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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
Standards Program
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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Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
W. Steinwarz, H. J. Cordewiner, H. D. Röhrig
Nuclear Technology | Volume 46 | Number 2 | December 1979 | Pages 312-317
Technical Paper | Nuclear Power Reactor Safety (Presented at the ENS/ANS International Meeting, Brussels, Belgium, October 16–19, 1978) / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32332
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The application of nuclear heat in chemical processes involves a novel safety problem caused by contamination of the product gas with tritium. For a 3000-MW(thermal) nuclear process heat installation, a study was made on tritium distribution. Based on conservative assumptions and a calculation model for source/sink balances, an upper limit for the tritium concentration in the product gas of ∼5900 Bq/m3 (STP) was derived. The critical pathway in the application of the product gas then leads to a radiation exposure being far below the German 0.3 mGy ( 30 mrem) annual whole-body dose concept. Improvements in the calculation model and additional data for modified design features may further reduce the tritium contamination.