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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
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
NRC engineers share their expertise at the University of Puerto Rico
Robert Roche-Rivera and Marcos Rolón-Acevedo are licensed professional engineers who work at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are also alumni of the University of Puerto Rico–Mayagüez (UPRM) and have been sharing their knowledge and experience with students at their alma mater since last year, serving as adjunct professors in the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. During the 2023–2024 school year, they each taught two courses: Fundamentals of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and Nuclear Power Plant Engineering.
Rencheng Wang, Boxian Chen, Ding Chen, Xuan Zhao
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 12 | December 2020 | Pages 1909-1918
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1721406
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Membranes have been widely used in low-level radioactive wastewater (LLRW) treatment and are under irradiation as a result of radioactive nuclides present in the wastewater, which may cause damage to the membranes and weaken their performances. Irradiation-induced material property changes of several organic membrane matrices and modifiers at different gamma irradiation doses were investigated in this work. The organics and membrane samples were irradiated using a 60Co source at a range of irradiation doses of 0 to 100 kGy. The effects of irradiation on these materials were detected using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra, ultraviolet spectra, and ion chromatography (used to detect membrane leakage). The results indicated that chain scission and cross linking occurred simultaneously in the membrane matrices, while the modifiers tended to polymerize during the irradiation process. As the irradiation dose increased, the chain scission and polymerization became more significant. The polyamide membrane was observed to be more irradiation tolerant in comparison with the other membranes used in this study. In regard to the modifiers, polyvinyl alcohol and 2,3-epoxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride showed significant structural changes at an irradiation dose of 2 kGy and polyetherimide and methyl methacrylate at an irradiation dose of 100 kGy, while chain scission was not detected in the other modifiers at irradiation doses of 2, 10, and 100 kGy, indicating that they remained relatively stable at these irradiation doses. These findings provide useful information for the application of membrane technologies in treating LLRW.