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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
Milo D. Nordyke
Nuclear Technology | Volume 11 | Number 3 | July 1971 | Pages 303-314
Technical Paper | Nuclear Explosion Engineering / Nuclear Explosive | doi.org/10.13182/NT71-A30863
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An analysis has been made of the use of multiple nuclear explosives in a single emplacement hole for the stimulation of the production of natural gas from a low permeability gas reservoir. Both simultaneous and sequential firing have been considered. Although the physical effects of simultaneous or sequential firing are difficult to quantitatively predict, it is shown that for an area where the gas deposit is thick (>500 ft) and the maximum yield is limited by seismic considerations, the use of sequential firing is significantly more advantageous from an economic viewpoint. An economic analysis of a specific gas formation was made, assuming the use of sequential explosions for the commercial development of an entire gas field. Assuming a wellhead gas price of 30¢ per 1000 ft3, the internal rate of return on the required investment varied from 13 to 27%, depending on the properties of the reservoir. Before these projections can be realized, a large number of technical and operational problems must be solved.