In the late 1980s, the National Cancer Institute initiated an investigation of cancer risks in populations near 52 commercial nuclear power plants and 10 Department of Energy nuclear facilities (including research and nuclear weapons production facilities and one reprocessing plant) in the United States. The results of the NCI investigation were used a primary resource for communicating with the public about the cancer risks near the nuclear facilities. However, this study is now over 20 years old. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requested that the National Academy of Sciences provide an updated assessment of cancer risks in populations near USNRC-licensed nuclear facilities that utilize or process uranium for the production of electricity. Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1 focuses on identifying scientifically sound approaches for carrying out an assessment of cancer risks associated with living near a nuclear facility, judgments about the strengths and weaknesses of various statistical power, ability to assess potential confounding factors, possible biases, and required effort. The results from this Phase 1 study will be used to inform the design of cancer risk assessment, which will be carried out in Phase 2. This report is beneficial for the general public, communities near nuclear facilities, stakeholders, healthcare providers, policy makers, state and local officials, community leaders, and the media.

In recent years, activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle have expanded globally. In addition, the complexity of the nuclear fuel cycle market has increased with the emergence of new providers of fuel cycle services. In this context, a need was perceived for a compilation of country profiles on nuclear fuel cycle activities in a form which could be easily understood both by experts and by the public, and which should lead to a greater understanding of these activities worldwide. Furthermore, such information would improve the transparency of nuclear energy development in general. The first edition was published in 2001 and showed the status of the nuclear fuel cycle at the end of 1999. Essentially, this second edition represents the status of the nuclear fuel cycle at the end of 2002 and consists of two parts: the first part is a review of worldwide activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle; the second comprises the country profiles, reflecting each country's status with regard to nuclear fuel cycle activities. The second part incorporates a graphical representation of material flow in the nuclear fuel cycle of each country.

"In this analysis we have presented a method that provides insight into future fuel cycle alternatives by clarifying the complexity of choosing an appropriate fuel cycle in the context of the distribution of burdens and benefits between generations. The current nuclear power deployment practices, together with three future fuel cycles were assessed."--Page 227.

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulation System (VISTA) is a simulation system which estimates long term nuclear fuel cycle material and service requirements as well as the material arising from the operation of nuclear fuel cycle facilities and nuclear power reactors. It is a scenario based simulation tool which can model several nuclear fuel cycle options including existing nuclear power reactor types and future possible reactor types. The past operations of the power reactors and fuel cycle facilities can be modelled in the system, in order to estimate the current amount of spent fuel stored or total Pu in stored spent fuel. It can also accept future projections for nuclear power and other scenario parameters in order to predict future fuel cycle material requirements.The model has been designed to be an optimum mixture of simplicity, speed and accuracy. It does not require too many input parameters if the purpose is just to compare the requirements for selected scenarios. Furthermore, the accuracy of the system can be improved by introducing more detailed and correct sets of input parameters.