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.
Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
May 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
Hatice Akkurt
Nuclear Technology | Volume 209 | Number 8 | August 2023 | Pages 1215-1228
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2196234
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Neutron absorber materials are used in spent fuel pool (SFP) storage racks to increase storage capacity while maintaining criticality safety margins. BORAL is the most commonly used neutron absorber material in SFPs in the United States and is used in many countries, including England, Mexico, Korea, and Taiwan. This paper presents the results from an analysis of neutron absorber panels that were removed from an operating SFP. These panels provide very valuable data points due to their age and unique history since they represent rack modules that were placed in two separate SFPs. Given their history and service time, these neutron absorber panels mostly bound the absorber panels within the industry.
