European Nuclear Society
e-news Issue 33 Summer 2011
http://www.euronuclear.org/e-news/e-news-33/ats.htm

NEWS FROM THE FINNISH NUCLEAR SOCIETY (ATS)

The ATS Seniors group visits Westinghouse Sweden and organises a seminar with young generation network (YG)

The ATS Seniors group continued its programme of activities by organising a visit to Västerås, Sweden, from 20 to 22 March 2011. The visit was hosted by Westinghouse Sweden, the successor of ABB Atom (the designer of the Finnish Olkiluoto 1 and 2 Nuclear Power Plant units). A summary of the visit is available on the ATS web page (in Finnish). Altogether 14 seniors participated.

A part of the Round Table - participants in the ATS-Senior's visit to Westinghouse Sweden.

ATS YG and the ATS Seniors group spanned the generations again by arranging a second topical seminar entitled: Nuclear Power to Finland. Altogether 86 members participated, 23 of whom were members of the YG network.

Special seminar to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident

ATS organised a member event under the title: Tšhernobyl and Fukushima accidents in 26.4.2011: the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl. The event was one of the most popular events ever organized by ATS, attracting about 170 members. Four presentations were given: Jukka Laaksonen, the Head of the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), started things rolling by giving a presentation entitled: Lessons from the Fukushima Accident, which highlighted also the early phases of the Chernobyl accident; Wendla Paile continued by summarising the health effects of Chernobyl and gave some updated information about the Fukushima accident; Jaakko Leppänen, from VTT, then gave a reactor physics view of the Fukushima accident and recounted the experiences he gained from the time he spent in Japan supporting the Finnish Embassy after the accident; Tarja Ikäheimonen finished the session by speaking about the environmental impacts of the accident and about the radiation protection measures undertaken in the area. Eija-Karita Puska, the President of ATS, opened and closed the meeting.

Estonian Nuclear Association and A.L.A.R.A AS visit ATS

On 6 June, ATS organised a topical seminar dedicated to the past and future of nuclear power and radioactive waste issues in Estonia. Kalev Kallemets, from the Estonian Nuclear Power Association (www.tuumajaam.ee/index.php?id=10721), began by speaking about the plans in place to construct a new NPP unit in Estonia. Ivo Tatrik, from A.L.A.R.A. AS (www.alara.ee/), then presented the success stories and challenges associated with the management of historical radioactive waste from the Sillamae and Paldiski areas. Altogether 36 members participated the event.

Presentations from the above mentioned events are available in Finnish or English on the ATS webpages at:
(www.ats-fns.fi/index.php).