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Division Spotlight
Fuel Cycle & Waste Management
Devoted to all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle including waste management, worldwide. Division specific areas of interest and involvement include uranium conversion and enrichment; fuel fabrication, management (in-core and ex-core) and recycle; transportation; safeguards; high-level, low-level and mixed waste management and disposal; public policy and program management; decontamination and decommissioning environmental restoration; and excess weapons materials disposition.
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.
Jean Tommasi, Marc Delpech, Jean-Paul Grouiller, Alain Zaetta
Nuclear Technology | Volume 111 | Number 1 | July 1995 | Pages 133-148
Technical Paper | Enrichment and Reprocessing System | doi.org/10.13182/NT111-133
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recycling minor actinides brings about several adverse effects. In response to the effects on cycle operations (fabrication, reprocessing, transportation) due to decay heat and to alpha, beta, gamma, and neutron activities, neptunium brings no significant ill effect, while americium calls for enhanced protection; the large amount of curium activity makes any recycling of this element extremely difficult. In so-called homogeneous recycling (minor actinides mixed with the fuel), the worsening of safety parameters such as coolant void or Doppler effect sets stringent limitations on the minor actinide content: ≈1% in pressurized water reactors and ≈2.5% in large fast reactors. The heterogeneous recycling, i.e., placing the minor actinides in a few special subassemblies at core periphery, brings about lesser penalties and allows higher contents. In any case, fast reactors are better suited to minor actinide transmutation than light water reactors. Fission products are very difficult to transmute efficiently, even in fast reactors. Such fission products should require the use of hybrid systems for their elimination. Finally, a nuclear park is built up in which the plutonium + minor actinide production of light water reactors is consumed in advanced fast reactors. The amount of electrical power generated by these fast reactors is ≈20%. The radiotoxicity reduction achievable can be of a factor 50 with a 1% loss of minor actinides during reprocessing.