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 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
April 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
IAEA looks at nuclear techniques for crop resilience
The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a five-year coordinated research project (CRP) to strengthen plant health preparedness using nuclear and related technologies.
Wheat blast, potato late blight, potato bacterial wilt, and cassava witches broom disease can spread quickly across large areas of land, leading to severe yield losses in key crops for food security. Global trade and climate change have increased the likelihood of rapid, transboundary spread.
Dragan Mirkovic, David J. Diamond
Nuclear Technology | Volume 95 | Number 2 | August 1991 | Pages 162-174
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT91-A34554
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An accident sequence in a boiling water reactor is studied in which there is a large reactivity insertion caused by the flushing of borated water from the core. This sequence can occur during an anticipated transient without scram after the injection of borated water from the standby liquid control system. The boron shuts down the power, but if there is a rapid depressurization of the vessel (e.g., because of the inadvertent actuation of the automatic depressurization system), large amounts of low-pressure, relatively cold, unborated water enters the vessel causing a rapid dilution and cooling. This study determines whether the reactivity addition caused by this flushing could lead to a power excursion that is sufficient to cause catastrophic fuel damage. Calculations are carried out using the RELAP5/MOD2 computer code under different assumptions regarding timing and availability of lowpressure pumps and with different reactivity coefficients. The results show that the fuel enthalpy rise is insufficient to cause catastrophic fuel damage, although less severe fuel damage might still be possible from overheating of the fuel cladding.