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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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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August 2024
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.
M. B. Chadwick, P. G. Young
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 108 | Number 2 | June 1991 | Pages 117-125
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE91-A23812
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The 178Hf(16+) isomeric state has a 31-yr half-life and could pose serious radioactive activation problems in nuclear fusion reactors if its production in 14-MeV neutron-induced reactions is significant. The relatively high excitation energy (2.447 MeV) of this state causes it to lie in the continuum region. If rotational band members above this state were populated in a reaction, they would gamma cascade into it. While the existence of such levels can be justified theoretically, they have not been experimentally resolved; therefore, it is necessary to reconstruct the rotational levels built on the isomeric state. Using preequilibrium and compound nucleus theories, the cross sections for this and other hafnium isomeric states are calculated and compared with experimental measurements where available.