ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Aug 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
October 2026
Nuclear Technology
September 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
August 2026
Latest News
Center for Used Fuel Research: Building confidence in storage and transport
Used nuclear fuel storage and transportation have reached a critical juncture.
Dozens of utilities need reliable data on how used nuclear fuel performs in dry storage casks and canisters to extend regulatory licenses at sites across the United States. Likewise, the Department of Energy expects to take ownership of the used nuclear fuel—termed “spent nuclear fuel” in the laws and regulations governing its stewardship—and transfer it to one or more federal staging facilities for management and disposition.
Meanwhile, dozens of reactor companies are testing prototypes of advanced reactors and advanced reactor fuels. Eventually, regulators and industry must also verify the safety and security of storage methods for these advanced fuel types.
To help address these challenges, the DOE established the Center for Used Fuel Research (CUFR) in January 2026 for work related to the long-term storage and transport of used nuclear fuel.
Huan Zhang, Shelly X. Li, Michael F. Simpson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 3 | March 2022 | Pages 494-502
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1913031
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study addressed the problem of measuring the total mass of molten salt in a nuclear system such as a nuclear fuel electrorefiner or a molten salt reactor. In theory, soluble tracers can be added to an unknown amount of salt. Measurement of the tracer concentration after allowing time to homogenize the salt and elemental analysis can be used to calculate the total mass of salt in the system. In this study, the mass of a molten salt mixture of equimolar NaCl-CaCl2 was measured using this method for several sequential additions of the tracer salt. Two different tracers (CeCl3 and KCl) with known mass were used in determining the total mass of NaCl-CaCl2 salt in a crucible at 650°C. By limiting the method to tracer concentrations higher than 1.1 wt%, the average mass determination error was 2.39% and 1.82% for CeCl3 and KCl, respectively. Mass estimations were mostly high by this amount compared to the actually known mass.