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
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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
May 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Congress receives NRC report on unusual events
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has published its annual report to Congress for fiscal year 2023 on abnormal occurrences involving medical and industrial uses of radioactive material.
The report, which was announced by the NRC on May 3, is available on the NRC website.
Josée Perfettini
Nuclear Technology | Volume 115 | Number 2 | August 1996 | Pages 153-161
Technical Paper | Characterization of Radioactive Waste in France / Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT96-A35261
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A neutronic method based on neutron thermalization by hydrogen nuclei is used to measure the moisture content in packages of radioactive waste embedded in hydraulic binders. The two steps of the measurement are (a) acquisition of the neutron characteristics of the embedded waste considered (or of a chemically similar material) and (b) the measurement itself obtained with a neutron moisture meter. The neutron characteristics required are the adsorption and diffusion cross sections ∑a and ∑d for thermal neutrons of the dried material. These two parameters are used to calculate the calibration curve (valid only for the material considered) as follows:N = (α·Ds + β)Hυ + γ·Ds + δ,which allows the counting N of the neutron moisture meter to be converted into free-water content Hv (α, β, γ, and δ are deduced from ∑a and ∑d; Ds is the dry density of the material). The neutron moisture meter (containing a fast neutron source and a thermalized neutron detector) is portable. Measurements are taken at various depths in a core hole made in the package to draw a water profile. The measurements are taken in materials used for waste solidification and in active or inactive packages. The results obtained (free-water content) are in good agreement with those obtained by determining the weight loss at 120°C (the differences between these two measurements are generally ∼10% when the free-water content is ∼20 to 25 %). The water profiles allow one to detect the presence of excessive free water.