ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Masami Yajima, Naoaki Takashima, Sadaaki Sasaki, Satsuharu Takimoto
Nuclear Technology | Volume 56 | Number 1 | January 1982 | Pages 120-127
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A32887
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of austenitic materials has been investigated under high temperature water into which a trace level of chemical reagent for reactor process decontamination was injected to simulate residual chemical reagent in normal reactor cooling water. Creviced bend beam and 4-in. pipe tests have been performed with two kinds of concentrated-type reagents and two kinds of dilute-type reagents. It was found that concentrated-type reagents, when injected into high temperature water by 1/1000 of a specified concentration, work as an oxygen scavenger and significantly inhibit intergranular stress corrosion cracking in both sensitized Type 304 stainless steel and Inconel alloys 600 and X-750. Dilute-type reagents did not reduce dissolved oxygen (DO) at all and one of the reagents tested accelerated SCC in Type 304 stainless steel when injected into high temperature water by 1/1000 of a specified concentration. Another dilute-type reagent partially suppressed cracking of Type 304 stainless steel at the same residual reagent concentration. It is suggested that residual level decontamination reagent will work in two ways, depending on residual concentration. When residual concentration is rather high, it will work as an oxygen scavenger and will not have detrimental effects in terms of SCC; when reagent concentration is very diluted, it will accelerate cracking in heavily sensitized Type 304 stainless steel, regardless of the type or kind of decontamination reagent. This effect will be reduced in actual operation since the DO level is ∼0.2 ppm maximum in the normal reactor water.
