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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
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
January 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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?
J. H. Hicks
Nuclear Technology | Volume 29 | Number 2 | May 1976 | Pages 146-152
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT76-A31573
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three concerns have recently arisen in reactor coolant chemistry technology: (a) the projected shortage of highly enriched, 99.99% 7Li for the control of reactor coolant pH, (b) the availability of anion resins for minimizing chloride elution problems, and (c) the additional inservice inspection requirements for the integrity of steam generator tubes, which subject plant personnel to radiation exposure. The normal consumption of 7Li can be reduced with modifications to plant operations, particularly those associated with purification demineralizers. The ion-exchange industry is having some difficulty in supplying the anion resins with low residual chlorides that are needed for the chloride elution problem, but they are actively working to provide them in the near future. Recognizing the importance of radiation levels associated with steam generator inservice inspection, Babcock & Wilcox is conducting a study program to determine the characteristics of corrosion products, to develop mathematical models that predict corrosion product behavior, and to develop methods for removing or minimizing the buildup of corrosion products in the reactor coolant system.
