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.
Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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
Apr 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2025
Nuclear Technology
April 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
First astatine-labeled compound shipped in the U.S.
The Department of Energy’s National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) on March 31 announced the successful long-distance shipment in the United States of a biologically active compound labeled with the medical radioisotope astatine-211 (At-211). Because previous shipments have included only the “bare” isotope, the NIDC has described the development as “unleashing medical innovation.”
James P. Adams, Michael L. Carboneau, Donald L. Hagrman
Nuclear Technology | Volume 103 | Number 1 | July 1993 | Pages 66-78
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34830
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fission product behavior during two postulated loss-of-flow accidents (leading to high- and low-pressure core degradations) in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) has been analyzed. These transients are designated ATR transients LCP15 (high pressure) and LPP9 (low pressure). Normally, transients of this nature would be easily mitigated using existing safety systems and procedures. In these analyses, failure of these safety systems was assumed so that core degradation and fission product release could be studied. A probabilistic risk analysis was performed that indicated that the probability of occurrence for these two transients is on the order of 10−5 and 10−7per reactor year for LCP15 and LPP9, respectively. The fission product behavior analysis included calculations of the gaseous and highly volatile fission product (xenon, krypton, cesium, iodine, and tellurium) inventories in the fuel before accident initiation, release of the fission products from the fuel into the reactor vessel during core melt, the probable chemical forms, and transport of the fission products from the core through the reactor vessel and existing piping to the confinement. In addition to a base-case analysis of fission product behavior, a series of analyses was performed to determine the sensitivity of fission product release to several parameters including steam flow rate, (structural) aluminum oxidation, and initial aerosol size. The base-case analyses indicate that the volatile fission products (excluding the noble gases) will be transported as condensed species on zinc aerosols. Approximately 40% of the initial inventories of volatile fission products will be deposited within either the reactor vessel or the intact piping in the confinement, and 60% of the inventory will be released into the open confinement during transient LCP15. For transient LPP9, ∼15% of the initial inventories of cesium and iodine and 30% of the tellurium fission products are deposited within either the reactor vessel or the intact piping in the confinement, and the remaining inventory would be released into the open confinement. The different tellurium behavior within the reactor vessel during transient LPP9 was caused by chemical absorption of tellurium on the stainless steel structural surfaces.