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Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
T. Parham, B. Kozioziemski, D. Atkinson, P. Baisden, L. Bertolini, K. Boehm, A. Chernov, K. Coffee, F. Coffield, R. Dylla-Spears, O. Edwards, J. Fair, M. Fedorov, J. Fry, C. Gibson, B. Haid, D. Holunga, T. Kohut, T. Lewis, T. Malsbury, E. Mapoles, J. Sater, K. Skulina, D. Trummer, C. Walters
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 69 | Number 1 | January-February 2016 | Pages 407-419
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-162
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A cryogenic target positioning system was designed and installed on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) target chamber. This instrument incorporates the ability to fill, form, and characterize the NIF targets with hydrogen isotopes needed for ignition experiments inside the NIF target bay then transport and position them in the target chamber. This effort brought to fruition years of research in growing and metrologizing high-quality hydrogen fuel layers and landed it in an especially demanding operations environment in the NIF facility. D-T (deuterium-tritium) layers for NIF ignition experiments have extremely tight specifications and must be grown in a very highly constrained environment: a NIF ignition target inside a cryogenic target positioner inside the NIF target bay. Exquisite control of temperature, pressure, contaminant level, and thermal uniformity are necessary throughout seed formation and layer growth to create an essentially-groove-free single crystal layer.
The team developed processes, procedures, software, and metrology techniques to form and qualify solid layers of hydrogen isotopes at a quality level and yield needed to support the National Ignition Campaign experimental program. The team has grown over 220 layers in NIF, and 52 have been shot to date.