In the last week of November 2020, NPL hosted its Conference on Applied Radiation Metrology (CARM), which was run virtually as a series of Microsoft Teams sessions. The conference was the latest in a series by NPL for the nuclear metrology community. The conference included over 80 presentations from 15 countries across 16 sessions. In… Read More

The Free Release Measurement Facility (FRMF) based on the 4 HPGe detectors and low-level background concrete shielding and installed in Madrid at Spanish designated metrology institute CIEMAT has been calibrated using Monte Carlo codes MCNP and PENELOPE, and the calibration  validated by measurement of reference materials and radionuclide sources standardized by European metrology institutes. Real… Read More

Members of the NPL’s Nuclear Metrology Group have recently delivered lectures to several different stakeholders from the UK nuclear community. The presentations provided an opportunity to give an update on radioanalytical capabilities and recent method developments in radiochemistry and radionuclide nuclear metrology for nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management applications. Two talks were given to… Read More

27-28 November 2019 The 16ENV09 MetroDECOM II project addresses the needs of the nuclear decommissioning process by the development and implementation of new measurement techniques, instruments, standards and reference materials, and by ensuring knowledge transfer to stakeholders. The 2nd MetroDECOM II stakeholder workshop took place at the European Commission, Joint Research Centre, in Ispra in… Read More

We are please to announce that the next stakeholder workshop in JRC-ISPRA. Registration is now open! Please click the link for more information:  JRC_workshop_MetroDecomII… Read More

The following paper under the framework of the EMPIR MetroDECOMII project has been published (open access) : “Complete dissolution of solid matrices using automated borate fusion in support of nuclear decommissioning and production of reference materials” ,( E. Braysher et al.) It can be accessed here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10967-019-06572-z… Read More

The installation of the Supermum facility at CIEMAT was successfully finished by Nuvia staff last February 2019. The preliminary tests on background and reference materials (gravel, clay, metallic balls) were performed by CMI scientists, obtaining good results. Calibration of the three measuring systems (HP Ge gamma spectrometers, neutron detectors and scintillator counters) has been also… Read More

Two (IAEA) fellows visited the Nuclear Metrology Group at NPL from VUJE in Slovakia for one week, to receive training on measurement of decommissioning wastes, focusing on various solid matrices and iodine-129. During their visit, training was given on dissolution of solid samples, chemical separation to isolate iodine from interfering radionuclides, and measurement considerations using… Read More

All materials from shut-down nuclear facilities must be measured and classified for radioactivity content prior to being stored in a radioactive waste repository, or sent to landfill.  The regulators in different European countries have established strict limits based on both activity and different radionuclides, which is the reason why a free release measurement facility must… Read More

The 18th month Progress meeting, including a stakeholder committee meeting, and an open workshop on the MetroDECOMII project’s activities were held at CIEMAT 19-20th February 2019. About 60 people attended the workshop, which consisted on lectures on the progress of MetroDECOMII Project by the WP leaders and non-related project invited presentations by ENRESA (Soil washing… Read More