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Division Spotlight
Radiation Protection & Shielding
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.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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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Latest News
NRC v. Texas: Supreme Court weighs challenge to NRC authority in spent fuel storage case
The State of Texas has not one but two ongoing federal court challenges to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that could, if successful, turn decades of NRC regulations, precedent, and case law on its head.
C. Ramesh, N. Murugesan, V. Ganesan, N. Sivai Bharasi, M. G. Pujar, U. Kamachi Mudali
Nuclear Technology | Volume 197 | Number 1 | January 2017 | Pages 99-109
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-141
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is nearing completion at Kalpakkam, India. Sodium is the heat transfer medium for PFBR, and austenitic steel SS 316LN is the material of construction for the sodium circuits of the reactor. During reactor service, the inner surfaces of the sodium circuit pipelines undergo corrosion by interacting with liquid sodium, forming ferritic layers. Radioactive nuclides formed by the activation of corrosion products are deposited on the ferritic surface, resulting in a radioactive burden on maintenance personnel. Chemical decontamination is generally carried out by dissolving the surface ferritic layer on the inside surface of the sodium circuit. In this context, a study of the dissolution behavior of the ferritic layer on SS 316LN samples formed by exposure to liquid sodium at 823 K was carried out by monitoring the H2 released during the chemical interaction with decontamination formulation. The decontamination chemical formulation was a mixture of sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid. This paper discusses the sample preparation, formation of the ferritic layer, and studies carried out on its dissolution behavior in decontamination formulation by monitoring the hydrogen released during the reaction using a proton exchange membrane–based hydrogen sensor.