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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.
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G7 pledges support for nuclear at Italy meeting
The Group of Seven (G7) recommitted its support for nuclear energy in the countries that opt to use it at a Ministerial Meeting on Climate in Italy last month.
In a statement following the April meeting, the group committed to support multilateral efforts to strengthen the resilience of nuclear supply chains, referencing the goal set by 25 countries during last year’s COP28 climate conference in Dubai to triple global nuclear generating capacity by 2050.
Jacopo Buongiorno, Eric P. Loewen, Kenneth Czerwinski, Christopher Larson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 3 | September 2004 | Pages 406-417
Technical Paper | Medium-Power Lead-Alloy Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3539
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The isotope 210Po is the main product of neutron activation in fast reactors cooled by molten lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE). The isotope 210Po is a pure alpha emitter with a half-life of 138.38 days. For typical values of the neutron flux the 210Po concentration in the coolant can reach 1-10 Ci/kg. While exposure of plant personnel to Po is prevented under normal operating conditions because the primary system is sealed, Po does pose a radiological hazard during maintenance activities for which access to submerged structures is required as well as during accidents resulting in breach of the primary-system barrier. Obviously, continuous removal of Po from the LBE reduces this hazard. Therefore, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which Po is formed in and released from the LBE. We summarize research performed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to investigate the basic chemistry of four mechanisms of Po release, which could serve as the basis for a coolant cleanup system in LBE-cooled reactors. The mechanisms explored are lead polonide evaporation, formation of polonium hydride, rare-earth filtering, and alkaline extraction. For the key chemical species involved expressions are given for useful quantities such as formation energy, release, and deposition rates. It is concluded that the most promising removal mechanism is alkaline extraction, although a more systematic investigation of this mechanism is needed.