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 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
Yuezhou Wei, Mikio Kumagai, Yoichi Takashima, Giuseppe Modolo, Reinhard Odoj
Nuclear Technology | Volume 132 | Number 3 | December 2000 | Pages 413-423
Technical Paper | Reprocessing | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3154
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
To develop an advanced partitioning process by extraction chromatography using a minimal organic solvent and compact equipment to separate minor actinides such as Am and Cm from nitrate acidic high-level waste (HLW) solution, several novel silica-based extraction resins have been prepared by impregnating organic extractants into the styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer, which is immobilized in porous silica particles (SiO2-P). The extractants include octyl(phenyl)-N, N-diisobutylcarbamoylmethylphosphine oxide (CMPO), di(2-ethylhexyl)-phosphoric acid (HDEHP), and bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)dithiophosphinic acid (Cyanex 301). Compared to conventional polymer-matrix resins, these new types of extraction resin are characterized by rapid kinetics and significantly low pressure loss in a packed column.The results of separation experiments revealed that trivalent actinides and lanthanides can be separated from other fission products, such as Cs, Sr, and Ru in simulated HLW solution containing concentrated nitric acid by extraction chromatography using a CMPO/SiO2-P resin-packed column. Satisfactory separation between Am(III) and a macro amount of lanthanides from simulated HLW solution with pH 4 was achieved by using a newly purified Cyanex 301/SiO2-P resin. However, the Am(III) separation was very sensitive to the purity of Cyanex 301, and the improvement of its stability is an important task for practical utilization.
