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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
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has since been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that Unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. local time on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
Carl A. Beard, John J. Buksa, J. Wiley Davidson, Stacey L. Eaton, John J. Park, James W. Toevs, Kenneth A. Werley
Nuclear Technology | Volume 120 | Number 1 | October 1997 | Pages 19-40
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35428
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The radiation barrier alloy (RBA) concept is a method for introducing radioactive, chemical, and physical barriers for storing weapons-grade plutonium, and yet still allowing for accurate material control and accountability, as well as for retrieving the material by the host nation if desired. The radioactive and chemical barriers are achieved by fabricating the plutonium in the form of a plutonium-beryllium compound (PuBe13), which results in neutron emission resulting from (α,n) reactions within the compound and multiplication from (n,fission) processes in the plutonium. Preliminary physics analyses have been completed, as well as a general review of fabrication techniques and availability of the required materials. These studies revealed that dose levels in excess of 500 rem/h at a 1-m distance from the surface of the RBA assembly can be obtained. However, essential for achieving these dose levels is operation at a high level of neutron multiplication (keff∼0.9). Criticality concerns, even under flooded conditions, can be eliminated through the use of a thermal-neutron-absorbing material (e.g., cadmium) either as a cladding material or a container material surrounding the RBA assembly. Fabrication techniques for the Pu-Be compound are well demonstrated and fully compatible with the RBA assembly fabrication. Data from disassembly of Pu-Be sources indicate that the compound is stable and no significant physical degradation occurs over a 40-yr timeframe. There is no reason to believe that any additional problems exist for longer time frames, given that the components are designed for the appropriate lifetimes (i.e., adequately account for gas production). The materials required for RBA implementation are available in the required quantities, and cost of these materials is not prohibitive. The possible exception is tantalum, although its use is nonessential for RBA performance and hence it will probably be eliminated from future RBA designs. Additional physical barriers can be added by welding the assembly together and encasing the assembly in an outer container. If desired, the assembly (inside the outer container) can also be immersed in a neutronically inert matrix such as lead. The lead serves a dual role in that in makes it difficult to move because of the additional weight, and it increases safety by reducing the possibility of a criticality accident resulting from flooding or assembly crushing. To further the RBA preconceptual analyses, a baseline design based on physics performance was developed. For the baseline RBA configuration, approximately six RBA assemblies, each 31 m3 in volume, would be required to store 50 Mt of weapons-grade plutonium.