ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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!
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Latest News
New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates
This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.
Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.
Zs. Németh, Á. Veres, I. Pavlicsek, L. Lakosi
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 105 | Number 3 | July 1990 | Pages 233-243
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE90-A19188
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
New nondestructive methods for determining burnup and fissile content are introduced. Indium-115 is activated to metastable state by hard gamma rays of a spent-fuel assembly, where the isomer activity produced is proportional to the fissile content. The application of a beryllium converter increases sensitivity by nearly two orders of magnitude and also reduces the time needed. Alternative or simultaneous detection of neutrons emitted by the spent fuel is also available: The produced 116mIn activity is a function of burnup. Principles are verified by many experiments on WWR-SM assemblies. Axial and azimuthal gamma-ray and neutron profiles are also recorded to demonstrate the ability of the methods to detect burnup inhomogeneities. The advantages of the methods and the choice of target material are discussed. Applications for safeguards purposes are suggested.