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Division Spotlight
Young Members Group
The Young Members Group works to encourage and enable all young professional members to be actively involved in the efforts and endeavors of the Society at all levels (Professional Divisions, ANS Governance, Local Sections, etc.) as they transition from the role of a student to the role of a professional. It sponsors non-technical workshops and meetings that provide professional development and networking opportunities for young professionals, collaborates with other Divisions and Groups in developing technical and non-technical content for topical and national meetings, encourages its members to participate in the activities of the Groups and Divisions that are closely related to their professional interests as well as in their local sections, introduces young members to the rules and governance structure of the Society, and nominates young professionals for awards and leadership opportunities available to members.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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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Nuclear Science and Engineering
November 2024
Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
The D&D of SM-1A
With the recent mobilization at the site of the former SM-1A nuclear power plant at Fort Greely, Alaska, the Radiological Health Physics Regional Center of Expertise, located at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Baltimore District, began its work toward the decommissioning and dismantlement of its third nuclear power plant, this time located just 175 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
Gang Li, Ghaouti Bentoumi, Liqian Li
Nuclear Technology | Volume 208 | Number 7 | July 2022 | Pages 1214-1222
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.2011672
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Organic liquid scintillators, such as EJ-309, are capable of detecting fast neutrons and discriminating gamma rays through pulse shape. Higher detection efficiency is a common objective for detector designs and research. This paper describes two methods to enhance fast neutron detection by increasing neutron collection and reducing gamma-ray interference. Neutron collection can be increased by using strong scattering material to reflect neutrons toward scintillators. Gamma-ray interference can be reduced by using heavy material to shield gamma rays; such a material could have a minimal impact on neutron detection because neutrons and gamma rays have different interaction cross sections. In this work, both effects were investigated, experimentally and by simulation. Using a graphite reflector with simple geometry, the fast neutron detection was measured to have an increase of 9%, and simulations predicted an approximately 50% increase for optimized geometry. Using a lead shielding of 8-mm thickness, the neutron detection with a Pu source was measured to have a factor of 2 increase. These methods could be useful when cost-effective and highly efficient fast neutron detection is desired.