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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
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
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
TerraPower begins U.K. regulatory approval process
Seattle-based TerraPower signaled its interest this week in building its Natrium small modular reactor in the United Kingdom, the company announced.
TerraPower sent a letter to the U.K.’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, formally establishing its intention to enter the U.K. generic design assessment (GDA) process. This is TerraPower’s first step in deployment of its Natrium technology—a 345-MW sodium fast reactor coupled with a molten salt energy storage unit—on the international stage.
A. L. Lotts, T. N. Washburn
Nuclear Technology | Volume 4 | Number 5 | May 1968 | Pages 307-319
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT68-A26396
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Computer codes, which can be used in the evaluation of nuclear reactors, were developed for estimating fuel-element fabrication costs. The codes take into account variables that derive from fuel-element design, fabrication-process design, the type of isotopes fabricated, and the economic parameters that are selected as ground rules for a particular reactor evaluation study. In the estimating procedure used by the codes, the costs are divided into three categories: capital, operating, and fuel-element hardware. The general method used in performing the cost calculations is to determine basic cost values and apply cost factors to them according to their variation with production rate, type of plant, and amount of shielding. Included in the paper are the factors that are applied to the basic cost values and an example of the use of the computer codes. Although prudence should be used in interpreting the results of the codes as absolute values, the method is fast and sufficiently accurate to offer comparative economic evaluation of various possibilities that exist regarding fuel-element design, fuel-fabrication plant parameters, and economic parameters.
