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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
February 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Resurrecting Three Mile Island
When Exelon Generation shut down Three Mile Island Unit 1 in September 2019, managers were so certain that the reactor would never run again that as soon as they could, they had workers drain the oil out of both the main transformer and a spare to eliminate the chance of leaks. The company was unable to find a buyer because of the transformers’ unusual design. “We couldn’t give them away,” said Trevor Orth, the plant manager. So they scrapped them.
Now they will pay $100 million for a replacement.
The turnaround at the reactor—now called the Crane Clean Energy Center—highlights two points: how smart Congress was to step in with help to prevent premature closures with the zero-emission nuclear power production credit of 0.3 cents per kilowatt-hour (only two years too late), and how expensive it is turning out to be to change course.
M. Sharpe, W. T. Shmayda, W. U. Schröder
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 70 | Number 1 | July 2016 | Pages 97-111
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST15-198
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The migration of tritium to the surfaces of Aluminum 6061; oxygen-free, high-conductivity copper; and Type 316 stainless steel from the bulk metal was studied using low-pressure Tonks-Langmuir argon plasma. The plasma is shown to be effective at removing tritium from metal surfaces in a controlled manner. Tritium is removed in decreasing quantities with successive plasma exposures, which suggests a depletion of the surface and near-surface-tritium inventories.
A diffusion model was developed to predict tritium migration from the bulk and its accumulation in the water layers present on the metal surface. The model reproduces the rate of tritium regrowth on the surface for all three metals and can be used to calculate the triton solubility in the water layers present on metal surfaces. The ratio of surface-to-bulk solubilities at the water layer–bulk metal interface uniquely determines the concentration ratio between these two media. Removing the tritium-rich water layers induces tritium to migrate from the bulk to the surface. This process is driven by a concentration gradient that develops in the bulk because of the perturbation on the surface.
