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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
Timothy Ault, Steven Krahn (Vanderbilt Univ), Andrew Worrall (ORNL), Allen Croff (Vanderbilt Univ)
Proceedings | 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017) | Charlotte, NC, April 9-13, 2017 | Pages 210-216
The synergy of light and heavy water reactors using both uranium and thorium has been examined for the primary purpose of managing transuranic radionuclide (TRU) production. Two variants of a two-reactor system, where the first reactor uses uranium oxide fuel and the second reactor uses thorium-based fuels with a transuranic component, are analyzed from the perspective of TRU management. One variant uses low-enriched uranium made from natural uranium and uranium recovered from reprocessing in the first reactor, while the other variant uses highly enriched uranium. Full recycle of all actinides was used to minimize the amount of transuranics requiring repository disposal, so that the only source of exiting transuranics is from losses associated with process inefficiencies. Both variants compare favorably with other fuel cycle options with regards to the quantity of transuranic elements requiring geological disposal on an energy-normalized basis.