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
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Sep 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
October 2025
Latest News
Wright denies reports of DOE plans to axe Hanford’s WTP
Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a statement on September 9 denying reports that the Department of Energy plans to terminate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
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.