Remembering ANS Past President Joseph Hendrie

January 11, 2024, 3:01PMNuclear News

Joseph Hendrie, Brookhaven National Laboratory physicist, NRC chair, and ANS past president (1984–1985), passed away in his home in Bellport, N.Y., on December 26 at the age of 98.

Hendrie, an American Nuclear Society member since 1956, was a leader in the nuclear community for much of his 45 years in nuclear reactor safety research. He served as the deputy director for technical review of the Atomic Energy Commission’s Directorate of Licensing from 1972 to 1974 and then was appointed chair of the NRC in 1977 (serving a second stint as chair in 1981—the only person to serve two nonconsecutive terms in that role).

Revive the LMFBR

July 25, 2022, 11:46AMANS Nuclear CafeClark Gibbs
A rendering of the Clinch River breeder reactor project.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Nuclear Society.

To provide a place for constructive conversation and exchange of ideas, I have built the website lmfbr.com. There, interested persons will find a description of the liquid metal fast breeder reactor technology and an outline of its history. The site is intended for an audience already generally familiar with light water reactors—but most particularly, it is meant to encourage comments so that the community can identify a pathway for deployment of LMFBRs through a conceptual design and institutional approach that draws upon collective experience, recent innovation, and re-visitation of approaches previously considered that have been long lying dormant. The website is also intended to suggest areas where further creative thought could be directed to improve the economic and operational performance of the LMFBR concept to make it highly competitive with LWRs.

Spent fuel reprocessing, or "Don't bother us with facts; our minds are made up."

January 27, 2022, 9:30AMANS Nuclear Cafe
The cover of the May 1977 issue of Nuclear News (left), an image of the story discussing Carter's decision to cancel the breeder reactor program (center) and the cover of the June 1977 Nuclear News (right).

The ANS Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division will present a webinar today at noon EST (the recording will be available via the webinar archive to all ANS members) featuring an international panel of experts on nuclear waste reprocessing. The panel will explore the idea of separating certain radionuclides from waste using recycling technology that enables pure materials to be used for other purposes.

Why is Jimmy Carter trending on Twitter?

December 17, 2021, 11:59AMANS Nuclear Cafe
The young Jimmy Carter, years before his presidency. (Click to view entire graphic.)

Jimmy Carter is trending on Twitter this week because of his ties to nuclear power. Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was a member of Rickover’s nuclear navy about 70 years ago when he was assigned to help in the aftermath of an accident at the Chalk River Laboratory in Ontario, Canada.