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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Bernhard Kienzler, Peter Vejmelka, Horst-Jürgen Herbert, Herbert Meyer, Corinna Altenhein-Haese
Nuclear Technology | Volume 129 | Number 1 | January 2000 | Pages 101-118
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3049
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Experimental findings of full-scale leach tests performed on simulated cemented waste forms and self-shielded concrete waste containers for periods up to 19 yr in saturated salt brines (NaCl- and Q-brine) are presented. Measurements cover the evolution of leachant composition and the release of radionuclides such as Cs, U, and Np. Performance of the waste forms and the self-shielded concrete waste containers depends on the pore volume of the hardened cement/concrete, which is correlated to the water/cement ratio of the waste forms. Cesium release follows a linear time dependence. Samples, especially those having a high pore volume, show almost complete release of Cs in the period of investigation. Uranium release is independent of the leach period. Uranium concentrations are controlled by thermodynamic equilibrium. Neptunium is released only to a small extent; concentrations are close to the detection limit.Modeling of the cement corrosion progress allows the prediction of the evolution of the brines in terms of pH, calcium concentration, etc. and the identification of solids controlling the solubilities of the main components and of uranium.