In this issue
According to that most venerable of institutions,
the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of the word January
is: “The first month of the year. Derived from
the Latin ‘Januaris mensis,’ meaning ‘month
of Janus.’’’ As we all know, Janus was
the Roman god of gates and doors, of beginnings and endings. He
was depicted on coins and in art as having one head but two faces,
one facing backwards to survey the past and the other looking
forwards into the future. For many people, January is a time to
pause and take stock; to reflect upon what has been and upon what
the future might hold; to look forwards with optimism while surveying
the past with newly-acquired wisdom.
For ENS, too, this is a January time. I am delighted
to welcome a new ENS President on board, Frank Deconinck of SCK-CEN.
Frank, former Vice President of ENS, was elected in December 2005
to succeed Bertrand Barré, who continues as Honorary Vice
President. Under Bertrand’s excellent stewardship ENS carried
on the good work of his predecessor, Andrej Stritar, during the
transitional period during which the Society moved from Berne
to Brussels. Together with the support of the three new Vice Presidents
(Bertrand Barré, David Bonser and Peter Leister) and new
ENS Board members, Frank will build upon the solid foundations
laid by Bertrand and help ENS to grow from strength to strength.
I am sure that all readers will join me in wishing Frank the very
best of luck in his new position.
As ENS NEWS emerges
blurry-eyed from the New Year’s festivities, Issue N°11
is in a reflective mood too. As the nuclear renaissance continues
to gather pace across the world and more and more doubters are
won over by climate change and security of supply considerations,
optimism about the future of our industry is greater this month
of Janus than it has been for some time. And yet, while looking
forward optimistically to 2006, ENS NEWS
also looks back on some of the highlights of last year and pays
its respects, with sadness, to much-valued friends and colleagues
who passed away in 2005. They won’t take part in a bright
new nuclear tomorrow, but their contributions helped make that
tomorrow possible. As one era ends, another begins. More than
anything, January is a time for renewal.
Another symptom of “januaryitis”
is man’s fondness for celebrating anniversaries. It’s
another example of his desire to never quite let go of the past.
Well, I’m sure that it won’t have escaped your attention
that 2006 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl
accident. While in no way wanting to minimize the seriousness
of the tragedy, I would simply like to point out that, as the
subsequent IAE/WHO report on the health consequences of the accident
recently confirmed, the loss of life and the extent of the healthcare
problems associated with Chernobyl have proved to be less dramatic
than originally predicted. Terrible as the accident was –
every life lost is a tragedy - it proved to be an important watershed
for our industry. Since 1986, when the Chernobyl accident occurred,
our industry has worked tireless to ensure that nuclear power
plants across Europe and beyond now conform to the very strictest
possible safety standards. Our safety record is now second to
none. The lessons of the past have been learned and the future
seems bright.
Issue N°11 of ENS NEWS kicks off with an
introduction to the new President of ENS, Frank Deconinck. It
also introduces the new ENS Board. The focus then switches to
European research policy, as we report on a recent FORATOM Workshop
during which the recently-appointed Director General of the European
Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), Roland Schenkel,
gave an overview of current and future EU energy research policy.
Andrew Teller, in his regular column "Tapping
Unusual Quarters," uses basic mathematical analysis to expose
the weaknesses in the arguments of non-nuclear NGOs.
The ENS Events section turns
the spotlight onto the ETRAP conference that took place in November
2005, the latest information on PIME 2006, which will take place
in Vienna, from 12 -16 February, and ENA 2006 (in Brussels on
28 and 29 March).
In the Member Societies and Corporate
Members section, we get another perspective on the important
subject of radiological protection and training, this time from
our colleagues in Romania. We also reflect upon the sad passing
away of two former friends and colleagues in 2005, Professor Carlo
Salvetti and Dr. Armen Abagyan and upon the legacy that they have
left.
The significant changes among senior management
at the top of the European Commission that were announced last
December prompted the European Institutions section
of ENS NEWS to focus, in particular, on the two new Director Generals
who took over at the beginning of January, Matthias Ruete (DG
TREN) and José Silva Rodriguez (DG RTD). We will continue
to watch closely what impact they will have on the future of EU
energy and energy research policy – and especially on our
industry. Also on the EU front, ENS NEWS summarises the energy
policy priorities of the Austrian Presidency.
The World News section puts
the spotlight firmly on the recent climate change talks that took
place just before Christmas, in Montreal, under the aegis of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
which were marked by the eleventh-hour agreement reached with
the US government on the post-Kyoto strategy for combating climate
change. Could the US finally join the Kyoto fold? That remains
to be seen.
The NucNet News section provides
a summary of the recent “gas crisis” between Russia
and Ukraine, an event that caused considerable media frenzy and
highlighted clearly the crucial importance of ensuring security
of energy supply. It also helped to underline the decisive role
that nuclear energy can play in ensuring a clean and affordable
supply of electricity to meet growing energy demand.
A new year, new people at the top at the European
Commission, a new ENS President and Board, the first 2006 issue
of ENS NEWS and a new Editor-in-Chief of ENS NEWS, Mark O’Donovan
(e-mail: mark.odonovan@foratom.org),
who takes over from Andrew Teller – there really is no escaping
Janus, the god of beginnings.
My best wishes to all our readers. I hope that
2006 will bring you and your families good health, happiness and
prosperity.
Sincerely
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Peter Haug
Secretary General
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Mark O’Donovan
Editor-in-Chief
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