ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Winter Conference & Expo
November 15–18, 2026
Phoenix, AZ|Arizona Grand Resort & Spa
Latest Magazine Issues
Sep 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Westinghouse, Nordion, and PSEG team up to produce Co‑60 in the United States
This past January, Westinghouse Electric Company, Nordion, and PSEG Nuclear formalized agreements to implement newly developed cobalt-60 production technology at Units 1 and 2 of PSEG’s Salem nuclear power plant in New Jersey, with the Co-60 to be supplied to Nordion. Through an ongoing joint initiative, the companies aim to harness U.S. pressurized water reactors to produce a key medical isotope and build the first commercial-scale Co-60 production platform in the United States.
Firooz Rufeh, Donald R. Olander and Thomas H. Pigford
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 23 | Number 4 | December 1965 | Pages 335-338
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE65-A21069
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A high-pressure furnace that operates up to 2000°C in the pressure range of 100 atm to 10−5 torr was designed and constructed to saturate UO2 powder of 4-µm average particle size with 4He. The powder was then dissolved in a fused salt in an induction chamber. The released 4He was mixed with a known quantity of 3He, and the mixture was analyzed with a mass spectrometer to determine the 4He: 3He ratio, hence the original mass of 4He in the sample. The solubility of He in UO2 at 1200 and 1300°C was found to be 6.71 × 10−4 and 3.23 × 10−4 cm3 (STP)/(g atm), respectively. It was also found that the He-UO2 system obeys Henry's law. From a plot of He concentration as a function of time, the diffusion coefficient at 1200 °C was estimated to be 1.5 × 10−13 cm2/sec.