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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting 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!
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Latest News
Take steps on SNF and HLW disposal
Matt Bowen
With a new administration and Congress, it is time once again to ponder what will happen—if anything—on U.S. spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste management policy over the next few years. One element of the forthcoming discussion seems clear: The executive and legislative branches are eager to talk about recycling commercial SNF. Whatever the merits of doing so, it does not obviate the need for one or more facilities for disposal of remaining long-lived radionuclides. For that reason, making progress on U.S. disposal capabilities remains urgent, lest the associated radionuclide inventories simply be left for future generations to deal with.
In March, Rick Perry, who was secretary of energy during President Trump’s first administration, observed that during his tenure at the Department of Energy it became clear to him that any plan to move SNF “required some practical consent of the receiving state and local community.”1
P. E. Gethard, L. R. Zumwalt
Nuclear Technology | Volume 3 | Number 11 | November 1967 | Pages 679-685
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT67-A27903
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The diffusion of strontium and cesium through thin layers (100 μm) of isotropic pyrolytic carbon has been measured over the temperature range 1000 to 1700°C. Diffusion coefficients observed for cesium are orders of magnitude lower than those for strontium. The diffusion rates for both series are much lower than those observed in porous poly crystalline graphite, where little difference is seen between cesium and strontium. When constant chemical potential sources are used, chemical- and self-diffusion measurements for strontium give identical results in the Sr concentration range 0.01 to 0.2 wt%. There is apparently no concentration effect for cesium over the range 1.0 × 10−5 to 0.15 wt%. The difference between strontium and cesium diffusion in pyrolytic carbon is attributed to the greater steric effect of the pyrolytic-carbon defect structure relative to cesium.
