Technical Meeting on the Socio-Economic Benefits of Ion Beam Accelerators for Developing Member States

Transcription

1 Technical Meeting on the Socio-Economic Benefits of Ion Beam Accelerators for Developing Member States Vienna, Austria October 2015 Ref. No.: F1-TM Information Sheet A. Background Ion beam accelerators are extensively used in interdisciplinary research, in the development of modern materials and for the provision of health care services, such as radiotherapy treatment and the production of radioisotopes for medical applications. Accelerators are customarily classified, according to the principle of acceleration and the energy of the ions, as low or medium energy linear accelerators (up to about 6 MeV for protons) and high energy cyclotrons (from about 7 to 70 MeV). The low or medium energy accelerators can be used for carrying out a group of material characterization techniques (ion beam analysis, or IBA) which can offer near surface compositional elemental/isotopic depth profile analysis (from the first atomic layer to a depth of a fraction of a millimetre) with sensitivity that reaches µg/g (ppm) concentration levels in the more favourable cases. Based on these quite unique analytical features, IBA techniques support a plethora of interdisciplinary applications for material characterization, whereas the irradiation capabilities create opportunities for

2 Page 2 industrial (ion implantation of semiconductors) and biomedical (single cell ion irradiation) applications. High energy cyclotrons are mostly dedicated to the production of radioisotopes for medical uses, without excluding applications for trace element analysis and studies of nuclear reactions, among other possibilities. Several examples can serve to highlight the socio-economic impact of ion beam accelerator based applications for developing Member States. IBA techniques can support an integrated non-destructive characterization of materials for different applications. For Member States actively exploiting mineral resources, IBA techniques help to identify pollution sources by analysing the elemental composition of airborne particulate matter (APM) and by monitoring the levels of toxic elements in water, soil and biological compartments, thus providing environmental policy bodies with data pertinent to compliance with internationally established guidelines and acceptable thresholds, and helping to minimize potential adverse health effects. Advanced micro- or even nano-ion probes can investigate 2D and 3D intracellular distribution of toxic and essential elements in biological tissues, thus significantly enhancing understanding of drug delivery mechanisms and the role of certain elements in diseases and/or metabolic reactions. For over 20 years, the Physics Section and the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory (NSIL, formerly NSAL and, before that, the Instrumentation Unit) have run an accelerator programme coordinating the efforts of the international community to strengthen the interdisciplinary applications of ion beam accelerators. Technical Meetings and workshops disseminate the effective utilization of ion beam accelerators among the IAEA s Member States, while the Physics Section and NSIL staff, via the technical backstopping of 17 active national and regional technical cooperation projects (with a total budget of approximately 3.6 million euros), are currently helping 56 Member States to establish and improve their accelerator infrastructure and supporting activities to train human resources. Since 1997, the NSIL has had a cooperation agreement with the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb, Croatia to access and operate a dedicated accelerator beam line that has been used regularly over the last 15 years in various analytical applications. A consultancy meeting held in Vienna and Seibersdorf (Future Perspectives for the Nuclear Spectrometry and Applications Laboratory in Seibersdorf, March 2011) recommended that the laboratory facilitate Member States access to ion beam accelerator and synchrotron facilities, enhancing existing mechanisms and developing new synergies and cooperation schemes. Following the recommendations from the consultancy meeting, the NSIL has developed and installed an ultra-high vacuum chamber (UHVC) facility that is operated as a beam line end station of the XRF beam line at the Elettra facility (Trieste, Italy) to use different advanced X- ray spectrometry techniques. This experimental facility has been fully operational since November 2014 and facilitates practical training, access and utilization by IAEA Member States. The installation of an ion beam accelerator in Seibersdorf has been envisaged as a possible component of the Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories (ReNuAL) project carried out by the IAEA s Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications. A Technical Meeting is planned to review and highlight the specific socio-economic benefits for the IAEA s developing Member States brought about by IAEA activities fostering the utilization of ion beam accelerators.

3 Page 3 B. Objectives The Technical Meeting aims to provide a discussion forum among experts from Member States, with the following objectives: To review the relevant experience of the utilization of ion beam accelerator facilities on a regional and international scale for research, development and industrial applications; To highlight and quantify the socio-economic benefits for developing Member States brought by the utilization of ion beam accelerators; To address the current needs of IAEA Member States that do not have accelerators or require effective access to such facilities; To discuss the future role of the NSIL in supporting developing Member States activities to effectively apply ion beam accelerator techniques; To discuss the role of an ion beam accelerator, installed and operated by the NSIL at the Agency s Laboratories in Seibersdorf, in fostering training programmes in nuclear science and nuclear instrumentation and strengthening accelerator applications in developing Member States. C. Participation A person will be eligible to participate only if nominated by the Government of an IAEA Member State (Ministry of Foreign Affairs or National Atomic Energy Authority) or by an organization invited to participate. The participation form (Form A) should be received by the IAEA not later than 16 July The participant should be involved in the field of accelerator-based techniques and methods for characterization of materials or be designated by the country to provide an assessment of the country s needs in these fields. A short abstract from the participant covering his/her work relevant to the objectives of the meeting will be necessary for consideration for participation. The abstract should be prepared according to the following instructions: 1) Page size: A4 (21 cm by 29.7 cm) vertical orientation 2) Margins: 25 mm all around 3) Layout: Title: single-spaced, 14-point size, Times New Roman Font (TNR), bold Authors: single-spaced, 12-point size, TNR Font Affiliation: single-spaced, 12-point size, TNR Font, italic Text: 1.5 spaced, 12-point size, TNR Font Length: one page

4 Page 4 Important: In case of sending Microsoft Word files, authors should use True Type Embedded Fonts (when saving the file, click Tools, then Options, and tick Embed True Type fonts. This will help to prevent change of fonts when the file is read in a different system, as is expected in most of the cases). PDF files are preferred. D. Financial Support The IAEA is generally not in a position to bear the travel and other costs of participants in the meeting. The IAEA has, however, limited funds at its disposal to help meet the cost of attendance of certain participants. Such assistance may be offered upon specific request to normally one participant per country provided that, in the IAEA s view, the participant on whose behalf assistance is requested will make an important contribution to the meeting. The application for financial support should be made at the time of nominating the participant. E. Meeting Format To facilitate proceedings, participants are invited to contribute with an oral presentation on a subject relevant to the scope and objectives of this meeting. Participants should submit an abstract of their proposed presentation along with their nomination. The official language of the meeting is English. No interpretation services will be provided. It is expected that the meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, 19 October 2015, and conclude by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, 23 October The outputs of discussions will be recorded for possible dissemination to Member States as an IAEA technical publication. Contributors of material to be included in Agency proceedings are required to assign all copyrights or rights to publish to the Agency. Please complete and sign Form B and send it to the IAEA Scientific Secretary by fax or . Authors should ensure that material they make available for possible publication by the IAEA does not include copyrighted material or other impediments to reproduction. F. Local Arrangements It is the responsibility of all participants to make their own travel arrangements to/from Austria. Detailed information on accommodation, local transport to/from the meeting venue, and other organizational details will be sent to all designated participants well in advance of the meeting. G. Visa Designated participants who require a visa to enter Austria should submit the necessary application to the nearest diplomatic or consular representative of Austria well in advance of entry. An official letter of invitation will be issued to all designated participants by the IAEA Scientific Secretary.

5 H. Deadlines Page 5 16 July 2015: Deadline for submission of applications to the IAEA for participation and financial support 14 August 2015: Participants informed of result of their application for participation and financial support I. Organization IAEA Scientific Secretary: Mr Yacouba Diawara Laboratory Head Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory Physics Section Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box VIENNA AUSTRIA Tel: Fax: Y.Diawara@iaea.org Administrative Secretary: Ms Anna Naftaliev Physics Section Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box VIENNA AUSTRIA Tel.: Fax: A.Naftaliev@iaea.org