Pp. 195, 22½×15 cm. United States Department of State, Publication 2661. Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office. Washington 25, D. C. Price $.30.

How Far Have We Gone Towards International Control of Atomic Energy?

[Speech delivered by a member of the United States Delegation to the united nations Atomic Energy Commission, before the Joint Institute of the National Committee on Atomic Information and the American Association for the United Nations, New York, February 25, 1947.]