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Division Spotlight
Operations & Power
Members focus on the dissemination of knowledge and information in the area of power reactors with particular application to the production of electric power and process heat. The division sponsors meetings on the coverage of applied nuclear science and engineering as related to power plants, non-power reactors, and other nuclear facilities. It encourages and assists with the dissemination of knowledge pertinent to the safe and efficient operation of nuclear facilities through professional staff development, information exchange, and supporting the generation of viable solutions to current issues.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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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April 2024
Nuclear Technology
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February 2024
Latest News
Can hydrogen be the transportation fuel in an otherwise nuclear economy?
Let’s face it: The global economy should be powered primarily by nuclear power. And it probably will by the end of this century, with a still-significant assist from renewables and hydro. Once nuclear systems are dominant, the costs come down to where gas is now; and when carbon emissions are reduced to a small portion of their present state, it will become obvious that most other sources are only good in niche settings. I mean, why use small modular reactors to load-follow when they can just produce that power instead of buffering it?
Christopher M. Ryan, Craig M. Marianno, William S. Charlton, Alexander A. Solodov, Ronald J. Livesay, Braden Goddard
Nuclear Technology | Volume 186 | Number 3 | June 2014 | Pages 415-426
Technical Paper | Radiation Transport and Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-98
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The collapse of the Soviet Union ushered in an era of interest in the security of the radiological and nuclear material holdings of the Russian Federation and other countries of the Former Soviet Union. Additionally, the increasing sophistication of international criminal and terrorist organizations highlighted the need to secure these materials and prevent them from being smuggled from their point of origin and across international boundaries. To combat the growing threat of radiological and nuclear smuggling, radiation portal monitors (RPMs) are deployed at ports of entry (POEs) around the world to passively detect gamma and neutron radiation signatures from cargo and pedestrian traffic. In some locations, RPMs are reporting abnormally high gamma-ray background count rates, a situation that has been attributed, in part, to the building materials surrounding the RPMs. The primary objective of this work was to determine the impact of different types of concrete on the gamma-ray background readings in a particular RPM. Secondary objectives include developing an adaptable model to estimate the gamma-ray background contribution from any composition of concrete in any RPM configuration and determining the elemental composition of different concrete samples through neutron activation analysis (NAA) techniques. The specific activities of 40K and isotopes from the 238U and 232Th decay series were determined with a high-purity germanium detector and computer-generated calibration files. Through NAA, 34 elemental compositions were determined for six concrete samples from three different parent slabs. The total weight percentages determined were 84% to 100% of the total mass of the samples. The Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code was used to simulate the RPM response to the different concrete slabs. The MCNP model was validated by comparing actual and simulated detector responses to 137Cs check sources of varying strengths. For all validation cases, the MCNP estimates were 6% to 16% less than the value obtained from the actual RPM data. This work shows that it is possible to estimate the gamma-ray response of an RPM to the underlying concrete roadway. Knowing the amount of this contribution will allow RPM customers to choose suitable foundation materials before installation and accurately set alarm thresholds. This could ultimately increase the ability of RPMs to detect radiation at POEs, thereby increasing the probability of a seizure of smuggled radiological and nuclear materials.