[en] A new European directive on the protection against ionizing radiations will compile and reinforce 5 existing EURATOM directives (89/618, 90/641, 96/29, 97/43 and 2003/122) that will be repealed later. The implementation in the French law will imply changes in the radiological zoning of controlled areas concerning the zoning itself (4 zones instead of 5), the color code and their access. A task group involving experts from ASN (French Nuclear Safety Authority) and DGT (General Direction of Work) has been set up whose mission will be to harmonize all the rules concerning controlled areas in any nuclear sector (industry, power plants, medical and research)

[en] X-ray radiography is a very common technique used to check the homogeneity of a material or the inside of a mechanical part. Generally the radiation that goes through the material to check, produced an image on a sensitized film. This method requires time because the film needs to be developed, digital radiography has no longer this inconvenient. In digital radiography the film is replaced by digital data and can be processed as any computer file. This new technique is promising but its main inconvenient is that today its resolution is not so good as that of film radiography. (A.C.)

[en] Gamma radiography with iridium source is largely used in the industrial sector for the control of welds, tubes and pressure vessels as well as for monitoring corrosion. Hazards due to the handling of ionizing radiation sources (Ir¹⁹²) and constraints due to a more and more demanding regulations call for alternative methods. The French 'Institut de soudure' has led a 4-year long study (Alter-X project) and has identified 3 alternative methods for the iridium gamma radiography: -) the TOFD (Time Of Flight Diffraction) which is based on the analysis of the diffraction of ultrasound waves on the edges of defects; -) phased array ultrasound which is based on a series of elementary sensors that can be handled in an individual manner by specific electronics, the sweeping is no more manual but electronic and enables the operator to localize and size defects deep under the surface; -) digit radiography that is a common radiography in which the film is replaced by a re-usable phosphorus screen that is more sensitive and can be easily digitalized and has no need for a chemical treatment to be read. Digit radiography used with Se⁷⁵ (another gamma emitter) gives comparable or even better results than with Ir¹⁹² but with a dose rate cut by half at least. (A.C.)

[en] Raman spectrometry has long be used only in laboratories. Now the in-line analysis in industrial processes benefits this technique. An installation based on Raman spectrometry monitors the biggest unit of xylene-para production in South-Korea. 4 sensors measure the concentration of 5 constituents at 4 places along the production line. 200 metre long optical fibers link the sensors to the spectrometer. Raman spectroscopy challenges infra-red spectrometry and is more suitable to analyse aqueous solutions or constituents that strongly absorb infra-red radiation. THE installation is described. (A.C.)

[en] The monitoring of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) operation is performed by the OASIS system (Open Analogue Signal Information System). OASIS deals with signals coming from different places to see if the LHC operates as expected. OASIS uses a series of digital converters but to limit the number of digital converters, a switch system is used to select the signal to digitize. Up to 16 analogue signals coming from 104 sensors must be made available for digitizing. Then a 104*16 switching matrix was necessary with a good cross talk behavior and with a few tens of MHz bandwidth. Pickering Interfaces has proposed a large bandwidth matrix based on the LXI platform and including a self-test function

[en] PlastX project aims at developing an X-ray tomography system able to control plastic items in real time. PlastX relies on a new technology called CRS (Radio Synthetic Control) patented by Spectroscan company. The CRS tomograph is characterized by the fact that the X-ray source and the detector are mobile, driven by computer and this mobility allows the production of only useful images and as a consequence has cut dramatically the acquisition time. Where a classical tomograph requires 20 minutes to control an item a few tens of seconds are sufficient for the CRS tomograph. (A.C.)

[en] Framatome, formerly known as AREVA NP, a supplier of nuclear fuels, reactor components and services to the fleets of nuclear reactors, has acquired the nuclear part of the control and instrumentation activities of Schneider Electric. This takeover broadens Framatome's commercial offer in the control and instrumentation activities sector, it allows Framatome to become a supplier of original parts for the upgrading of the control systems of the reactors it has built. Furthermore, a long-term partnership has been signed between Framatome and Schneider Electric to design and fabricate new technological solutions for control and instrumentation systems. (A.C.)

[en] In order to control the lack of bacterial contamination of liquid food products, 'Nestle clinical nutrition' firm uses a new system based on the X-ray image of the content of sealed tins when these tins undergo a quick move on the conveyor belt. This moves induces a wave of product inside the tin and the amplitude of that wave is directly linked to the viscosity of the product which is linked to the presence or not of bacteria. The X-ray image is processed and the wave is characterized by 5 parameters. Any tin for which one at least of the 5 parameters does not match the calibration values is discarded. This system can process 10 tins per second. (A.C.)

[en] In the Nigeria desert, Cogema works two uranium deposits and realizes a processing then and there. It was decided to renovate the process control installations. A centralized channel system Delta V of Emerson Process Management replaced the classical board control. The new installation is technically and economically described. (A.L.B.)

[en] Cogema has equipped its waste compacting workshop in La Hague plant with a system that enables drums to be filled with 2 kinds of high-level radioactive wastes: 5 cm-long bits of fuel clad and end-pieces of fuel elements. These 2 kinds of wastes have to be balanced to fill a drum correctly, they are brought to the drum by 2 different conveyor systems. The quantity of both wastes is monitored by a viewing system combined to an image processing software which takes into account the number of straight lines the system sees to determine the volume of bits of fuel clad. According to these results one of the 2 conveyor belts is slowed while the other is accelerated. Another system based on the detection of the vibration modes of the drum wall enables the system to stop the filling operation when the drum is full. The vibration modes are detected by a laser-vibro-meter. The whole filling system has to be highly reliable because no human intervention is allowed inside the compacting workshop. (A.C.)