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
Mar 2026
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
March 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
April 2026
Latest News
NRC approves TerraPower construction permit
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that it has approved TerraPower’s construction permit application for Kemmerer Unit 1, the company’s first deployment of Natrium, its flagship sodium fast reactor.
This approval is a significant milestone on three fronts. For TerraPower, it represents another step forward in demonstrating its technology. For the Department of Energy, it reflects progress (despite delays) for the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). For the NRC, it is the first approval granted to a commercial reactor in nearly a decade—and the first approval of a commercial non–light water reactor in more than 40 years.
Paul A. Demkowicz, James L. Jerden, Jr., James C. Cunnane, Noriko Shibuya, Ronald Baney, James Tulenko
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 1 | July 2004 | Pages 157-170
Technical Paper | Thoria-Urania NERI | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3522
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The aqueous dissolution of irradiated and unirradiated uranium-thorium dioxide, (U,Th)O2, fuel pellets in Yucca Mountain well water has been investigated. Whole and crushed pellets were reacted at 25 and 90°C for periods of up to 195 days. The fuel dissolution was measured by analyzing the concentrations of soluble uranium, thorium, and important fission products (137Cs, 99Tc, 237Np, 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Am) in the well water. The surface-area-normalized fractional uranium release rates for unirradiated crushed uranium dioxide (UO2) pellets were 10 to 40 times higher than the values for (U,Th)O2 fuel. Similarly, the dissolution rates of irradiated (U,Th)O2 pellets with compositions ranging from 2.0 to 5.2% UO2 were at least two orders of magnitude lower than reported literature values for pure UO2. These results demonstrate an advantage of (U,Th)O2 over UO2 in terms of matrix dissolution in groundwater and suggest that (U,Th)O2 fuel is a more stable long-term waste form than conventional UO2 fuel.