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
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
William E. Kastenberg, Per F. Peterson, Joonhong Ahn, J. Burch, G. Casher, Paul L. Chambré, Ehud Greenspan, Donald R. Olander, Jasmina L. Vujic, B. Bessinger, Neville G. W. Cook, Fiona M. Doyle, L. Brun Hilbert, Jr.
Nuclear Technology | Volume 115 | Number 3 | September 1996 | Pages 298-310
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT96-2
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Potential routes to autocatalytic criticality in geologic repositories are systematically assessed. If highly enriched uranium (HEU) or 239Pu are transported and deposited in concentrations similar to natural uranium ore, in principle, criticality can occur. For some hypothesized critical configurations, removal of a small fraction of pore water provides a positive feedback mechanism that can lead to supercriticality. Rock heating and homogenization for these configurations can also significantly increase reactivity. At Yucca Mountain, it is highly unlikely that these configurations can occur; plutonium transport would occur primarily as colloids and deposit over short distances. HEU solute can move large distances in the Yucca Mountain setting; its ability to precipitate into critical configurations is unlikely because of a lack of active reducing agents. Appropriate engineering of the waste form and the repository can reduce any remaining probability of criticality.