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Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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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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Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
Christian Passard, Alain Mariani, Fanny Jallu, Jacques Romeyer-Dherbey, Hervé Recroix, Michel Rodriguez, Joel Loridon, Caroline Denis, Hervé Toubon
Nuclear Technology | Volume 140 | Number 3 | December 2002 | Pages 303-314
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT02-A3341
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The development of a passive-active neutron assay system for alpha low level waste characterization at the French Atomic Energy Commission is discussed. Less than 50 Bq[] (about 50 g Pu) per gram of crude waste must be measured in 118-l "European" drums in order to reach the requirements for incinerating wastes. Detection limits of about 0.12 mg of effective 239Pu in total active neutron counting, and 0.08 mg of effective 239Pu coincident active neutron counting, may currently be detected (empty cavity, measurement time of 15 min, neutron generator emission of 1.6 × 108 s-1 [4]). The most limiting parameters in terms of performances are the matrix of the drum - its composition (H, Cl...), its density, and its heterogeneity degree - and the localization and self-shielding properties of the contaminant.