ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
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
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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
First astatine-labeled compound shipped in the U.S.
The Department of Energy’s National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) on March 31 announced the successful long-distance shipment in the United States of a biologically active compound labeled with the medical radioisotope astatine-211 (At-211). Because previous shipments have included only the “bare” isotope, the NIDC has described the development as “unleashing medical innovation.”
Ahmed Badruzzaman
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 198 | Number 1 | January 2024 | Pages 7-30
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2177073
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Accelerators have been integral to subsurface probing for decades. Tools with deuterium-tritium (D-T) generators and scintillators utilizing gamma rays from thermal neutron capture, inelastic scattering, and activation are routine in cased-hole logging tools for reservoir and well monitoring to locate and quantify remaining hydrocarbons prior to initiating secondary or tertiary production. X-ray and neutron generators field-tested to, respectively, replace 137Cs and americium-beryllium (Am-Be) source tools that measure two bulk parameters, formation density and neutron porosity critical for initial characterization of formations, have yielded mixed results. D-T generator-based spectroscopy tools with advanced scintillators that can record both inelastic and capture n-gamma spectra, faster and with much better energy resolution, to provide a more complete mineralogy appear poised to replace Am-Be–based mineralogy tools. In view of their ability to measure both bulk and spectral parameters, accelerator-based nuclear methods appear attractive to extract additional geological information needed to transition to a low-carbon energy future.
The paper discusses the current state of application of accelerator-based subsurface probing techniques, notes their potential for nonpetroleum applications, and concludes by briefly exploring technology advances that could significantly advance the state of the art.