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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Reboot: Nuclear needs a success . . . anywhere
The media have gleefully resurrected the language of a past nuclear renaissance. Beyond the hype and PR, many people in the nuclear community are taking a more measured view of conditions that could lead to new construction: data center demand, the proliferation of new reactor designs and start-ups, and the sudden ascendance of nuclear energy as the power source everyone wants—or wants to talk about.
Once built, large nuclear reactors can provide clean power for at least 80 years—outlasting 10 to 20 presidential administrations. Smaller reactors can provide heat and power outputs tailored to an end user’s needs. With all the new attention, are we any closer to getting past persistent supply chain and workforce issues and building these new plants? And what will the election of Donald Trump to a second term as president mean for nuclear?
As usual, there are more questions than answers, and most come down to money. Several developers are engaging with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or have already applied for a license, certification, or permit. But designs without paying customers won’t get built. So where are the customers, and what will it take for them to commit?
Roger G. Jarvis, Roger J. Joynes, Colleen I. Bretzlaff
Nuclear Technology | Volume 53 | Number 1 | April 1981 | Pages 30-36
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT81-A17053
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fuel elements for Canadian deuterium uranium reactors are assembled from stacks of cylindrical UO2 pellets, with close tolerances on lengths and diameters. Present stacking techniques involve extensive manual operations and they can be speeded up and reduced in cost by an automated device. If gamma-active fuel is handled, such a device is essential. An automatic fuel pellet assembly process was modeled mathematically. The model indicated a suitable sequence of pellet manipulations to arrive at a stack length that was always within tolerance. This sequence was used as the initial input for the design of mechanical hardware. The mechanical design and the refinement of the mathematical model proceeded simultaneously. Allowances were made for mechanical constraints in the model, and its optimized sequence of operations was incorporated in a microcomputer program to control the mechanical hardware.
