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Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
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.
Keith F. Dufrane, Michael D. Naughton
Nuclear Technology | Volume 63 | Number 1 | October 1983 | Pages 102-109
Technical Paper | Material | doi.org/10.13182/NT83-A33306
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Cobalt-60 has been identified as the principal isotope responsible for the buildup of radiation in light water reactors. The 60Co is produced from stable cobalt being released to the coolant and becoming activated to 60Co during residence in the core. The release occurs because of the corrosion and wear of cobalt-containing alloys exposed to the coolant. This study was directed toward measuring the cobalt released by wear of cobalt-based alloys. Plastic replicas were made of worn components during maintenance outages. Subsequent profilometer measurements were made on the replicas using nearby unworn areas as reference surfaces to enable a calculation of the cobalt released by wear. The calculated release rates on a variety of seven components were estimated from 0.04 g/yr for a main coolant pump on a pressurized water reactor to 30 g/yr for a feedwater regulator valve on a boiling water reactor.