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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott 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
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Joanna McFarlane, Jungsook C. Wren, Robert J. Lemire
Nuclear Technology | Volume 138 | Number 2 | May 2002 | Pages 162-178
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT138-162
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Iodine species released into a reactor containment building following a loss-of-coolant accident is determined by the relative timing and quantity of iodine and other fission products released from the fuel, chemical thermodynamics in the fuel channel, and reaction kinetics in cooler regions of the heat transport system (HTS). Iodine speciation along the transport path from the fuel to cooler regions of the HTS and into containment is evaluated using chemical thermodynamics calculations, leading to a prediction of the volatile iodine mole fraction that theoretically would enter containment. Sensitivities to a decrease in the cesium-to-iodine ratio, a decrease in iodine concentration in the coolant, and an increase in oxygen partial pressure are tested. The role of the presence of other elements, namely, molybdenum, tellurium, uranium, and lithium, are also evaluated. Under most conditions, the mole fraction of iodine entering containment in volatile form is found to be <0.1%. There are circumstances, however, when cesium iodide can be destabilized by a low cesium-to-molybdenum ratio in an oxidizing atmosphere such as steam. To further explore this situation and to validate the code, chemical equilibrium calculations are also compared to earlier Knudsen-cell experimental studies of the interaction of cesium, iodine, molybdenum, and urania. In these experiments, the partial pressures of cesium molybdate and elemental iodine are measured as a function of temperature over the range 1100 to 1500 K. The calculated Cs2MoO4 vapor pressures agree with the experimental results within an order of magnitude at temperatures up to 1200 K; and between 770 and 1150 K, the agreement is within a factor of 2 to 5 depending on the chemical system.