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The University of Huddersfield leads the UK in the development and advocacy of the thorium nuclear fuel cycle as an alternative to the uranium/plutonium cycle. We have set the design parameters for feasible thorium fuelled accelerator driven subcritical reactor assemblies for power generation and waste management and for fertile to fissile conversion of thorium [A]. Our high media profile [G,H] and extensive interactions with the public [I] and policy makers both in the UK and US [B,C,E,F] has led to growing acceptance of thorium as a realistic, safer, cleaner and proliferation resistant alternative fuel for nuclear fission reactors. Consequently our research is now influencing nuclear policy both at home and overseas [D,F].
The UK is on the verge of building a fleet of new nuclear power stations. The steps required to reach the point where the UK can build Generation III+ plants are a complex mix of energy and financial policy and technology. The issues connect with the fuel cycle, waste disposal and public opinion. Failure in one of these areas could derail the new build programme. Starting in 2011, finishing July 2012, the University of Birmingham led a Policy Commission into the Future of Nuclear Energy in the UK. The Commission has been part of a number of national processes which have influenced and shaped UK policy and thinking in nuclear energy. In 2013 the UK Government published its stance. Recommendations made by the Policy Commission on key topics such as nuclear research capabilities and national nuclear policy bodies are reflected in the Government's report and subsequent actions. Impact has been in terms of public engagement and influencing public policy. Nuclear new build could be an investment of £40bn into the UK economy.
The research carried out by Surrey's Nuclear Physics Group and the expertise of its members have informed and stimulated debate on a wide range of scientific areas via broadcasting, the press, science policy, STEM education, and wider public engagement.
Professor Al-Khalili, in particular, has built on his expertise and experience in theoretical nuclear physics, such as his published research on the properties of exotic halo nuclei, to promote and disseminate many fundamental ideas in quantum mechanics, and physics in general, to the wider public. Through his popular science books, such as Nucleus: A Trip into the Heart of Matter (the only coffee table book on nuclear physics) and Quantum: A Guide for the Perplexed, and his numerous television and radio programmes (such as BBC Four's Atom, which is widely seen as having broken new ground in the way science documentaries are presented), he has played a vital part in the resurgence of interest in physics in popular culture and in inspiring the next generation of scientists, impacting millions of people around the world.
Research at Loughborough University during the REF period (and extending back at least three decades beyond that) has had a significant impact on national and international policy decisions governing the management of radioactive waste, one of the Grand Challenges facing society. The Unit's research ranges from deep geological disposal to abatement of marine discharges and remediation strategies for industrial radioactive waste, the latter safeguarding the competitiveness of the oil & gas and mineral processing sectors. This input has been crucial for revising the new Environmental Permitting Regulations and International Basic Safety Standards. Many of the Unit's doctoral graduates occupy important decision-making roles at key organisations such as the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Sellafield, Environment Agency, CEA (France) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The case study describes the impact on society of research on the history and politics of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation. Specifically, it demonstrates how this research has informed and shaped public understanding, discourse and debate on the nature of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The research underpinning this impact examines the effects of the nuclear revolution upon international politics, and the consequences of these effects upon the contemporary non-proliferation regime. The research identifies a number of negative consequences arising from the activities of the so-called `nuclear non-proliferation complex'. The active dissemination of the research findings has generated considerable media coverage of research claims. In part through this extensive media exposure, the research has impacted, in a distinctive way, discussions over nuclear non-proliferation among a wide range of societal beneficiaries: members of the public, commentators, policy observers concerned with nuclear affairs, and civil society and NGO actors. The impact has been generated both within and outside the UK.
Through strategic national roles Grimes and Lee have had a major impact on the expansion of the UKs nuclear R&D programme since 2000 and on directing Government policy in the nuclear sector. Their research led directly to appointments to influential positions including (Grimes) as Specialist Advisor Nuclear to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee (HoLSTC) for their report on Nuclear R&D Capabilities and (Lee) as Deputy Chair of the Government Advisory Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM), which has a major scrutiny and advice role to Government's £multi-billion Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) programme reporting directly to the Energy Minister. Due to his unique insight in nuclear engineering Grimes is now Chief Scientific Adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
University of Huddersfield research into the microbial production and metabolism of polysaccharides has had a significant impact in two distinct areas. In the food and health care industry it has driven developments in the use of bacterial starter cultures, leading to the adoption of new techniques to produce fermented products with proven functionality. In the policy arena, in modelling gas production by microorganisms, it has made a major contribution to the safety case for the disposal of nuclear waste, highlighting the economic and environmental benefits of underground storage. In each instance the reach of the research's impact has been international with the biggest beneficiaries residing in Europe and North America.
Professor Matthew Jones was selected as a Cabinet Office official historian in 2008. His research has provided a historical context and knowledge base for senior Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence officials currently engaged with strategic nuclear policymaking. Jones' research (including insights into the costs overruns, technical uncertainty, and delay of previous nuclear deterrents) has contributed to the process of policy-making, informing how senior officials responsible for dealing with debates over future options in the strategic nuclear policy field will deploy public expenditure of over £20 billion.
An innovative deep borehole disposal (DBD) concept for radioactive waste, pioneered at the University of Sheffield, resulted in significant impact on geological disposal strategy with an international reach. In the USA, our work contributed to a change in geological disposal strategy, with our concept described by the Director of Sandia National Laboratory as a "legitimate and a viable alternative [to the mined, engineered repository model] worthy of deeper consideration" [S1]. The Presidential Blue Ribbon Commission report on America's Nuclear Future recommended that DBD be taken forward to a practical pilot demonstration, now funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) [S2]. Sheffield's work on DBD influenced Sweden's regulators and Environmental Court to reconsider approval of a mined repository by SKB. Our work has impacted on the UK approach to waste management, with DBD now included in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) [S3] bid to accelerate the Government's Managing Radioactive Waste Safely programme.
In the early years of the nuclear industry, numerous different fuels, materials and reactor concepts were tried and tested, building a legacy of varied wastes that have subsequently proven difficult to treat, store and dispose of. This is especially the case for Sellafield in Cumbria, a site home to an extraordinary accumulation of hazardous waste from the UK and abroad requiring treatment. Much of this waste is stored in outdated nuclear facilities. Bristol's research into the corrosion and reactivity of uranium and associated compounds within different storage, treatment and environmental systems, has resulted in the reduction of operational safety risk at Sellafield, CERN and the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) through the alteration of protocols for the storage, retrieval and treatment of uranium and uranium carbide.