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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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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.
Dong-Keun Cho, Myung-Hyun Kim
Nuclear Technology | Volume 144 | Number 1 | October 2003 | Pages 107-129
Technical Paper | Radioisotopes | doi.org/10.13182/NT03-A3432
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The use of a low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel target was examined for the feasibility of 99Mo production in a High-flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO). Uncertainty analysis was done with respect to the 99Mo yield ratio, 239Pu yield ratio, annual production rate, and decontamination requirement. Validity of a coupled code system, MCNP/ORIGEN2, was evaluated to estimate reliable isotopic number densities after irradiation and cooling. An equilibrium core model for the MCNP fixed-source problem was found by the reactor design methodology known as WIMS/VENTURE. Optimized target design options were proposed for both the LEU and highly enriched uranium (HEU) targets. Variables related to the target fabrication process and reactor physics condition were considered as uncertainty-inducing parameters. The most important factor affecting the overall uncertainty of the LEU option was the engineering tolerances achievable in the fabrication process of fuel film. The LEU has twice the uncertainty of HEU under current technology, which makes the economics of LEU worse than HEU. It is acceptable, however, in view of the radioactive purity of the alpha emitter because the uncertainty of the impurity level of 239Pu is expected to be relatively small - only 6.5% with a 95% confidence level.