Development of the virtual reality (VR) training material for uranium fuel fabrication facility for safeguard course

Sekine, Megumi; Tatsuno, Takaharu; Mizuedani, Miku; Siregar, V.; Hayakawa, Tsuyoshi; Kawakubo, Yoko; Noro, Naoko; Inoue, Naoko

Dai-44-Kai Nihon Kaku Busshitsu Kanri Gakkai Nenji Taikai Kaigi Rombunshu (Internet), 4 Pages, 2023/11

no abstracts in English

Development of an exercise using a virtual tour for online training on safeguards

Sekine, Megumi; Sukegawa, Hidetoshi; Ishikuro, Yasuhiro; Obata, Takashi; Oyama, Koji; Kawakubo, Yoko; Noro, Naoko; Inoue, Naoko

Dai-42-Kai Nihon Kaku Busshitsu Kanri Gakkai Nenji Taikai Kaigi Rombunshu (Internet), 4 Pages, 2021/11

In order to provide high quality online training, it was a challenge to make exercises using actual facilities available online. To address this, a virtual tour (VT) of a research reactor facility was developed and a Design Information Questioner (DIQ) exercise using VT in the world's first online national measurement control system international course was implemented. It was also applied to and developed for a Complementary Access (CA) exercise. In this paper, we report on the development of the exercise using VT, feedback from participants, and prospects for VT use.

Conducting an online workshop on the supply chain risk in nuclear security; A Case study of designing an online event using recorded theater scene and integrating its findings for professional development

Okuda, Masahiro; Van Dassen, L.*; Lock, B.*; Inoue, Naoko; Noro, Naoko; Kawakubo, Yoko; Sekine, Megumi

Proceedings of INMM & ESARDA Joint Virtual Annual Meeting (Internet), 9 Pages, 2021/08

Development and implementation of online trainings at ISCN/JAEA

Inoue, Naoko; Noro, Naoko; Kawakubo, Yoko; Sekine, Megumi; Okuda, Masahiro; Hasegawa, Nobuhiko*; Naoi, Yosuke

Proceedings of INMM & ESARDA Joint Virtual Annual Meeting (Internet), 10 Pages, 2021/08

Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Nuclear Security (ISCN) of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) celebrated its 10th anniversary in December 2020. One of its pillars is capacity building support mainly to Asian countries. 183 trainings were implemented with more than 4,600 participants since its establishment, however, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted in the implementation of the trainings. ISCN/JAEA has started to develop the online trainings since April 2020, and implemented two regional trainings, Physical Protection and State System of Accounting for and Control (SSAC) for IAEA Safeguards in October and November 2020, respectively. The efforts continue in further development of trainings/workshops, including the regional training on Additional Protocol for IAEA Safeguards Agreement Commodity Identification Training, and other two national workshops with foreign instructors. Online training can provide not only training opportunities for those who have difficulty in traveling for security and safety reasons including under the travel restriction by COVID-19 pandemic, but also could serve in making them more effective and efficient, especially by the combination with in-person trainings. The pandemic, as a result, accelerate ISCN/JAEA to develop and implement the online trainings, which key is the international collaboration with the partners including IAEA, DOE/NNSA and Sandia National Laboratories and International Nuclear Nonproliferation and Security Academy (INSA) of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC). This paper will provide the efforts of ISCN/JAEA how to address the online training development and implementation, current status, lesson learned, and future plan.

Study of transparency in the field of nuclear nonproliferation conducted at JAEA

Kawakubo, Yoko; Sekine, Megumi; Tomikawa, Hirofumi

JAEA-Review 2016-017, 57 Pages, 2016/10

JAEA-Review-2016-017.pdf:7.73MB

Nuclear transparency is recognized as essential to provide additional assurance and enhance confidence building in the Asia-Pacific as this region has a broad spectrum of nuclear development underway and planned in the future. It is expected that elevated nuclear transparency should also supplement and reinforce International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. With this recognition, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has committed various studies and activities for enhancing regional transparency mainly with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its national laboratories. The efforts include transparency concept study, development of the remote monitoring system at the Experimental Fast Reactor JOYO, cooperation to Council for Security and Cooperation in Asia Pacific (CSCAP) to develop internet-based transparency tools, establishment of Information Sharing Framework (ISF), and the hosting of a series of workshops. Based on all the achievements of the past efforts, JAEA is now moving from "study phase" toward the "implementation phase" of information sharing for enhancing its nuclear transparency. The ISF website was opened in 2015 as a part of Asia Pacific Safeguards Network (APSN) website for JAEA to provide relevant information to APSN members. This report summarizes the past studies and activities performed in JAEA for almost 20 years to enhance regional nuclear transparency and discusses the future prospect.

Experimental studies of passive neutron measurement for fuel debris at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants

Nagatani, Taketeru; Shirato, Atsuhiko*; Kosuge, Yoshihiro*; Sato, Takashi*; Kawakubo, Yoko; Shiromo, Hideo; Asano, Takashi

Proceedings of INMM 56th Annual Meeting (Internet), 10 Pages, 2015/07

As one of the candidate material accountancy technologies for the fuel debris at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (1F), we propose the application of a passive neutron technique. The applicability of the new concept to the fuel debris at 1F was evaluated by simulation and the results were presented at the last INMM annual meeting. As the next phase, we conducted experimental tests to confirm the validity of the simulation results. Because actual fuel debris or irradiated fuel cannot be handled at our facility due to a licensing limitation, un-irradiated MOX samples, neutron absorbers and Cf-252 sources were utilized as the best available material to imitate the property of the fuel debris and various configurations were measured using an Epithermal Neutron Multiplicity Counter. The fissile mass in the samples, neutron absorber mass surrounding the samples and intensity of Cf-252 source were varied to confirm the correlation between DDSI response and the leakage multiplication. Test results agreed well with the trend of the simulation results. This indicates that DDSI has sufficient capability to evaluate the leakage multiplication of a sample which includes an unknown amount of fissile material and neutron absorber such as the fuel debris at 1F. This paper provides experimental studies of passive neutron measurement based on the combination of DDSI technique and coincidence counting for fuel debris at 1F.

Book bite "Dispel the misconception about the energy issues"

Kawakubo, Yoko

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai-Shi ATOMO, 56(6), P. 377, 2014/06

https://doi.org/10.3327/jaesjb.56.6_377

This article is to introduce "Dispel the misconception about the energy issues" which was written by Satoshi Konishi and published in August 2013.

PR&PP evaluation; ESFR full system case study final report (Tentative translation)

Sagara, Hiroshi; Kawakubo, Yoko; Inoue, Naoko

JAEA-Review 2013-011, 54 Pages, 2014/01

JAEA-Review-2013-011.pdf:3.05MB

The Generation IV (GEN IV) International Forum Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection (PR & PP) Working Group is in charge of developing a methodology for evaluating PR & PP of potential GEN IV options. The present report, published in Oct. 2009, was used as a supporting study for development of the evaluation methodology for PR & PP, summarizing the case study of the PR & PP evaluation of Example Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR) co located with a dry fuel storage facility and a pyrochemical spent-fuel reprocessing facility, a hypothetical nuclear energy system, consisting of nine main system elements, and it provides for designers the practical experience of applying the PR&PP evaluation methodology to a nuclear energy system. The development of the future nuclear fuel cycle system with sufficient PR & PP features is a crucial task in Japan. With the usefulness the report, it was translated and published here as a Japanese-language edition with the concurrence of the OECD-NEA.

Information sharing framework among experts for facilitating development of fast reactors and fuel cycles

Kawakubo, Yoko; Hoffheins, B.; Inoue, Naoko; Mongiello, R.*; Baldwin, G.*; Lee, N. Y.*

Proceedings of International Conference on Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles; Safe Technologies and Sustainable Scenarios (FR-13) (USB Flash Drive), 8 Pages, 2013/03

Transparency in the peaceful use of nuclear energy is important as a measure to complement and reinforce International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and promote international/ regional confidence building. Moreover, information sharing, a key component of confidence building, is essential for promoting the development of fast reactors and associated fuel cycles by enhancing transparency and encouraging understanding among non-proliferation experts. Currently, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is carrying out a joint project to design and establish an Information-Sharing Framework (ISF) for supporting and promoting nuclear transparency in the Asia Pacific region, in cooperation with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), the Korean Institute for Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC), and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). At present, requirements for planning and implementing ISF are under discussion to address inherent challenges that are recognized among project partners. This paper describes the current status of the development of requirements for ISF. The effort of the development is still underway, however; the requirements will be determined and demonstrated in the near future by project partners.

Introduction to the Revision 5 of Evaluation Methodology for Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection of Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems

Kawakubo, Yoko; Inoue, Naoko; Senzaki, Masao

JAEA-Review 2011-024, 75 Pages, 2011/12

JAEA-Review-2011-024.pdf:3.61MB

Revision 5 of the "Evaluation Methodology for Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection of Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems" is also known as the Rev. 5 report. The Rev. 5 report provides an important evaluation framework that was developed with consensus-based discussions, and published by the OECD-NEA in November, 2006. The activities of PR&PP WG has contributed to establish PR&PP culture. Japan has to develop the future nuclear cycle system with sufficient proliferation resistance and physical protection features and demonstrate and explain about its effectiveness to the domestic and international society. For these reasons, and recognizing the usefulness of the Revision-5 Report, it was translated and published here as a Japanese-language edition with the concurrence of the OECD-NEA. The original report in English language can be downloaded at the OECD-NEA website.