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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
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.
J. R. Engel, W. A. Rhoades, W. R. Grimes, J. F. Dearing
Nuclear Technology | Volume 46 | Number 1 | November 1979 | Pages 30-43
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32377
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Molten-salt reactors (MSRs), because of the fluid nature of the fuel, appear to provide an attractive approach to efficient fuel utilization in the thorium-233U cycle as well as a means for limiting the availability of plutonium and the general proliferation risks associated with nuclear power generation. High-enrichment 233U systems could, in principle, be operated with positive breeding gains to effectively eliminate plutonium as a nuclear fuel However, such systems would be proliferation sensitive. Concept modifications (short of denaturing the uranium fuel) can be conceived to enhance the proliferation resistance of high-enrichment MSRs, but it is doubtful that sufficient enhancement could be achieved to make the systems suitable for deployment other than at “secure” sites. Denaturing the uranium in an MSR introduces some plutonium into the fuel cycle and generally degrades its breeding performance. Nevertheless, a denatured MSR with full-scale on-site fuel reprocessing appears to be capable of break-even breeding. In addition, the plutonium (most of which is consumed in situ) would be of poor quality and would never be isolated from all other undesirable nuclides. Thus, such systems would provide for efficient utilization of uranium resources in a proliferation-resistant environment while limiting the amount of plutonium (and transplutonium actinides) that would have to be handled as waste. The development of commercial MSRs by early in the 21st century appears to be technologically feasible.