The European Commission signed in 1990 a cooperation agreement with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in the field of nuclear safeguards.
To promote the research and development in this field an amendment was signed in 2011. As part of this agreement JAEA and JRC-IRMM started a collaboration to develop a non-destructive method Neutron Resonance Densitometry (NRD), which will be used to characterize particle-like debris of melted fuel that is formed in severe nuclear accidents such as the one occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants.
NRD relies on the principles of Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) and Neutron Resonance Capture Analysis (NRCA), which are based on the interaction of neutrons with material. Both methods have been developed at the time-of-flight facility GELINA of the JRC-IRMM. Due to its expertise in NRTA and NRCA, the JRC-IRMM has been invited by the JAEA to assist them in the development of NRD.
In this context the use of GELINA is of crucial importance. The main activities at GELINA concentrate on the measurement of the resonance structures of neutron induced reactions cross sections, which are important for nuclear waste management and the safe operation of nuclear power plants.