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 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Swiss nuclear power and the case for long-term operation
Designed for 40 years but built to last far longer, Switzerland’s nuclear power plants have all entered long-term operation. Yet age alone says little about safety or performance. Through continuous upgrades, strict regulatory oversight, and extensive aging management, the country’s reactors are being prepared for decades of continued operation, in line with international practice.
R. H. Jabs, W. A. Jester
Nuclear Technology | Volume 30 | Number 1 | July 1976 | Pages 24-32
Technical Paper | Reactor Siting | doi.org/10.13182/NT76-A31620
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A low-level radiation monitoring system for the continuous detection of gaseous effluents, both at the point of release and at the boundary of nuclear facilities, has been developed. The prototype system can achieve sensitivities on the order of 10-10 µCi/ml for certain noble gas radioisotopes and provide continuous isotopic identification and monitoring. The system also provides the ability to place a sodium iodide [Nal(Tl)] detector in the natural environment unattended for long durations and perform continuous gammaray spectroscopy. A unique calibration technique using clathrates of the various inert gases was utilized in evaluating the system’s detection efficiency and sensitivity. Field testing of the system was successfully conducted at a nuclear power generating station. The system’s limitations were also evaluated and are mainly due to the relatively poor resolution of Nal(Tl) detectors and the complexity of the gamma-ray spectra resulting from the gaseous effluent emitted by nuclear power reactors.