ANS and ANSI have published the following new standard, which is available for purchase in the ANS Store:
ANSI/ANS-19.3.4-2022, The Determination of Thermal Energy Deposition Rates in Nuclear Reactors (revision of ANSI/ANS-19.3.4-2002 [R2017])
The American Nuclear Society student section at the University of Puerto Rico—Mayagüez (UPRM) recently welcomed Christopher T. Hanson, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. While at UPRM, Hanson met with graduate students conducting nuclear-related research, as well as with deans, professors, and other university officials. He also delivered a speech, “Preparing to Regulate the Nuclear Technology of the Future.”
Portland, Ore.–based NuScale Power and KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. have signed the first task order and a statement of commencement to begin work under an agreement signed in February to initiate deployment in Poland of NuScale’s small modular reactor technology, the American firm announced this week. The task order was inked September 7 at the 31st Economic Forum, held September 6–8 in Karpacz, Poland.
It’s 1976, and you’re watching TV when a public service announcement from the American Nuclear Society airs, showing the earth being squeezed dry of its last drops of oil by a giant hand as it urges more “safe, reliable, and economical” nuclear power plants. The narrator’s last words, intoned over a fading sunset, still ring true today: “Our world is hungry for energy, and we must move ahead to preserve our future. If we don’t, we could find ourselves in the dark ages of the seventies.”
The five new members of the ANS Board of Directors began their terms at the end of the 2022 ANS Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. The four U.S. members elected to three-year terms are Jamie Coble, of the University of Tennessee–Knoxville; Shaheen Dewji, of the Georgia Institute of Technology; Christina Leggett, of Booz Allen Hamilton; and Daniel Stout, of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Carlos Gho, vice president of Conuar S.A. (Argentine Nuclear Fuels), was elected to a two-year term as the non-U.S. member of the Board. Keep reading to learn more about the new directors.
For the first time since 2019, student interns were welcomed to Washington, D.C., for the summer to participate in the Washington Internships for Students of Engineering (WISE) program. Among them were two students sponsored by ANS—Tiara Carrasquillo Pérez and Matt Hageman.
The American Nuclear Society is offering the hour-long members-only webinar “Inflation Reduction Act: What's in it for nuclear?” on Friday, August 26, starting at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
What it’s about: With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) now signed into law, an expert panel will discuss its impact on nuclear in the coming years. The panelists will explore what it will mean for existing nuclear power plants, the deployment of advanced reactors, the production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), hydrogen, and more.
Register now for the webinar.
The American Nuclear Society has recently published a new standard:
ANSI/ANS-30.3-2022, Light Water Reactor Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Design.
The standard is available for purchase from the ANS Store.
The ANS Board of Directors recently approved two position statements from the Public Policy Committee: a revision to PS #35, Advanced Reactors, and the completely new PS #84, Safeguards and Security for Advanced Reactors Using HALEU. ANS’s position statements reflect the Society’s perspectives on issues of public interest that involve various aspects of nuclear science and technology and are prepared by key members whose relevant experience or publications inform the documents. Prior to approval for publication, the documents are reviewed by relevant ANS committees and divisions.
At the recent ANS Annual Meeting, Andrew Klein, past ANS president (2016–2017), professor emeritus of nuclear science and engineering at Oregon State University, and the current editor of ANS’s journal Nuclear Technology, announced his retirement at the end of his term in June 2023. ANS is looking for qualified members who are interested in becoming the next technical editor of the journal. The selected person will be appointed “editor-designate” and will work with Dr. Klein for a period of time before taking over the full editor’s role.
Klein, professor emeritus at Oregon State University and past ANS president, took over the duties of technical editor in 2015, a few years before his term as ANS president. During his tenure as editor, Dr. Klein has raised NT ’s reputation for technical excellence and arranged a schedule of twelve issues annually covering the most important topics in nuclear technology.
ANS’s August 4 online event “The New Space Race is Going Nuclear” featured several expert panelists who discussed the growing importance of nuclear technologies in space commercialization and exploration. Although nuclear energy has long played a role in space missions, participants discussed the latest exciting developments in the space nuclear field and presented their views on how increased application of nuclear technologies could fundamentally transform the ways in which both crewed and uncrewed space missions are carried out.
The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics released a report in June recommending that the United States invest a total of $1.5 billion in low-dose radiation research over the next 15 years. Congress is working through the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations process at this writing, and many in the nuclear community are hopeful that research programs that have been starved of funding and leadership will be reinvigorated and bring long-overdue clarity to questions of low-dose radiation science, policy, and regulation.
The next opportunity to earn professional engineer (P.E.) licensure in nuclear engineering is this fall. Now is the time to sign up and begin studying with the help of materials like the online module program offered by the American Nuclear Society.
According to Joshua Vajda, chair of the ANS Professional Engineering Examination Committee (PEEC), it is important for ANS as a technical society to continue to encourage professional licensure. “Emphasizing the importance of obtaining nuclear credentials is a Society initiative to maintain high ethical standards in the industry and to provide career advancement for the next generation of young practicing nuclear engineers,” Vajda said.
The United States could invest a total of $1.5 billion in low-dose radiation research over the next 15 years if Congress, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, and other stakeholders carry out the recommendations set forth in a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics report released in June.
Join ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy on July 15 at 12 p.m. (EDT) for a free public webinar—“High Expectations for the Future of Low-Dose Radiation Research"—on the impact of the National Academies report as the U.S. embarks on a new era of low-dose radiation research.
ANS has produced three updated and newly designed wall maps that together show the location of every commercial power reactor in the world that is operable, under construction, or ordered as of the end of 2021.
Each map includes a table that lists the generating capacity, design type, date of commercial operation (actual or expected), and reactor supplier for the nuclear power plants. The maps are individually segmented into these areas:
The maps are available individually or in two- or three-map combos.
ANS and ANSI have published the following new standard, which is available for purchase in the ANS Store:
ANSI/ANS-8.7-2022, Nuclear Criticality Safety in the Storage of Fissile Materials (revision of ANSI/ANS-8.7-1998 [R2017])
In an ANS-sponsored online event held on June 8, independent energy consultant Lake Barrett shared his perspective on the Netflix docudrama series Meltdown: Three Mile Island. Barrett, who was the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s on-site director and senior federal official for the cleanup of the TMI Unit 2 accident in the early 1980s, countered inaccuracies in the series during an interview with ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy.
ANS is hosting an online conversation titled “What Really Happened at Three Mile Island?” about the new Netflix series on the accident. The virtual event will be held on Wednesday, June 8, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EDT).
Register now. This event is for ANS members only.
Piercy
The Association Forum recently highlighted the American Nuclear Society’s rapid response to the unfolding events in Ukraine earlier this year. Kim Kelly of the group’s Forum Magazine conducted an interview with ANS Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Craig Piercy, who described the Society’s efforts to address public safety concerns and correct media reports regarding Ukraine’s nuclear power plants in the early days of the war. Piercy also discussed joint efforts between ANS and the European Nuclear Society (ENS) in setting up a relief fund to help workers in Ukraine’s nuclear energy industry.
Giving accurate information: Piercy noted that “existing international ties and bilateral ties we [ANS] have with other countries really came into play as the Ukraine invasion unfolded.” The Society had a team of nuclear experts in place, some with direct experience in Ukraine, to reach out to media outlets, answer media requests for information, and quickly correct inaccurate information that was reported.
The ANS Young Members Group hosted the latest of its “Spotlight on Nuclear Careers” virtual events on May 27. This event, on "Energy," featured Sarah Camba Lynn, manager of the balance of plant and diesel systems strategic engineering group at Luminant’s Comanche Peak nuclear power plant in Glen Rose, Texas. Lynn was previously a nuclear steam supply system engineer at Comanche Peak. She is also the treasurer for the ANS Young Members Group executive committee and an executive committee member in the ANS Operations and Power Division. The webinar was moderated by Ishita Trivedi of the Young Members Group.