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Education, Training & Workforce Development
The Education, Training & Workforce Development Division provides communication among the academic, industrial, and governmental communities through the exchange of views and information on matters related to education, training and workforce development in nuclear and radiological science, engineering, and technology. Industry leaders, education and training professionals, and interested students work together through Society-sponsored meetings and publications, to enrich their professional development, to educate the general public, and to advance nuclear and radiological science and engineering.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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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General Kenneth Nichols and the Manhattan Project
Nichols
The Oak Ridger has published the latest in a series of articles about General Kenneth D. Nichols, the Manhattan Project, and the 1954 Atomic Energy Act. The series has been produced by Nichols’ grandniece Barbara Rogers Scollin and Oak Ridge (Tenn.) city historian David Ray Smith. Gen. Nichols (1907–2000) was the district engineer for the Manhattan Engineer District during the Manhattan Project.
As Smith and Scollin explain, Nichols “had supervision of the research and development connected with, and the design, construction, and operation of, all plants required to produce plutonium-239 and uranium-235, including the construction of the towns of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Richland, Washington. The responsibility of his position was massive as he oversaw a workforce of both military and civilian personnel of approximately 125,000; his Oak Ridge office became the center of the wartime atomic energy’s activities.”
Jeffery F. Latkowski, Javier Sanz, Jasmina L. Vujic, Michael T. Tobin
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1475-1479
Safety and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963157
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The majority of radionuclide generation/depletion codes consider only neutron reactions and assume that charged particles, which may be generated in these reactions, deposit their energy locally without undergoing further nuclear interactions. Neglect of sequential charged-particle (x,n) reactions can lead to a large underestimation in the inventories of radionuclides that make a significant impact upon various radiological indices.1 We have adopted the PCROSS code for use with the ACAB activation code to enable calculation of the effects of (x,n) reactions upon radionuclide inventories and inventory-related indices.2,3 The present work builds upon our previous work and the work completed by R. A. Forrest for magnetic fusion energy devices.4,5 Using this capability we have performed activation calculations for Flibe (2LiF + BeF2) coolant in the HYLIFE-II inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant design. For pure Flibe coolant, we find that (x,n) reactions dominate the residual contact dose rate at times of interest for maintenance and decommissioning. For impure Flibe, however, radionuclides produced directly in neutron reactions dominate the contact dose rate, and (x,n) reactions do not make a significant contribution. Our results demonstrate the potential importance of (x,n) reactions and that the relative importance of (x,n) reactions varies strongly with the composition of the material considered. Future activation studies should include (x,n) reactions in all calculations until a method for screening their importance in a particular situation has been established.
