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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
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?
Earl J. Wheelwright, William J. Bjorklund, Larry M. Browne, Garry H. Bryan, Langdon K. Holton, Everett R. Irish, Dan H. Siemens
Nuclear Technology | Volume 58 | Number 2 | August 1982 | Pages 271-293
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT82-A32937
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Nuclear Waste Vitrification Project was conducted to demonstrate the vitrification of high-level liquid waste (HLLW) generated during the reprocessing of spent fuel discharged from an operating light water reactor. Six pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies, containing 2.3 tU, were processed for the generation of HLLW. A conventional Purex-type process was used for the first cycle so that the HLLW generated would be typical of the nitric acid, fission product waste stream from the first extraction cycle of a commercial plant. Uranium and nonradioactive chemicals, normally added to the HLLW by back-cycling of waste from second and third solvent-extraction cycles, were added to the dilute HLLW to produce a waste composition typical of the HLLW from a commercial plant. The waste was then concentrated tenfold to provide feed for solidification by the spray calciner/in-can melting process. During calcination, the liquid waste was pumped at a rate of 10 to 15 ℓ/h to the calciner vessel, which was heated to 750°C. The powdered calcine fell into a stainless steel canister, which was maintained at 1050°C; this canister was attached directly to the bottom of the calciner. Glass-forming chemicals were metered into the canister simultaneously with the calcine. After the materials melted, the canister was cooled to produce vitreous glass. Two 20.3-cm-diam × 244-cm-high canisters containing glass were produced.