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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
Standards Program
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
Latest News
Argonne research aims to improve nuclear fuel recycling and metal recovery
Servis
Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are investigating a used nuclear fuel recycling technology that could lead to a scaled-down and more efficient approach to metal recovery, according to a recent news article from the lab. The research, led by Argonne radiochemist Anna Servis with funding from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E), could have an impact beyond the nuclear fuel cycle and improve other high-value metal processing, such as rare earth recovery, according to Argonne.
The research: Servis’s work is being carried out under ARPA-E’s CURIE (Converting UNF Radioisotopes Into Energy) program. The specific project—Radioisotope Capture Intensification Using Rotating Packed Bed Contactors—started in 2023 and is scheduled to end in January 2026.
Chang An Chen, Xin Zhou, Zhanlei Wang, Bo Wang, Lingbo Liu, Xin Xiang, Yong Yao, Jiangfeng Song
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 73 | Number 1 | January 2018 | Pages 34-42
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1368333
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Chinese (CN) Helium Cooled Ceramic Breeding (HCCB) Test Blanket Module (TBM) (CN HCCB TBM) set with its ancillary systems will demonstrate the feasibility of in-pile tritium production/breeding in ITER for fuel self-sufficiency and high-grade fusion energy conversion to heat and extraction for a future magnetic confined fusion reactor. Tritium release in some major components of the recently designed TBM systems through permeation and natural leakage was estimated with simple diffusion/permeation and leak rate calculation models. Results showed that because of the tritium permeation barrier coating for tritium confinement in some tritium containments, total tritium release to the environment by permeation in the CN HCCB TBM and ancillary systems will be kept well below 2 Ci/full-power day. However, tritium release through natural leakage from components can be neglected compared with permeation. Equipped with ITER tritium safety guarantee facilities like the tritium monitoring and detritiation systems, tritium release from CN TBM system–caused radiological safety issues will be well controlled.