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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
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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Latest News
College students help develop waste-measuring device at Hanford
A partnership between Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) and Washington State University has resulted in the development of a device to measure radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Hanford Site. WRPS is the contractor at Hanford for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
Nicholas Chornoboy, Alexandra Levinsky, Charles Kitson, Blair P. Bromley
Nuclear Technology | Volume 204 | Number 1 | October 2018 | Pages 110-118
Technical Note | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1454229
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Lattice physics depletion calculations were performed to obtain postburnup fuel compositions for several candidate advanced heavy water reactor fuels. These fuel compositions were used as input for a deep geological repository (DGR) modeling tool for hydrogeology simulations to simulate the transport of radionuclides to the surface, to find the radionuclides that reach the surface path through the biosphere, and to estimate the hypothetical dose rate to humans located above the DGR.
Three primary factors were found to contribute to surface dose rate: burnup, composition of the primary waste matrix, and percentage of thorium in the fuel. Higher burnup and thorium percentage contribute to increased surface dose rates through increased 129I production, while a primarily uranium waste matrix increases surface dose rate through faster dissolution leading to increased radionuclide release rate from the fuel. For all the hypothetical fuels investigated, the estimated dose rates are well within the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s hypothetical DGR’s acceptance criterion of 0.3 mSv/year.