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The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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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Proving DRACO will deliver
The United States is now closer than it has been in over five decades to launching the first nuclear thermal rocket into space, thanks to DRACO—the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Orbit.
Manfred Bloser, Thomas Beuth
Nuclear Technology | Volume 121 | Number 2 | February 1998 | Pages 114-119
Technical Paper | German Direct Disposal Project | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2823
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The completion of the direct disposal of spent fuel project and thus the implementation of technical developments in the field of direct disposal are within reach. Politically, these developments are reflected in the 7th amendment of the Atomic Energy Act (the so-called Artikelgesetz), which gives safe disposal of spent-fuel elements the same level of priority as safe reprocessing.Since the 1960s, the Federal Republic of Germany pursued the concept of nonretrievable final disposal of radioactive waste in deep geological formations. The results of the direct disposal project show that there are no substantial changes required for this concept. Within the framework of the project, it was demonstrated that the radiological and mining-related safety objectives of final disposal in a mine can be realized. With the termination of the basic activities in the direct disposal project, specific questions about the feasibility of technical implementation were tackled in a comprehensive manner. However, this does not mean that all issues relating to direct disposal have already been resolved, citing for example the verification of long-term safety based on site-specific data with consideration of geochemical processes and the actual planning of emplacement areas for different types of waste (spent fuel, vitrified high-level waste, medium-activity waste, etc.). One topic area for further research and development relates to questions of gas generation and its control. Increased knowledge of the material behavior of rock salt and of crushed salt - as used for backfilling - is prerequisite for a site-specific assessment of geology and the long-term safety.