Earticle

왕포천은 충청남도 부여군에 위치하고 있는 하천으로 유로 연장이 길지 않고, 경작지 및 취락지를 통과하는 하천으로 수질이 불량하고, 수량이 부족한 하천이다. 따라서 부여 하수처리수와 왕포천의 비점오염원 1,500~7,000 ㎥/d를 처리 하고 생태계를 복원하고자 SSB (Sustainable Structured wetland Biotop) system의 처리습지를 적용한 결과는 다음과 같다. 왕포천 복원에 대한 설계 및 시공 완료후인 2016년부터 2018년까지 지속적인 관리와 모니터링을 실시한 결과 BOD5 평균 농도는 7.3 ㎎/L, 평균 유출농도는 2.1 ㎎/L로 71.2%의 개선 효율을 나타내었다. T-N은 평균 유입 농도가 7.953 ㎎/L, 평균 유출 농도가 3.379 ㎎/L로 57.5 %, T-P의 평균 유입 농도는 0.177 ㎎/L, 평균 유출 농도는 0.052 ㎎/L로 70.7 %의 개선효과를 나타냈다. 왕포천 수질정화시설을 통한 생태계복원에 대한 모니터링 결과는 복원 후 3년 동안 모니터링 된 왕포천 수질정화시스템의 식물상은 21과 41종으로 식재수종보다 자연유입된 식물종의 비율이 높게 나타났다. 동물상에 대한 모니터링 결과, 양서류와 파충류는 3과 6종, 조류는 15과 25종, 포유류는 5과 5종이 왕포천과 생태적수질정화시설을 이동하며 서식하는 것으로 확인되어, 생물다양성도 창출및 향상된 것으로 나타났다.

The Wangpo stream located in the Buyeo-gun was a small stream with both low water quality and quantity due to the cultivated land and settlement area through the stream. In order to restore ecosystem, the Sustainable Structured wetland Biotop system was applied to treat 1,500 to 7,000 ㎥/d amount of effluent water pumped from the Buyeo sewage treatment plant facility as well as inflowed from nonpoint pollution source of Wangpo stream. As a result of continuous monitoring for 2 years from 2016 to 2018 after completing restorative construction, the average BOD5 as an index of organic pollution was 7.3 mg/L and the average effluent concentration became 2.1 mg/L, showing an improvement by 71.2%. The average inflow concentration of T-N was 7.953 mg/L and the average outflow concentration was 3.379 mg/L, showing 57.5% of improvement. The average inflow concentration of T-P was 0.177 mg/L and the average outflow concentration was 0.052 mg/L, showing about 70.7% improvement. The results of ecological monitoring after creating biotope by reuse of treated waste water and nonpoint pollution source of the Wangpo Stream are as follows. The plant taxa founded in water SSB(Sustainable Structured wetland Biotop) system of the Wangpo Stream was total 41 species in 21 families, showing a higher proportion of naturally introduced plant than that of artificially planted species. In case of other terrestrial animals, both amphibian and reptile group were confirmed as 3 species in 6 families, avian group was 25 species of 15 families, and mammal group observed 5 species in 5 families, respectively. All species have been created and enhanced through purified water inhabited in the SSB(Sustainable Structured wetland Biotop) system as a treatment wetland, eventually migrating to the Wangpo Stream.

Background: Definition and grouping of initiating events (IEs) are important basics for probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). An IE in a spent fuel reprocessing plant (SFRP) is an event that probably leads to the release of dangerous material to jeopardize workers, public and environment. The main difference between SFRPs and nuclear power plants (NPPs) is that hazard materials spread diffusely in a SFRP and radioactive material is just one kind of hazard material. Materials and Methods: Since the research on IEs for NPPs is in-depth around the world, there are several general methods to identify IEs: reference of lists in existence, review of experience feedback, qualitative analysis method, and deductive analysis method. While failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is an important qualitative analysis method, master logic diagram (MLD) method is the deductive analysis method. IE identification in SFRPs should be consulted with the experience of NPPs, however the differences between SFRPs and NPPs should be considered seriously. Results and Discussion: The plutonium uranium reduction extraction (Purex) process is adopted by the technics in a model reprocessing plant. The first extraction cycle (FEC) is the pivotal process in the Purex process. Whether the FEC can function safely and steadily would directly influence the production process of the whole plant-production quality. Important facilities of the FEC are installed in the equipment cells (ECs). In this work, IEs in the FEC process were identified and categorized by FMEA and MLD two methods, based on the fact that ECs are containments in the plant. Conclusion: The results show that only two ECs in the FEC do not need to be concerned particularly with safety problems, and criticality, fire and red oil explosion are IEs which should be emphatically analyzed. The results are accordant with the references.

Background: This study was conducted in order to survey the current state of cleaning, disinfection, rinsing, drying, and storage of gastrointestinal endoscopes. Methods: Eighty hospitals were selected through convenient sampling. Self-reported questionnaire was distributed from September 14 to October 10 in 2015. Results: The response rate was 67.5% (54/80). In 88.9% of the hospitals, reprocessing was performed in a cleaning space separated from the laboratory and 88.9% used an enzymatic cleaner. Disinfectants used were ortho-phthalaldehyde in 63.0%, and paracetic acid in 33.3%. Eighty seven percent of the hospitals used test strips in order to test the effective concentration of disinfectant and in 61.1%, drying was done through passing air and over 70% alcohol. Microbial culture for the quality control of gastrointestinal endoscopes was performed in 77.8%. In the comparison of the adequacy of gastrointestinal endoscope reprocessing, it was observed that gastrointestinal endoscopes were reprocessed more adequately in larger and tertiary care hospitals. Conclusion: Gastrointestinal endoscopes were reprocessed in similar manners, but there were differences in the detailed process. It is still necessary to segment reprocessing into stages, to prepare standardized guidelines, and to monitor compliance with the guidelines.

콩고민주공화국(Democratic Republic of Congo, 이하 DR콩고)은 세계적 자원부국으로 특히 코발트, 철광석, 구리, 다이아몬드 등이 풍부하다. 주요 광물자원의 대부분을 수입에 의존하고 있는 한국은 2008년부터 콩고정부와 한국이 항만 건설을 지원하고, 그 보상으로 루붐바시 슬래그재처리를 통해 아연, 코발트, 구리 등 유용광물을 회수해가는 프로젝트에 대한 검토를 추진하여 왔다. 본 연구는 DR콩고의 루붐바시 슬래그 재처리 사업에 대한 경제성 분석을 수행한 것으로, 연구 결과에 따르면 투자회수기간(pay back period)은 6.7년, 순현재가치(NPV) 3,400만달러, 내부수익률(IRR)은 17.4%로 나타났다. 또한 세제, 고정비용, 운영비용, 자원가격 등에 대한 불확실성을 적용한 민감도 분석 결과 프로젝트의 순현재가치는 최저 -2,480만달러에서 최대 9,270만달러로 나타났다.

One of the world’s top resource-rich countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has ample reserves of cobalt, iron ore, copper and diamond in particular. Importing most of major mineral resources, the Republic of Korea has examined-together with the Congo government since 2008-the possibility of a project where it supports port construction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and acquires useful minerals such as zinc, cobalt and copper in exchange through slag reprocessing in the local city of Lubumbashi. This study conducted feasibility analysis on the slag reprocessing project in Lubumbashi, Congo and found that the project’s payback period stands at 6.7 years, net present value(NPV) at 34 million dollars and internal rate of return(IRR) at 17.4%. According to sensitivity analysis that takes into account uncertainties concerning taxation, fixed cost, operational cost and resource prices, the NPV of the project ranges from -24.8 million dollars to 92.7 million dollars.

청정에너지와 전기차, 항공우주 등에서 수요가 급증하는 핵심위기광물의 확보는 희소성과 공급의불안정성, 대체재의 부재로 인해 세계 각국의 초미의 관심사로 대두되었다. 미국과 유럽연합, 호주, 캐나다 및 일본은 핵심위기광물을 확보하기 위한 국제적 공조에 힘을 쏟고 있다. 핵심위기광물은채굴 가능한 깊이의 지각에서 함량이 낮고 주광물에 동반되기 때문에 대부분 주요 금속 생산의 부산물에 함유되어 있다. 광산폐기물로부터 핵심위기광물을 회수하기 위한 타당성 연구가 유럽연합과 미국 등에서 이루어져 왔으며, 상업적으로 생산된 경우도 보고되고 있다. 국내에서는 광산폐기물을 유해 중금속의 거동 파악이나 제거, 환경에 미치는 영향을 연구하는 대상으로 보는 것이 일반적이다. 본 해설에서는 광산폐기물의 재처리를 통한 핵심위기광물의 회수 가능성을 검토하기 위해이와 관련된 전반적인 동향과 자원으로서의 광산폐기물을 평가하기 위해 필요한 정보를 제시하였다. 무엇보다도 지형적 위치, 접근 가능성 등의 기본 정보부터 광산폐기물의 물리적·화학적·광물학적 분석 결과를 포함하는 데이터베이스 구축이 선행되어야 할 것이다.

Securing critical minerals in high demand for clean energy, electric vehicles, and aerospace has emerged as a major concern for countries worldwide due to their scarcity, supply risk, and lack of substitutes. The United States, the EU, Australia, Canada, and Japan have been cooperating to secure these minerals. Critical minerals are most often treated as by-products of metallurgical processes because of their low concentration in the crust of minable depth and high companionability to the major minerals. Feasibility studies for recovering critical minerals from mine wastes have been conducted in the EU and the United States, and some have resulted in commercial production. In Korea, tailings have been investigated to identify their environmental impact, mostly focusing on the behavior of heavy metals in them. In this review, we examine the trends of reprocessing tailings for recovering critical minerals and present the necessary information evaluating tailings as resources. To successfully assess the potential of tailings as resources, it is essential to build a database including the physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of tailings as well as basic information such as geographic location and accessibility.

트라우마 사건은 외상후 스트레스 장애라는 반응 외에도 외상후 성장과 같은 긍정적인 변화를 가져올 수 있다. 본 논고에서는 외상후 성장에 주목할 것을 제안한다. 외상후 성장은 개인의 내적 동기와 힘이 매우 중요하며 지속적이고 반복적인 외부의 지원 또한 중요하다. 트라우마의 경험은 일생동안 경험하지 못한 사건이므로 세계관이나 기존 지식체계를 붕괴하게 되므로 현실이나 트라우마 사건 자체를 이해하기 어려울 수밖에 없다. 따라서 트라우마 경험이 외상후 성장으로 변화하기 위해서는 사건 자체와 개인의 삶의 변화를 있는 그대로 이해할 필요가 있다. 외상후 성장에 도움이 되는 도구로 내러티브 재구성을 제안하였다. 내러티브 재구성은 이야기 만들기, 구성하기, 검토하기, 자기상 그리기 등의 네 단계로 이루어져있으며, 트라우마 사건을 객관적인 사건과 개인의 경험을 연결하는 과정이다. 사건경험에 대한 이야기, 즉 트라우마 내러티브가 자연스럽고 응집성이 높아질수록 트라우마사건에 대한 이해가 높아지는 것이며 외상후 성장으로 나아갈 수 있다. 트라우마 생존자들의 외상후 성장으로의 변화를 돕기 위해서는 꾸준한 관찰과 지원이 필수적이다.

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a negative result of a traumatic event and posttraumatic growth is a positive result of traumatic event. We suggest that the focus on the term of posttraumatic growth. Posttraumatic grwoth is the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life crises. It is manifested in a variety of ways including an increased sense of presonal strength, changed priorities and a external support continously and repetitively. It is difficult to understand of reality of the traumatic event itself because traditional knowledge systems are collapsed by traumatic events which never experience before lifetime. Therefore, it is necessary to change the lives of individuals as is the case with self-understanding in order to change the traumatic experienced by posttraumatic grwoth. We propose a intervention model the process of posttraumatic stress as narrative reprocessing which connect the traumatic events and individual experiences cases, including storytelling, mapping, review, self-empowering. It can be said the equal both of situations that trauma victims are more understading of traumatic event and that trauma narrative, a story about the experiences of traumatic event and that trauma narrative, a story about the experiences of traumatic event is a natural, increasing coherence, so that it comes to posttruamatic growth. It is important that longitudinal attention in order to support to trauma victims’ experiences change the posttraumatic growth.

연구배경: 본 연구는 광역시 D에 소재한 종합병원, 치과병원 및 치과의원 159개 기관에서 감염관리를 담당하고 있 는 치과위생사를 대상으로 치과기구 재처리 단계별 수행 여부와 찔림사고 발생 단계를 파악하고, 감염관리 강화를 위한 실천 방안을 제시하고자 하였다. 연구방법: 최근 1년 이내의 기구 세척·멸균 과정과 수행률, 처리 단계별 찔림사고 발생 빈도, 사고 발생 후 대처 방법 등을 조사하여, 찔림사고의 발생 빈도와 사고가 가장 빈번하게 발생하는 처리 단계를 파악하고자 하였다. 연구결과: 치과기구 찔림사고는 진료 후(p=0.012), 세척 중(p=0.008), 포장 단계(p=0.003)에서 통계적으로 유의하게 높았다. 전체 응답자의 월 1회 이상 발생하는 경우가 44.0%로 가장 많았다. 대부분의 치과위생사가 지속적으로 찔 림사고 위험에 노출되어 있음을 확인할 수 있다. 사고 후 89.9%는 자가 소독만으로 대처하였고, 86.8%가 기구 세 척과정의 개선이 필요하다고 응답하였다. 결론: 진료 후, 세척, 포장 단계는 치과 종사자의 찔림사고 빈도와 연관성이 높은 고위험 구간으로 확인되었다. 체 계적인 표준지침 마련, 사고 예방을 위한 환경 개선 및 통제수단 도입, 교육 및 사후관리 강화가 필요할 것으로 보인다.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine whether dental instrument reprocessing was properly performed at each stage and to identify the stages at which needlestick injuries most frequently occurred. The study targeted dental hygienists responsible for infection control at 159 general hospitals, dental hospitals, and dental clinics located in Metropolitan City D. Based on the findings, action plans to strengthen infection control were proposed. Methods: Data were collected by investigating the instrument cleaning and sterilization processes and their performance rates within the past year, the frequency of needlestick injuries at each stage of processing, and post-accident response methods. The frequency of injuries and the processing stages with the highest accident rates were analyzed. Results: Needlestick injuries related to dental instruments were significantly higher after treatment (p = 0.012), during cleaning (p = 0.008), and during the packaging stage (p = 0.003). Among all respondents, 44.0% reported experiencing needlestick injuries more than once a month, indicating that most dental hygienists are continuously exposed to the risk of such accidents. After an injury, 89.9% reported performing only selfdisinfection, while 86.8% indicated that improvements in the instrument cleaning process were necessary. Conclusion: The post-treatment, cleaning, and packaging stages were identified as high-risk sections strongly associated with the frequency of needlestick injuries among dental workers. These findings highlight the need to establish systematic standard guidelines, improve the working environment through engineering and administrative control measures, and strengthen training programs and follow-up management systems to prevent occupational injuries and enhance infection control.

Yoon, Jeong-Me. 2012. Wh-island Effects in Korean Wh-in-Situ Questions: Degradedness or Misinterpretation? Korean Journal of Linguistics, 37-2, 357-382. This paper addresses a question arising from the unexpected results of a judgment study of wh-island effects of wh-in-situ questions in Korean reported in Yoon (2010). In the study, two groups of speakers were found: the speakers who mistakenly interpreted wh-in-situ questions with a non-local wh-Q association as Y/N-questions and judged them to be acceptable and those who judged them to be acceptable under the correct wh-question interpretation. A natural question arising from such a result is why neither judgments are identical to the standard wh-island effect judgment in the syntactic literature. As an explanation, I hypothesize that the standard wh-island effect judgment corresponds to the misinterpretation judgment and argue for it by showing that there is a strong correlation between the wh-island effects reported in the syntactic literature and the possibility that wh-in-situ questions with a non-local wh-Q association will be misinterpreted as Y/N-questions but (ii) that no correlation is observed between the wh-island effects and the acceptability scores obtained from the study of average native speakers. Ultimately, the validity of this hypothesis suggests that the genuine nature of wh-island effects of wh-in-situ questions is misinterpretation, not degradedness. (Myongji University)

후행 핵연료주기 경제성 평가는 추정 비용의 불확실성, 평가 대상기간의 장기성, 적용 할인율에 따른 계산결과의 변동성 등 많은 불확실성을 내포하고 있기 때문에 평가기관 또는 평가자에 따라 그 결과가 서로 상이하다. 본고에서는 지금까지 수행 된 주요 경제성 평가 연구들을 조사/분석하여 그 특징과 한계를 알아봄으로써 현재 국내에서 추진되고 있는 사용후핵연료 공론화 및 후행 핵연료주기 정책 연구 추진에 기초자료로 활용될 수 있도록 하고자 하였다. 분석 결과 사용후핵연료 재활용 옵션에 비해 직접처분 옵션이 유리하나, 입력 자료로 사용된 파라미터 값에 따라 결과의 불확실성이 많이 나타나 이 부분에 대한 추가적인 연구가 필요하다는 사실을 알 수 있었다.

Inventories to be disposed of, reference turnup, and source terms for CANDU spent fuel were evaluated for geological disposal system design. The historical and projected inventory by 2040 is expected to be 14,600 MtU under the condition of 30-year lifetime for unit 1 and 40-year lifetime for other units in Wolsong site. As a result of statistical analysis for discharge burnup of the spent fuels generated by 2007, average and stand deviation revealed 6,987 MWD/MtU and 1,167, respectively. From this result, the reference burnup was determined as 8,100 MWD/MtU which covers 84% of spent fuels in total. Source terms such as nuclide concentration for a long-term safety analysis, decay heat, thermo-mechanical analysis, and radiation intenity and spectrum was characterized by using ORIGEN-ARP containing conservativeness in the aspect of decay heat up to several thousand years. The results from this study will be useful for the design of storage and disposal facilities.

2005년말 현재, 전세계 32개국에서 443기의 원자력발전소가 운영되고 있다. 현재 전체발전량은 약 3,000 TWh이며 전세계 전력공급의 약 16 퍼센트를 차지하고 있다. 2004년말 사용후핵 연료는 전세계 원전의 발전용량 368 GWe에서 매년 11,000 tHM 정도 발생되고 있으며 현재 운영중인 대부분의 원전이 가동정지가 예상되는 2020년에는 445,000 tHM까지 예상되고 있다. 이러한 관점에서, 사용후핵 연료 관리는 전체 IAEA 회원국에게는 그들이 취하고 있는 후행핵 연료주기 정책과 전략에 관계없이 국제협력 등을 통해 가까운 장래에 시급히 그리고 반드시 해결해야 할 필수 사안임이 분명하다. 지난 2006년 5월 15일부터 2주간 제2차 방사성폐기물안전협약 체약국회의가 오스트리아 IAEA본부에서 개최되었다. 동 회의에서 사용후 핵연료에 대한 국가 정책 및 전략, 그리고 그들의 현황, 향후 전망, 정책에 일차적으로 고려한 인자와 이행내용 등이 심층논의되었으며, 향후 개별 국가의 노력 및 국제협력의 방향 등이 확인되었다. 본 논문에서는 상기협약에서 논의된 사용후핵 연료 관리에 대한 국가정책 및 향후 추세 둥을 자세히 기술하였다. 또한 주요국가의 최근 이행내용도 요약정리 하였다.

At the end of 2005, 443 nuclear reactors were operating in 32 countries worldwide. They had provided about 3,000 TWh, which was just over 16 percent of global electricity supply. With the generating capacity of 368 GWe in 2004, the spent fuel generation rate worldwide, now becomes at about 11,000 tHM/y. Projections indicate that cumulative amounts to be generated by the year 2020, the time when most of the existing NPP will be closed to the end of their licensed lifetime, may be close to 445,000 tHM. In this regard, spent fuel management is a common issue in all countries with nuclear reactors. Whatever their national policy and/or strategy is selected for the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle, the management of spent fuel will contribute an impending and imminent issues to be resolved in the foreseeable future. The 2nd Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention was held in Vienna from 15 to 24 May 2006. The meeting gave an opportunity to exchange information on the national policy and strategy of spent fuel management of the Contracting Parties, to discuss their situations, prospects and the major factors influencing the national policies in this field and to identify the most important directions that national efforts and international co-operation in this area should be taken. In this paper, an overview of national and global trends of spent fuel management is discussed. In addition, some directions are identified and recent activities of each Member States in the subject area are summarized.

제2차 전력수급기본계획에 의거 2017년까지 계획된 원자로만을 대상으로 심지층 처분시스템 설계 시 필요한 국내 사용후핵연료의 발생량, 제원적 특징, 초기농축도 및 방출연소도 등에 대하여 현재 및 미래 현황을 파악하고 예측하였다. 2057년까지 PWR 및 CANDU 사용후핵연료 발생량은 각각 20,500 및 14,800 MTU로 나타났다. 초기 농축도에 대해서는 4.5 wt.% 이하를 갖는 사용후핵연료가 96.5%를 차지하는 것으로 나타났다. 사용후핵연료의 평균 방출연소도는 90년대 후반에는 36 GWD/MUT 전도, 2000년대 초반에는 40 GWD/MTU를 나타냈으며, 2000년대 중 후반부터는 45 GWD/MTU가 될 것으로 나타났다. 광범위한 분석 및 예측 결과, 총 처분물량을 대표할 수 있는 가상적인 기준 사용후핵 연료는 16 6 한국표준형연료, 단면적 , 길이 453cm, 무게 672 kg, 초기 농축도 4.5 wt.%, 방출연소도 55 GWD/MTU로 나타났다.

Inventories, and characteristics such as dimension, fuel rod array, weight, enrichment, and discharge burnup of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) generated from existing and planed nuclear power plants based on National 2nd Basic Plan for Electric Power Demand and Supply were investigated and projected to support geological disposal system design. The historical and projected inventory by the end 2057 is expected to be 20,500 and 14,800MTU for PWR and CANDU spent nuclear fuel, respectively. The quantity of SNF with initial enrichment of 4.5 wt.% and below was shown to be 96.5% in total. Average burnup of SNF revealed GWD/MTU and GWD/MTU for the period of 1994-1999 and 2000-2003, respectively. It is expected that the average burnup of SNF will be GWD/MTU at the end of 2000's. From the comprehensive study, it was concluded that the imaginary SNF with Korean Standard Fuel Assembly, cross section of , length of 453cm, mass of 672 kg, initial enrichment of 4.5 wt.%, discharge burnup of 55 GWD/MTU could cover almost all SNFs to be produced by 2057.

Over the last decade, EMDR(Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) has emerged as a promising new treatment for trauma and other anxiety-based disorders. However, neurobiological mechanism of EMDR has not been well understood. Authors report SPECT findings of two patients of PTSD before and after EMDR. Brain 99mTc-ECD-SPECT was performed before and after EMDR treatment. To evaluate the significance of changes in the regional cerebral perfusion, t-test was conducted on the resulting images using SPM99. In addition, clinical scales(CAPS, CGI, STAI) were employed to asses the changes in the clinical symptoms of the patients. After EMDR treatment, each showed significant improvement in clinical symptoms. The cerebral perfusion increased in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and decreased in the temporal association cortex. The differences in the cerebral perfusion between patients after treatment and normal controls decreased. These changes appeared mainly in the limbic area the and the prefrontal cortex. These results suggest that EMDR may show the therapeutic effect through 1) improvement in the emotional control by increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, 2) inhibited hyperstimuli on amygdala by deactivation of the association cortex, 3) inhibition on past trauma related memory, and 4) keeping the functional balance between the limbic area and the prefrontal cortex. This case report needs further replication from studies with larger sample.

The review discusses various alternative approaches for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing in aqueous carbonate media. The main stages, schemes, and methods of the most well-known and well-described processes for reprocessing SNF and some high-level radioactive waste using carbonate systems developed by research groups in Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation described and compared. The main advantages of such methods are outlined compared to the SNF reprocessing in nitric acid media. The levels of development and proximity of the designed processes to the industrial implementation are shown. The main principle achievements, prospects, and routes for the refinement of such methods for the technology of SNF reprocessing and handling of high-level radioactive waste formulated.

The concept of a new method, the CARBEX (CARBonate EXtraction) process, was proposed for reprocessing of spent uranium oxide fuel. The proposed process is based on use of water solutions of $Na_2CO_3$ or $(NH_4)_2CO_3$ and solvent extraction (SE) by the quaternary ammonium compounds for selective recovery and purification of U from the fission products (FPs). Applying of SE allows to reach high degree of purification of U from FPs. Carrying out the processes in poorly aggressive alkaline carbonate media leads to increasing safety of SNF's reprocessing and better selectivity of separation of lanthanides and actinides. Moreover carbonate reprocessing media allows to carry out a recycling and regeneration of reagents. We have been done laboratory scale experiments on the extraction components of simulated voloxidated spent fuel in the solutions of NaOH or $Na_2CO_3-H_2O_2$ and recovery of U from carbonate solutions by SE method using carbonate of methyltrioctylammonium in toluene. It was shown that the purification factors of U from impurities of simulated FPs reached values $10^3-10^5$. The received results support our opinion that CARBEX after the further development can become more safe, simple and profitable method of spent fuel reprocessing.

Several issues concerning endoscope reprocessing remain unresolved based on currently available data. Thus, further studies are required to confirm standard practices including safe endoscope shelf life, proper frequency of replacement of some accessories including water bottles and connecting tubes, and microbiological surveillance testing of endoscopes after reprocessing. The efficacy and cost-effectiveness of newer technology that allows automated cleaning and disinfection is one such controversial issue. In addition, there are no guidelines on whether delayed reprocessing and extended soaking may harm endoscope integrity or increase the bioburden on the external or internal device surfaces. In this review, we discuss the unresolved and controversial issues regarding endoscope reprocessing.