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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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A new ANSI/ANS standard for liquid metal fire protection published
ANSI/ANS-54.8-2025, Liquid Metal Fire Protection in LMR Plants, received approval from the American National Standards Institute on September 2 and is now available for purchase.
The 2025 edition is a reinvigoration of the withdrawn ANS-54.8-1988 of the same title. The Advanced Reactor Codes and Standards Collaborative (ARCSC) identified the need for a current version of the standard via an industry survey.
Typical liquid metal reactor designs use liquid sodium as the coolant for both the primary and intermediate heat-transport systems. In addition, liquid sodium and NaK (a mixture of sodium and potassium that is liquid at room temperature) are often used in auxiliary heat-removal systems. Since these liquid metals can react readily with oxygen, water, and other compounds, special precautions must be taken in the design, construction, testing, and maintenance of the sodium/NaK systems to ensure that the potential for leakage is very small.
F. A. Saulino, J. C. Andersen, K. M. Taylor
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 17 | Number 1 | September 1963 | Pages 75-81
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE63-A17212
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The outstanding features of the facility are its compactness, reliability, low operating cost and the unusually high purity of the atmosphere in the helium glove boxes (2–3 ppm oxygen and less than 1 ppm water vapor). The high purity helium atmosphere results from the leak tightness of the system and the highly effective zirconium-titanium alloy getter system. In addition to the usual health and safety precautions, possible trouble areas are continuously monitored by an extensive alarm system.
