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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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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Jul 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
August 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
ARPA-E announces $40 million to develop transmutation technologies for UNF
The Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) announced $40 million in funding to develop cutting-edge technologies to enable the transmutation of used nuclear fuel into less-radioactive substances. According to ARPA-E, the new initiative addresses one of the agency’s core goals as outlined by Congress: to provide transformative solutions to improve the management, cleanup, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
Gang Li, Ghaouti Bentoumi, Liqian Li
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 7 | July 2022 | Pages 1214-1222
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.2011672
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Organic liquid scintillators, such as EJ-309, are capable of detecting fast neutrons and discriminating gamma rays through pulse shape. Higher detection efficiency is a common objective for detector designs and research. This paper describes two methods to enhance fast neutron detection by increasing neutron collection and reducing gamma-ray interference. Neutron collection can be increased by using strong scattering material to reflect neutrons toward scintillators. Gamma-ray interference can be reduced by using heavy material to shield gamma rays; such a material could have a minimal impact on neutron detection because neutrons and gamma rays have different interaction cross sections. In this work, both effects were investigated, experimentally and by simulation. Using a graphite reflector with simple geometry, the fast neutron detection was measured to have an increase of 9%, and simulations predicted an approximately 50% increase for optimized geometry. Using a lead shielding of 8-mm thickness, the neutron detection with a Pu source was measured to have a factor of 2 increase. These methods could be useful when cost-effective and highly efficient fast neutron detection is desired.