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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Latest News
GAO: Clarification of HLW definition could save DOE billions
A clearer definition of what constitutes high-level radioactive waste could save the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management “tens of billions of dollars” in waste management costs and accelerate its cleanup schedule by decades, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
DOE-EM’s efforts to manage waste resulting from legacy spent nuclear fuel reprocessing have been hindered for decades by the ambiguity of the statutory definition of HLW as laid out in the Atomic Energy Act and Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the report states. While admitting that the DOE has taken steps to overcome this ambiguity, the GAO says that the department has not fully evaluated all available opportunities to treat and dispose of waste more economically as either transuranic or low-level radioactive waste.
Technical Session|Radioisotope Power Systems
Wednesday, May 8, 2024|10:00–11:40AM MDT|Sweeney A
Session Chair:
Jake R. Matthews (Zeno Power)
Session Organizer:
Alternate Chair:
Robert Wingo (LANL)
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Development of Americium Oxide Ceramics for use in European Radioisotope Power Systems
10:00–10:25AM MDT
M.J. Sarsfield (National Nuclear Laboratory), P. Glenville (National Nuclear Laboratory), C. Perkins (National Nuclear Laboratory)
Paper
Exploring Oxalate Co-Precipitation Methods for the Production of Surrogate Americium Oxides for use in European Radioisotope Power Systems
10:25–10:50AM MDT
S. Jones (Lancaster Univ.), C. Boxall (Lancaster Univ.), R. Sanderson (National Nuclear Laboratory), M.J. Sarsfield (National Nuclear Laboratory), R. Wilbraham (Lancaster Univ.)
Using the External Gelation Sol-gel Method to Create Cerium Uranium Oxides as Potential Surrogates for Americium Uranium Oxides in the Context of European Radioisotope Power Systems
10:50–11:15AM MDT
E.J. Watkinson (Univ. Leicester), R. Wilbraham (Lancaster Univ.), M.J. Sarsfield (National Nuclear Laboratory), C. Boxall (Lancaster Univ.), R.M. Ambrosi (Univ. Leicester)
Assessing Alternatives for Pu-238 in Radioisotope Heater Units
11:15–11:40AM MDT
Laura Holewa (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Alexander Rodgers (Westinghouse Electric Co.), Cenk Guler (Westinghouse Electric Co.)
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