ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
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!
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Latest News
Argonne to investigate Pu chemistry to aid Hanford cleanup
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are investigating the details of plutonium chemistry with the goal of aiding the cleanup of the Hanford Site in Washington state. For more than 40 years, reactors located at Hanford produced plutonium for America’s defense program, resulting in millions of gallons of liquid radioactive and chemical waste.
Lucas P. Tucker, Shoaib Usman, Ayodeji Alajo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 194 | Number 1 | April 2016 | Pages 97-110
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-67
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Missouri University of Science and Technology Subcritical Assembly has been brought back into service and upgraded with a new neutron detection system and Internet accessibility. Before the upgrade, neutron counting was possible in only one location. Using a movable detection system housed in acrylic tubes, measurements can now be taken in any empty fuel location and at any height within the tube, making three-dimensional flux mapping possible. By connecting the new detection system to a Canberra Lynx Digital Signal Analyzer, remote users can have limited data-collecting capabilities. To further enhance the potential of the facility, a Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code (MCNP) model of the subcritical assembly was created and validated by comparing its simulated predictions to experiments conducted at the facility. An approach to the criticality experiment using the 1/M approximation showed that the MCNP model accurately predicts keff if the detectors are placed between 27 and 36 cm from the neutron source. The results of an axial flux measurement experiment taken 20.3 cm from the neutron source differed from the MCNP-simulated results by an average of 12%. Finally, the validated MCNP model was used to show the effect of removing the facility’s fixed detector tube and redistributing its fuel. MCNP simulation predicts that the new configuration would increase the multiplication factor from 0.73481 ± 0.00008 to 0.76844 ± 0.00004.