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
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
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.”
Y. Ronen, M. Aboudy, D. Regev
Nuclear Technology | Volume 153 | Number 2 | February 2006 | Pages 224-233
Technical Note | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT06-A3702
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
There is growing interest in the use of 242mAm as a nuclear fuel. Since the thermal absorption cross section of 242mAm is very high (a = 8950 b), the best way to obtain 242mAm is by the capture of fast or epithermal neutrons in 241Am. As a result, we have considered replacing the radial blanket of a fast reactor, which is usually depleted uranium, with 241AmO2.We chose a 714-MW(thermal) MONJU reactor, and we replaced some of the radial blanket and the outer core assemblies with 10 676 kg of 241AmO2 fuel. We calculated the reactor core by using the MCNP Monte Carlo code.The total amount of 242mAm becomes stabilized after 16 yr, but the enrichment does not. In our calculation, ~7.2% enrichment is obtained after 18 yr. Obtaining higher enrichments might indicate that 242mAm nuclear fuel can be used without further enrichment in many cases.The results presented in this paper are considered an upper limit scenario. In particular the target 241Am loading is not likely to be available soon, but 242mAm production from lesser amounts is easily scaled down proportional to the actual mass irradiated.