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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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Latest News
Canada clears Darlington to produce Lu-177 and Y-90
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has amended Ontario Power Generation’s power reactor operating license for Darlington nuclear power plant to authorize the production of the medical radioisotopes lutetium-177 and yttrium-90.
M. Zucchetti, L. Di Pace, L. El-Guebaly, B. N. Kolbasov, V. Massaut, R. Pampin, P. Wilson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 56 | Number 2 | August 2009 | Pages 781-788
Safety and Environment | Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 2) | doi.org/10.13182/FST09-A9004
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In order to maximize the environmental benefits of fusion power generation, it is important to clearly define the parameters governing the back-end of the materials cycle. A fusion-specific approach is necessary and needs to be developed. Recycling of materials and clearance (i.e. declassification to non-radioactive material) are the two recommended options for reducing the amount of fusion waste, while the disposal as low-level waste could be an alternative route for specific materials and components. Both recycling and clearance criteria have been recently revised by national and international institutions. These revisions and their consequences for fusion material management are examined in this paper.It is also important to define the various processes and routes to avoid generating active waste from fusion as much as possible. Two ways are explored within the fusion community: first, the development of materials leading to low activation levels, avoiding the generation of long lived radionuclides through a strict control of the impurity content in materials; second, the development of suitable and reliable processes allowing either clearance of as much material as possible (potentially after adequate treatment) or recycling most of the remaining materials within the nuclear industry.