International Reactor Dosimetry File 2002 (IRDF-2002)

An accurate and complete knowledge of nuclear data for reactor dosimetry is essential for improving assessments of the service life of reactor pressure vessels in nuclear power plants. This information also has important uses in other neutron metrology applications, such as boron neutron capture therapy, therapeutic uses of medical radioisotopes, nuclear physics measurements and reactor safety studies. The International Nuclear Data Committee (INDC) is the primary advisory body to the IAEA on its nuclear data programmes. At a biennial meeting in 2000, the INDC recommended that the IAEA support a new, updated release of the International Reactor Dosimetry File. As a consequence of this recommendation, a data development project, the International Reactor Dosimetry File (IRDF-2002), was initiated in 2001. Prior to the approval of this project by the IAEA, several consultants had together defined the scope, objectives and tasks of this project. Each participant assumed responsibility for the implementation of specific tasks. The results of their research work were discussed and approved in a series of technical meetings. The principal objective of the project was to prepare and distribute a standardized, updated and benchmarked cross-section library of neutron dosimetry reactions, with related uncertainty information, for use in the service lifetime assessment of nuclear power reactors. A substantial amount of work and effort by the participants ensured that this aim was achieved.