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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
Four million nuclear jobs by 2050: Who will do them?
Industry leaders from around the globe met this month to discuss the talent development that will be necessary for the long-term success of the nuclear industry.
The International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management and Human Resources Development, hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, was held in Vienna earlier this month. Discussed there was the agency’s forecast for nuclear capacity to more than double—or hopefully triple—by 2050 and the requirement of more than four million professionals to support the industry.
Douglas W. Akers, Richard K. McCardell
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 1 | August 1989 | Pages 264-272
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Materials Behavior / Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27653
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The partitioning and release of fission products from fuel materials in the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor pressure vessel (RPV) are summarized, and the chemistry that resulted in the observed behavior is discussed. As part of the TMI-2 core examination program, samples were examined from all regions within the RPV, from leadscrews in the upper plenum to previously molten material from the lower plenum of the RPV. The results of these examinations indicate significant variations in fission product behavior that were generally consistent with the volatility and chemical behavior of the expected fission product species. Low-volatility species (e.g., 144Ce) were retained almost entirely in the fuel material matrix, whereas unoxidized species such as 125Sb were found with the metallic structural materials. Most of the high-volatility species (137Cs and 129I) were released from the previously molten fuel; however, the releases were less than expected. These fission products were retained in previously molten fuel that contained concentrations of structural materials at the grain boundaries.