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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
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.”
Gabriel Ghita, Glenn Sjoden, James Baciak
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 310-316
Neutron Measurements | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 2) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9200
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We propose here a unique, patented shield design that transforms the complex neutron spectrum from a plutonium-beryllium (PuBe) neutron source to nearly the precise neutron signature leaking from a sphere of weapons-grade plutonium (WGPu) material. This will facilitate testing for detection of a significant quantity of weapons plutonium without the expense or risk of testing detector components with real materials. The Monte Carlo (MCNP5) and Deterministic (PENTRAN) computational codes have been used in developing the shield assembly. A nickel composite alloy shield for a PuBe capsule has been designed, built, and laboratory-tested to enable the neutron leakage spectrum from a standard 1-Ci PuBe source (mean energy of 4.6 MeV) to be transformed, through interactions in the shield, into a very close reproduction of the neutron spectrum leaking from a large, subcritical mass of WGPu metal (average neutron energy of 2.1 MeV). Nearly all current calibrations of neutron detectors use 252Cf for generation of a fission neutron spectrum, which decays with a half-life of [approximately]2.7 yr and is very expensive to procure. By converting to this design, PuBe sources relying on 239Pu (T1/2 = 24110 yr) and lasting hundreds of years could then be used to precisely calibrate and test detectors for simulated WGPu neutrons. Alternative custom designs are also possible with further transport-based modeling.