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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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U.S. nuclear supply chain: Ready for liftoff
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
This month, September 8–11, the American Nuclear Society is teaming up with the Nuclear Energy Institute to host our first-ever Nuclear Energy Conference and Expo—NECX for short—in Atlanta. This new meeting combines ANS’s Utility Working Conference and NEI’s Nuclear Energy Assembly to form what NEI CEO Maria Korsnick and I hope will be the premier nuclear industry gathering in America.
We did this because after more than four decades of relative stagnation, the U.S. nuclear supply chain is finally entering a new era of dynamic growth. This resurgence is being driven by several powerful and increasingly durable forces: the explosive demand for electricity from artificial intelligence and data centers, an unprecedented wave of public and private acceptance of—and investment in—advanced nuclear technologies, and a strong market signal for reliable, on-demand power. Add the recent Trump administration executive orders on nuclear into the mix, and you have all the makings of an accelerant-rich business environment primed for rapid expansion.
A. Ryan Whited, Robert A. Fjeld, James R. Cook
Nuclear Technology | Volume 123 | Number 3 | September 1998 | Pages 304-319
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2901
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Vitrification, the conversion of source components into a solid amorphous glass matrix, has emerged as a viable treatment technology for low-level radioactive waste and mixed waste. To dispose of vitrified low-level waste at U.S. Department of Energy facilities, site-specific radiological performance assessments must be conducted to demonstrate that waste glass satisfies performance objectives for environmental protection. More than 2500 m3 of F006-listed low-level mixed-waste sludge stored in the Reactor Materials Department (M-Area) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is scheduled for vitrification. This study evaluates the feasibility of on-site disposal of vitrified M-Area waste at SRS.Laboratory leaching tests that accelerate the glass corrosion process are currently the best indicators of vitrified waste form durability. A method to incorporate laboratory leaching data into performance assessments is presented. A screening-level performance assessment code is used to model trench disposal of M-Area waste glass. The allowable leach rate for vitrified M-Area waste is determined based on both a maximum radiological dose equivalent of 4 mrem/yr for the drinking water pathway and a maximum uranium concentration of 20 g/l in groundwater. The allowable leach rate is compared with published long-term leaching data for a wide range of waste glass compositions and test conditions. This analysis demonstrates that trench disposal of the waste glass is likely to meet applicable performance objectives if the glass is of above average durability compared with the reference set of glasses.
