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.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy
The mission of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) is to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology while simultaneously preventing the diversion and misuse of nuclear material and technology through appropriate safeguards and security, and promotion of nuclear nonproliferation policies. To achieve this mission, the objectives of the NNPD are to: Promote policy that discourages the proliferation of nuclear technology and material to inappropriate entities. Provide information to ANS members, the technical community at large, opinion leaders, and decision makers to improve their understanding of nuclear nonproliferation issues. Become a recognized technical resource on nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security issues. Serve as the integration and coordination body for nuclear nonproliferation activities for the ANS. Work cooperatively with other ANS divisions to achieve these objective nonproliferation policies.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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
Mar 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
February 2024
Latest News
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
Antonino Romano, Pavel Hejzlar, Neil E. Todreas
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 3 | September 2004 | Pages 368-387
Technical Paper | Medium-Power Lead-Alloy Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-1
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fertile-free fast lead-cooled modular reactors are proposed as efficient incinerators of plutonium and minor actinides (MAs) for application to advanced fuel cycles devoted to transmutation. Two concepts are presented: (1) an actinide burner reactor, designed to incinerate mostly plutonium and some MAs, and (2) a minor actinide burner reactor, devoted to burning mostly minor actinides and some plutonium. These transuranics are loaded in a fertile-free Zr-based metallic fuel to maximize the incineration rate. Both designs feature streaming fuel assemblies that enhance neutron leakage to achieve favorable neutronic feedback and a double-entry control rod system that reduces reactivity perturbations during seismic events and flattens the axial power profile. A detailed neutronic analysis shows that both designs have favorable neutronic characteristics and reactivity feedback mechanisms that yield passive safety features comparable to those of the Integral Fast Reactor. A safety analysis presents the response of the burners to anticipated transients without scram on the basis of (1) the integral parameter approach and (2) simulations of thermal-hydraulic accident scenario conditions. It is shown that both designs have large thermal margins that lead to safe shutdown without structural damage to the core components for a large spectrum of unprotected transients. Furthermore, the actinide destruction rates are comparable to those of the accelerator transmutation of waste concept, and a fuel cycle cost analysis shows the potential for economical accomplishment of the transmutation mission compared to other proposed actinide-burning options.