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.
Division Spotlight
Fusion Energy
This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2024
Nuclear Technology
August 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Taking shape: Fusion energy ecosystems built with public-private partnerships
It’s possible to describe fusion in simple terms: heat and squeeze small atoms to get abundant clean energy. But there’s nothing simple about getting fusion ready for the grid.
Private developers, national lab and university researchers, suppliers, and end users working toward that goal are developing a range of complex technologies to reach fusion temperatures and pressures, confounded by science and technology gaps linked to plasma behavior; materials, diagnostics, and electronics for extreme environments; fuel cycle sustainability; and economics.
Marius Stein, Massimo Morichi
Nuclear Technology | Volume 179 | Number 1 | July 2012 | Pages 150-155
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Safeguards / Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A14076
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Renewed interest in nuclear energy as a sustainable, carbon emission-free component of a nation's energy portfolio has prompted the international nonproliferation community to evaluate how the expanded use of nuclear power can be effectively and efficiently safeguarded. One concept, named safeguards by design, aims at the efficient use of limited safeguards resources. It is a concept that was introduced in the mid-1990s and is currently under renewed review by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA would work with installation designers to facilitate the implementation of safeguards throughout the design and construction phases. The international nonproliferation community has picked up the discussion, and the nuclear industry is ready to contribute by evaluating whether a broader, synergetic engineering approach of a holistic design concept can be developed that would consider provisions for safety and security of new nuclear facilities.This paper outlines the background of safeguards by design and describes how the comprehensive concept of safety, security, and safeguards by design was developed. The expected synergies lying in a multiuser approach to instrumentation are illustrated with a sample infrastructure with distributed sensor networks employing separated data authentication and encryption schemes, and the potential advantages for day-to-day operation of installations are highlighted. An overview is given of the expected challenges, ranging from sensitivity concerns on the operator side to authentication of data to allow for independent evaluation by safeguards authorities. Finally, we sketch an opinion on the best way for a project, from its very beginning, to technically interact with the IAEA and how the formal process at the state level could accommodate this concept.