NEWSPAPERS sometimes publish exciting-sounding news releases and then nothing is ever heard of the story again.

That is a pity, because part of the interest and excitement is in the follow-up.

Will it work? Was the business successful? Was it just a nine days' wonder that faded as fast as it arrived? It would be good to know.

One of Yorkshire's potentially most exciting stories is that of the proposed European Spallation Source (ESS) that would be built at Burn Airfield, less than three miles south of Selby and under half-an-hour's drive from York.

This would not be just another interesting, "good news" science story. This would be an earth-shattering, transformational event that would have a major social and economic impact across the region.

It would be seriously mega in every respect, including its massive physical size: the scientific equivalent of the Olympic stadium being located in this part of Yorkshire.

So why get excited about it and what does it mean? The project has been well reported previously in this newspaper, but while much has been going on in the background, there has been little public information over the past year or so.

The arcane title does not immediately win friends, and I have heard more than one politician slur their vowels (and consonants, too, come to that) when using the word "spallation". The word comes from a geological term - spall - that relates to the separation of thin layers of rock, as if chipped away with a hammer.

As applied to the ESS, spallation is a process where very high energy protons bombard heavy atomic nuclei to knock out (spall) neutrons, so providing a sort of "neutron factory".

The importance of this is that neutron scattering is an extremely important research tool in the study and development of new materials for future technologies in energy, telecommunications, manufacturing, transportation, information technology, biotechnology, and health.

Typical applications would include the study of localised strains around welds, with implications for stronger aircraft wings or components, magnetic phenomena in layered materials and functionality in biological materials.

The US and Japan are already under way with their next generation, multi-megawatt, spallation sources that will come on line in the next couple of years, while Europe is still considering whether to support the development of a facility that will leapfrog international rivals.

If this decision is positive, and we will not know for a year or two yet, then the White Rose Consortium of Leeds, Sheffield and York Universities, working together with Yorkshire Forward, is well-placed to make a strong bid to be the preferred location.

Much recent progress has been made, notably the decision of Selby District

Council to grant outline planning permission for the site, subject to referral to the Secretary of State. An important UK national review has also recommended support for an ESS and that investment decisions for this £1.0 billion project should be made as soon as possible.

The centre would create up to 3,000 jobs in the construction phase and, once opened, about 1,000 permanent jobs with about 5,000 visiting scientists a year.

Everything about this project is big but, as Dr Julian White, chief executive of the White Rose Consortium, said: "We believe we are part of the solution for the UK and are ready to work actively with the scientific community to make the case for a next generation neutron source to be located in Yorkshire".

ESS is an initiative that we must keep our eye on. Yorkshire already has a formidable array of champions rooting for this project but, as competition hots up within both Europe and the UK, we will need to muster all the support that we can get to win this outstanding prize.

Updated: 08:56 Wednesday, December 21, 2005