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The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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Fusion Science and Technology
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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.”
M. Ilin, P. Thompson, H. Rabski
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 48 | Number 1 | July-August 2005 | Pages 496-499
Technical Paper | Tritium Science and Technology - Containment, Safety, and Environment | doi.org/10.13182/FST05-A974
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Passive diffusion samplers (PDS) composed of a vial with a solution of distilled water and ethylene glycol have an affinity to capture tritium oxide (tritiated water vapour, HTO) from surrounding air through an orifice in a lid. In order to ascertain the effectiveness of such samplers for tracking changes in the HTO air concentrations attributable to variations in tritium emission rates, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) measured the HTO concentrations in air for one year on a bi-weekly basis at various distances along four directions from an operating radioluminescent light manufacturing facility. The collected data demonstrate that the PDS are low cost and low maintenance means for reliable monitoring of airborne HTO emissions. The data indicate a rapid decrease of atmospheric HTO concentrations with increasing distance from the facility in all directions. A strong correlation (r=0.89) was found between reported releases of HTO from the facility and the HTO air concentrations observed at the monitoring locations. Distribution of HTO around the facility correlated strongly (r=0.99) with local wind distribution.
