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NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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Latest News
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
P. Jean-Baptiste, E. Fourré, D. Baumier, A. Dapoigny
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 60 | Number 4 | November 2011 | Pages 1248-1251
Environmental and Organically Bound Tritium | Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology (Part 2) | doi.org/10.13182/FST11-A12656
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Most published results concerning deuterium-hydrogen fractionation in plants are in the range 0.8-1, indicating no bioaccumulation of the heavy isotope. In spite this, an updated compilation of litterature data show that 77% of OBT/TFWT ratios measured in terrestrial plants and food items are greater than one, with a mean value of 1.92. On the other hand, OBT/TFWT ratios for aquatic samples do not show such a tritium anomaly, with 81% of the published ratios being less than 1. This strongly suggests that the cause for excess tritium in terrestrial organic matter has to be found in the atmosphere. We have developed a simple model of tritium incorporation during plant growth, forced by the annual cycle of tritium in precipitation taken from the IAEA/ISOHIS database. The simulated distribution of the OBT/TFWT ratios for terrestrial samples shows many similarities with the observed one. Although other processes such as soil moisture with lower tritium content than atmospheric water vapour can be invoked, our results suggest that the annual tritium maximum which occurs in spring, during the growing season, is capable of creating substantial OBT/TFWT enrichments and has to be considered as well.