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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Fusion Science and Technology
July 2025
Latest News
World Bank, IAEA partner to fund nuclear energy
The World Bank and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement last week to cooperate on the construction and financing of advanced nuclear projects in developing countries, marking the first partnership since the bank ended its ban on funding for nuclear energy projects.
Paul Korinko, Simona Hunyadi Murph, George Larsen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 71 | Number 4 | May 2017 | Pages 628-633
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1290950
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Tritium is produced by irradiating Tritium Producing Burnable Absorber Rods (TPBARs) in a Commercial Light Water Reactor at the Tennessee Valley Authority Watts Bar Reactor 1. The TPBARs are manufactured with strict materials specification for contaminants for all of the components. Despite meeting these requirements, gamma emitting contamination in the form of 65Zn was detected in a glovebox that was designed to contain tritium. A forensic examination of the piping revealed that the zinc was borne from natural zinc. This zinc deposits at an anomalous distance from the extraction furnace based on vapor pressure. A method to capture the zinc was developed that is intended to prevent the further spread of the 65Zn. This method relies on operating filter media at a specific temperature and location. While this approach is acceptable for the facility while it is in limited operation, as the facility undergoes increased utilization, there is a possibility of scheduling conflicts for maintenance and increasing dose to workers. In order to preclude these issues, methods to contain the zinc within the furnace module, an area designed for high radiation dose, were examined and experimental approaches were developed. These approaches used bulk materials and nano-materials deposited on various substrates that are compatible with tritium and the extraction process. These materials were tested to ascertain their zinc capturing capability, capacity, and characteristics. The first generation material was optimized and a process lid has been fabricated for testing.