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Meeting Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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The U.S. Million Person Study of Low-Dose-Rate Health Effects
There is a critical knowledge gap regarding the health consequences of exposure to radiation received gradually over time. While there is a plethora of studies on the risks of adverse outcomes from both acute and high-dose exposures, including the landmark study of atomic bomb survivors, these are not characteristic of the chronic exposure to low-dose radiation encountered in occupational and public settings. In addition, smaller cohorts have limited numbers leading to reduced statistical power.
Bryce L. Shriver, Thomas G. Hook
Nuclear Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | April 1983 | Pages 113-117
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT83-A33148
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The operation of some early-generation light water reactors may be limited by the irradiation-induced embrittlement of their reactor vessels. Additional nondestructive methods of measuring the actual embrittlement are desirable to support limits placed on the operation of these vessels. Previous studies have indicated that the increase in microhardness with irradiation may correlate with shifts in the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. However, the previous research did not consider variations in the test temperature to determine whether it affects the correlation with transition temperature or whether microhardness may correlate with the fracture energy outside the transition region. The Vickers microhardness measurements were made at eight temperatures from -195 to 90°C (-320 to 200°F) by holding the samples in a liquid bath during the application of the test load. Both unirradiated and irradiated samples were evaluated for the three A533-B steels. These tests indicate that the Vickers hardness may correlate with the strength and ductility of unirradiated steels. In addition, both the change in microhardness and the shift in test temperature at a constant hardness may correlate with the shift in transition temperature caused by irradiation.