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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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
NRC okays construction permits for Hermes 2 test facility
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced yesterday that it has directed staff to issue construction permits to Kairos Power for the company's proposed Hermes 2 nonpower test reactor facility to be built at the Heritage Center Industrial Park in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The permits authorize Kairos to build a facility with two 35-MWt test reactors that would use molten salt to cool the reactor cores.
Michaël Petit
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 195 | Number 8 | August 2021 | Pages 864-876
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2020.1867436
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Concrete plays a major role in nuclear facilities as protection against radiation. However, its chemical composition, which is fundamental, is often unknown. Several concrete samples, extracted from the AMANDE-MIRCOM Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) facility, were analyzed. Various simulations were performed in order to evaluate the neutron fluence behind a 40-cm-thick concrete wall. These simulations were compared to experimental measurements performed with a Bonner sphere spectrometer and a neutron survey meter. No set of parameters tested was able to produce a simulation accurately matching all the experimental results, but sensitivity studies on several parameters highlight that the three most sensitive parameters are the hydrogen content, the density, and the concrete inhomogeneity. To improve the agreement between the simulations and the measurements, the concrete inhomogeneity modeling should be studied further. Nevertheless, using concrete compositions that are close to reality, especially for hydrogen content, is crucial to correctly simulate neutron transport.