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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum (CONTE 2025)
February 3–6, 2025
Amelia Island, FL|Omni Amelia Island Resort
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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A series of firsts delivers new Plant Vogtle units
Southern Nuclear was first when no one wanted to be.
The nuclear subsidiary of the century-old utility Southern Company, based in Atlanta, Ga., joined a pack of nuclear companies in the early 2000s—during what was then dubbed a “nuclear renaissance”—bullish on plans for new large nuclear facilities and adding thousands of new carbon-free megawatts to the grid.
In 2008, Southern Nuclear applied for a combined construction and operating license (COL), positioning the company to receive the first such license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2012. Also in 2008, Southern became the first U.S. company to sign an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a Generation III+ reactor. Southern chose Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactor, which was certified by the NRC in December 2011.
Fast forward a dozen years—which saw dozens of setbacks and hundreds of successes—and Southern Nuclear and its stakeholders celebrated the completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4: the first new commercial nuclear power construction project completed in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
T. Fei, M. J. Driscoll, E. Shwageraus
Nuclear Technology | Volume 186 | Number 3 | June 2014 | Pages 378-389
Technical Paper | Fuel Cycle and Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-21
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the neutronic feasibility and competitive fuel cycle economics of sodium fast reactors operating with uranium metal (UZr) fuel on a once-through fuel cycle. Uranium startup fast reactors (USFRs) decouple their deployment from that of expensive reprocessing and recycle facilities. This could facilitate and speed up the deployment of conventional fast reactors, which, in their traditional designs, heavily depend on the availability of reprocessing facilities for transuranic fuel production. The uranium requirement and fuel cycle cost of studied USFR core designs are calculated to be comparable to those of typical light water reactors. The main design constraint is the fast neutron fluence imposed on the cladding material, which is required to be below 5.0×1023 n/cm2 even for advanced oxide dispersion strengthened steels. Therefore, moderators need to be inserted in the fuel assemblies to lower the fast neutron flux so that the fuel residence time limited by neutron fluence can be extended to match the reactivity limited fuel residence time. In this study, magnesium oxide is used for reflectors as well as for the moderator.
