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 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Dec 2025
Jul 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
December 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
November 2025
Latest News
Modernizing I&C for operations and maintenance, one phase at a time
The two reactors at Dominion Energy’s Surry plant are among the oldest in the U.S. nuclear fleet. Yet when the plant celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, staff could raise a toast to the future. Surry was one of the first plants to file a subsequent license renewal (SLR) application, and in May 2021, it became official: the plant was licensed to operate for a full 80 years, extending its reactors’ lifespans into 2052 and 2053.
Jisue Moon, Kristian Myhre, Hunter Andrews, Joanna McFarlane
Nuclear Technology | Volume 209 | Number 6 | June 2023 | Pages 787-808
Critical Review | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2158666
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Technitium-99m (99mTc), a widely used radioisotope, is used in tens of millions of medical diagnostic procedures annually. However, it is hard to store and must be immediately used upon production due to its short half-life (i.e., 6 h); thus, it is currently produced from 99Mo, which itself is a result of 235U fission. The majority of 99Mo supplies to U.S. patients are currently provided by foreign producers and produced using highly enriched uranium (HEU). In order to minimize the proliferation risks of HEU-based medical isotope production, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has funded a program to accelerate the development of technologies to produce 99Mo without the use of HEU.
Today, the global supply of 99Mo depends on a limited number of nuclear reactors, and production has been interrupted unexpectedly since 2009 due to the fleet’s advanced age. Alternative options for 99Mo production are discussed in this paper, and one potential option is to obtain 99mTc from molten salt reactors (MSRs). A MSR is a nuclear fission reactor that can operate at or close to atmospheric pressure with liquid fuel, which allows for producing isotopes in a timely manner. In this paper, the past and current production of 99Mo via nuclear reactors is described, and the future of 99Mo production by MSRs is discussed. The behavior and chemical properties of molybdenum in fluoride salts in MSRs and the possible extraction methods are also examined in addition to the limitation of current studies.
