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 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
April 2026
Latest News
NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Jeremy J. Whitlock, Naoko Inoue, Masao Senzaki, Dennis Bley, Ed Wonder
Nuclear Technology | Volume 179 | Number 1 | July 2012 | Pages 91-96
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Safeguards / Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT179-91
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection (PR&PP) Working Group of the Generation IV International Forum conducted a high-level pathway analysis of a hypothetical sodium fast reactor and integral fuel processing facility (called collectively the Example Sodium Fast Reactor, or ESFR), as a test of the effectiveness of its analysis methodology. This paper presents the results of the analysis based on the breakout scenario. Four representative strategies were chosen for analysis: diversion of low-enriched uranium feed material, two different types of misuse of the reactor facility, and misuse of the fuel processing facility. A high-level pathways analysis was conducted for each strategy to determine relative ranking of the proliferation-time measure, specifically as it applies to the postbreakout period.