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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
Nuclear moratoriums crumble around the world
The recent surge in positive sentiment about nuclear as the most viable answer to global energy needs and decarbonization goals has found governments around the world taking steps to reverse course on decades-old bans, moratoriums, and restrictions on new nuclear development.
Fumihisa Nagase, Takashi Ohtomo, Hiroshi Uetsuka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 3 | March 2022 | Pages 484-493
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1905472
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A control rod alloy composed of silver (Ag), indium (In), and cadmium (Cd) was heated in argon or oxygen at 1073 to 1673 K for 60 to 3600 s. Then, the release behaviors of the elements were analyzed. The elemental release was quite limited below the liquefaction temperature. In argon, almost the entire Cd content was released within 3600 s at >1173 K and within 60 s at >1573 K while the released fractions of Ag and In were <3% and <8%, respectively. In oxygen, the release of Cd, which was quite small at temperatures lower than 1573 K, largely increased to ~30% to 50% at 1673 K for short periods. The releases of Ag and In were also small in oxygen under the analyzed conditions. The comparison with the experimental data suggests that conventional empirical release models may underestimate the Cd release at lower temperatures just after control rod failure in severe accidents.