European Nuclear Society
e-news Issue 42 Autumn 2013
http://www.euronuclear.org/e-news/e-news-42/sne-news.htm

SNE News

39^th Annual Meeting

The 39^th Annual Meeting of the Spanish Nuclear Society (SNE) was held in Reus from 25 to 27 September 2013 (www.reunionanualsne.es). The meeting was supported by 23 sponsors, and 27 companies participated in the parallel exhibition. A total of 640 people from all areas of the nuclear industry, together with 61 accompanying guests, attended the event.

The Annual Meeting has established itself as a forum for professionals in the nuclear sector to exchange knowledge, experience and research expertise in all areas related to nuclear energy. It also facilitates the discussion of current developments taking place in the sector.

Among the key outcomes reached by the industry professionals present was the consensus about the conjunction between technological development, investment, transfer of knowledge to the young generation and security gains, all of which could extend the operation of Spanish nuclear power plants for up to at least 60 years.

The attendance figures show the level of interest that was aroused by the event.  Altogether 35 technical sessions were organised, during which experts in each respective field presented 342 papers featuring the latest developments in nuclear safety, radiation protection, fuel, radioactive waste, human resources organization, operation, maintenance, engineering, R & D, new reactors, fusion, dismantling and communications.

In the three plenary sessions it became clear that training is considered to be a strategic pillar for the safe operation of the plants and for ensuring a successful future for the Spanish nuclear industry. From college days to daily experience at the workplace, thorough and focused training is the key to ensuring long-term operation and the reliable and efficient functioning of the nuclear fleet.

Another topic discussed was the internationalization of the Spanish nuclear industry, which within today’s economic and political environment is all about helping to identify and exploit global opportunities that can make good use of the accumulated experience of highly qualified professionals and high-performing companies.

The third plenary session, which addressed the subject of Management and prioritization of regulatory requirements, was in the form of a roundtable.

In addition, two monographic sessions were held on such interesting topics as Research in the nuclear sector and Electric power interconnections and security of supply.

Two courses were also given that aimed at exchanging information and knowledge about topics such as The electricity market and the domestic bill and Human error prevention techniques in engineering works.

The Young Generation Nuclear, in coordination with the University Rovira i Virgili, in Tarragona, gave a presentation about basic nuclear science and technology that was attended by 170 students.

Women in Nuclear (WiN) organized an interesting seminar at the Chamber of Commerce of Reus entitled What's behind the electric bill? It enabled participants to learn more about the various elements that make up consumers’ electricity bills.

The technical programme was complemented by a cultural and social programme that centred around the beautiful city of Reus.
During the official dinner SNE presented a number of awards. The fortieth Annual Meeting will be held in autumn 2014 in the city of Valencia, and will be hosted by Iberdrola.

Technical Seminar 2013

On 20 July 2013, the SNE Technical Seminar 2013 took place in Madrid. As in recent years, it was organized by the Technical Commission of SNE. It was a great success, with approximately 60 people in attendance. The topic of the seminar was Fire Protection Programmes: the CSN Safety Instruction IS-30, Revision 1. The opening session was chaired by Francisco Lopez, President of the SNE; Yolanda Moratilla, from the Universidad Pontifica de Comillas; José A. Carretero, from Empresarios Agrupados (who acted as Session Coordinator) and Juan Bros, President of the Technical Commission of SNE. It stressed the timeliness and relevance of the theme chosen for the seminar, as well as the high level of presentations and speakers that accurately reflected the considerable interest shown in the topic.

SNE scholarships

The SNE has awarded 9 scholarships from among the 25 applications that were received as a result of the 2013 call for post-graduate scholarships in nuclear expertise.

Other Prizes

The SNE also awarded the prize for the best SNE 2013 Thesis, Master's Thesis or Dissertation and the prize for the 6th AREVA Photography Competition.

© European Nuclear Society, 2013