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
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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Latest News
Article considers incorporation of AI into nuclear power plant operations
The potential application of artificial intelligence to the operation of nuclear power plants is explored in an article published in late December in the Washington Examiner. The article, written by energy and environment reporter Callie Patteson, presents the views of a number of experts, including Yavuz Arik, a strategic energy consultant.
William L. Ebert, John K. Bates
Nuclear Technology | Volume 104 | Number 3 | December 1993 | Pages 372-384
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Waste Management / Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34898
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Static leach tests have been performed at glass surface area/leachant volume (SA/V) ratios of 10, 340, 2000, and 20 000 m−1 to assess the effects of the SA/V on the mechanism and rate of the glass reaction. Tests were performed using actinide-doped borosilicate waste glasses [Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) 131 and SRL 202] to monitor the distribution of released radionuclides in tests at different SA/V. Solution results show the major effect of the SA/V to be dilution of reaction products. Differences in the pH and silicic acid concentrations attained in tests at different SA/V then affect the reaction rate. Tests at low SA/V maintain leachate pH values similar to the initial leachant, while tests at higher SA/V result in higher leachate pH values being attained due to ion-exchange reactions. Transuranics released as the glass corrodes may exist in the leachate in concentrations far above their solubility limits by sorbing onto colloids, although the colloids may eventually settle out of solution. Transuranics also sorb onto the steel reaction vessel. The glass reaction progress can be characterized by three stages: (a) an initial stage where the reaction rate depends on the leachant pH, (b) an intermediate stage where the reaction slows toward a minimum rate as the leachate solution approaches “saturation,” and (c) a long-term stage where the reaction rate may be affected by the formation of secondary phases that control the solution chemistry. Tests at different SA/V cannot always be compared directly because the dominant reaction step and the observed reaction stage (initial, intermediate, or long-term) may not be the same.