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The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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Latest News
Framatome signs contracts with Sizewell C
French nuclear developer Framatome is slated to deliver key equipment for Sizewell C Ltd.’s two large reactors planned for the United Kingdom’s Suffolk coast.
The agreement, reportedly worth multiple billions of euros, was announced this week and will involve Framatome from the design phase until commissioning. The company also agreed to a long-term fuel supply deal. Framatome is 80.5 percent owned by France’s EDF and 19.5 percent owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Manuel Pantelias, Benjamin Volmert
Nuclear Technology | Volume 192 | Number 3 | December 2015 | Pages 278-285
Technical Paper | Nuclear Plant Operations and Controls | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-13
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In Switzerland 40% of the electricity generation is produced by nuclear power. With all five reactors being already beyond their 30th year of operation, Nagra (National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste) in collaboration with the utilities periodically contributes to the Swiss Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) decommissioning cost studies. These studies are of relevance to the estimation of the financial input of the utilities to the Swiss decommissioning fund and the planning of decommissioning activities. During reactor operation, a fraction of the neutrons produced in the reactor core will escape the core boundaries and eventually interact with the surrounding matter. The most heavily irradiated components are located in the proximity of the reactor core [e.g., core baffle, core support plates, core barrel, and reactor pressure vessel (RPV)]. Neutrons will also stream in farther ex-RPV areas and activate components such as the reinforced concrete bioshield. Decommissioning costs are dependent, inter alia, on the radioactive waste volumes and on the corresponding isotopic inventories. Neutron-activated components are the main source of radioactivity within a NPP under immediate dismantling (i.e., spent fuel has been removed from the reactor). Reliable neutron transport and activation calculations are, therefore, essential for the estimation of radioactive waste volumes, the selection of an optimal dismantling strategy, the development of the radioactive waste packaging and logistics concept, and consequently for the estimation of the decommissioning costs. In this context, Nagra has developed a state-of-the-art NPP activation calculation sequence that enables the radiological characterization of the Swiss NPPs. This paper focuses on aspects relevant to the neutron transport calculations for a Swiss pressurized water reactor. More specifically, the MCNP5 modeling approach together with the use of the ADVANTG hybrid, variance-reduction acceleration code, is outlined. Furthermore, the validation of the neutron transport calculations with an in situ full-cycle foil activation campaign is presented.