ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Dec 2024
Jul 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
January 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Christmas Night
Twas the night before Christmas when all through the houseNo electrons were flowing through even my mouse.
All devices were plugged in by the chimney with careWith the hope that St. Nikola Tesla would share.
U. Shahid, B. W. N. Fitzpatrick, C. P. Chrobak, J. W. Davis, M. H. A. Piro
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 4 | May 2021 | Pages 279-288
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1883979
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The erosion and redeposition of first-wall armor materials is a problem in nuclear fusion devices with carbon walls, where deuterium, tritium, and (eroded) carbon present in the plasma are deposited on the walls of the device, trapping the expensive and radiologically hazardous tritium. Thermo-oxidation, in which vessel surfaces are heated and oxygen containing gas is injected, is a possible solution. It results in the production of carbon oxides and tritiated water vapor, which can be pumped out by the vacuum pumps and recycled in a tritium recycling facility. In the present study, thermogravimetric analysis was used to measure the mass loss (or gain) of codeposited specimens from the General Atomics DIII-D National Fusion Facility under thermo-oxidation, in addition to laser thermal desorption spectroscopy. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy was also used in this work to examine the tile’s surface composition pre and post oxidation. Dust scraped from the specimen was also studied, as this is a surrogate for dust that naturally falls from the tile codeposits and builds up in the tile gaps. One key conclusion is that boron oxides form where boron is present in the codeposit as an impurity, and these oxides dominate the weight-change behavior of the codeposit specimens for long exposures.