ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
Werner Faubel, Sameh A. Ali
Nuclear Technology | Volume 86 | Number 1 | July 1989 | Pages 60-65
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34282
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The technical feasibility of partitioning concentrated nitric acid intermediate-level waste (ILWC) solutions from the Purex process into a small volume of high-level waste and a large volume of low-level waste using sorption methods is demonstrated for 1-ℓ batches. Cesium-134 and 137Cs are selectively separated with a decontamination factor (DF) greater than 1 × 105 in a newly developed “suspended-bed” column filled with the microporous inorganic exchanger ammonium molybdophosphate. The 125Sb and the actinides and lanthanides with a 3+ valence state are retained with DFs between 40 and 1000 on metal oxides of antimony and manganese and on an extraction column containing n-octyl(phenyl) N,N-diisobutyl carbamoyl methyl phosphine oxide, respectively. Ruthenium-106 and 60Co are removed in a column loaded with dimethyl glyoxime and have DFs greater than 20. The amount of secondary wastes arising from absorber materials is calculated to be 300 kg for a 350 t/yr reprocessing plant with an ILWC volume of ∼0.5 m3/t of heavy metal.