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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
H. D. Ringel, E. Zimmer
Nuclear Technology | Volume 45 | Number 3 | October 1979 | Pages 287-298
Technical Paper | Fuel | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32297
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
For refabrication of high-temperature reactor fuel elements, a process for producing dense ThO2 and (Th,U)O2 microspheres has been developed. The process is an external gelation process and takes full advantage of the gelation features of thorium hydroxide for formation of particles. Unlike other external gelation methods, neither viscosity increase by adding other substances (e.g., organic polymers) to the broth nor drop formation in organic liquids is employed. The method uses few process steps and only simple process equipment. A pilot plant has been constructed that operation with one nozzle can produce 1 kg/h of (Th,U)O2 microspheres 500 µm in diameter.
