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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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EPA administrator Lee Zeldin talks the future of nuclear
In a recent interview on New York radio station 77 WABC, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lee Zeldin talked with host John Catsimatidis about the near-term future of the domestic nuclear industry and the role the EPA will play in the sector.
Catsimatidis kicked off the interview by asking if the U.S. will be able to reach total energy independence. Zeldin responded by saying that decreasing energy dependence on other countries, especially adversaries, was a top priority for him and the Trump administration.
A. Radkowsky, A. Dayan, A. Y. Temkin, L. Green
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 75 | Number 3 | September 1980 | Pages 265-274
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE80-A19058
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The optimum 235U enrichment of the uranium fuel for a once-through cycle for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) is ∼20%. Such an enrichment leads to a core design having the following major advantages in safety, economy, and uranium utilization over present standard designs. 1. There is a reduction in core volume by about a factor of 2, resulting in important savings in costs of core and pressure vessel. 2. Safety will be enhanced as a result of utilization of metallic fuel elements with much greater strength and a factor of 10 better heat conduction and less stored energy than standard ceramic fuel elements. The maximum temperature is 700°F below melting, as compared with 300°F for ceramic fuel. 3. Plutonium discharge is reduced by about a factor of 7. 4. Need for a soluble neutron-absorber control is eliminated. 5. While a detailed core design was beyond the scope of this work, a relatively simple fuel management scheme appears to be feasible which would reduce initial uranium ore requirements by ∼50% of that of standard PWRs and separative work by ∼35% reduce annual usage of uranium ore by ∼15% with a slight increase in separative work.