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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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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.
T. A. Parish
Nuclear Technology | Volume 42 | Number 2 | February 1979 | Pages 180-194
Technical Paper | Thorium Fuel Cycle in a Breeder Economy / Radioactive Waste | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32149
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Transmutation of 90Sr using fusion neutrons has been suggested as a possible technique for disposing of this waste nuclide. For transmutation to be attractive, high transmutation rates relative to natural decay are required. “Effective” half-lives for 90Sr were computed for fusion reactor blankets constructed of various materials. To obtain satisfactory transmutation rates, fusion reactors with high first wall neutron currents and with highly moderating blankets were found to be necessary. An effective half-life for 90Sr of <5 yr was extremely difficult to achieve with the fusion concepts and blankets studied. A waste management system was formulated to determine the reduction in the 90Sr inventory and the number of burners required for various fission usage scenarios. Efficient and fast chemical separations were needed to reap the benefits of a short effective half-life. For the fusion burners considered, it was found that the 90Sr inventory could not be reduced to less than one-fourth of the inventory without transmutation if fission usage continued at a constant rate. Such a reduction is not sufficient to justify the transmutation disposal of 90Sr.