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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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.”
David Chandler, G. Ivan Maldonado, L. D. Proctor, R. T. Primm, III
Nuclear Technology | Volume 177 | Number 3 | March 2012 | Pages 395-412
Technical Paper | Radioisotopes | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A13483
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory utilizes a large annular beryllium reflector that is subdivided into three concentric regions and encompasses the compact reactor core. Nuclear transmutations caused by neutron activation occur in the beryllium reflector regions, which leads to unwanted neutron-absorbing and radiation-emitting isotopes. During the past year, two topics related to the HFIR beryllium reflector were reviewed. The first topic included studying the neutron poison (3He and 6Li) buildup in the reflector regions and its effect on beginning-of-cycle reactivity. A new methodology was developed to predict the reactivity impact and estimated symmetrical critical control element positions as a function of outage time between cycles due to 3He buildup and was shown to be in better agreement with actual symmetrical critical control element position data than the current methodology. The second topic included studying the composition of the beryllium reflector regions at discharge and during postdischarge decay to assess the viability of transporting, storing, and ultimately disposing of the reflector regions currently stored in the spent-fuel pool. The postirradiation curie inventories were used to determine whether, for disposal purposes, the reflector regions are discharged as transuranic (TRU) waste or become TRU waste during the decay period and to determine the nuclear hazard category, which may affect the controls invoked for transportation and temporary storage. Two of the reflector regions were determined to be TRU waste at discharge, and the other region was determined to become TRU waste <2 yr after being discharged due to irradiation of the initial uranium impurity content (0.0044 wt% uranium). It was also concluded that all three of the reflector regions could be classified as nuclear hazard category 3 (potential for localized consequences only).