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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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August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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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
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 since 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. local time 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.”
H. Y. Khater, R. R. Peterson, I. N. Sviatoslavsky
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 39 | Number 2 | March 2001 | Pages 1013-1017
Safety and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST01-A11963375
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Using xenon as a fill gas in IFE chambers results in generating a large amount of radioactive xenon, iodine, and cesium isotopes. The cesium isotopes, 134Cs and 136Cs, and the iodine isotope, 126I, would produce a high level of off-site dose (62.13 rem) at the plant site boundary if they were released entirely to the environment during an accident. The xenon gas is pumped out of the chamber (recycled) during operation to remove unburned T2 and D2. Removing the Cs and I isotopes from the Xe gas during this recycling process will reduce the Cs and I inventories inside the chamber to negligible values. This process limited the off-site dose caused by the accidental release of Xe from the chamber of the SOMBRERO power plant to 29.9 mrem, which is less than the 1 rem no-evacuation limit. Using krypton, argon or neon as fill gases will result in producing lower levels of off-site dose than xenon.