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Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
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!
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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.
Avadhesh Kumar Sharma, Hui Liang, Ruicong Xu, Erdal Ozdemir, Shuichiro Miwa, Ryohei Terabayashi, Shunichi Suzuki, Marco Pellegrini, Shuichi Hasegawa, Nejdet Erkan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 209 | Number 12 | December 2023 | Pages 2030-2043
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2186675
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The recent Nuclear Regulation Authority evaluation report suggests that at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the concrete shield plugs above the primary containment vessel (PCV) have exceptionally high radiation levels in Units 2 and 3, which may increase the risk of radiation exposure during decommissioning operations. During the cleaning and disassembly of such radiation hot spots, it is expected that a large amount of submicron-sized radioactive aerosol particles will be generated, which may influence the decommissioning operation. In the present study, laser cleaning experiments were conducted at the University of Tokyo Aerosol Removal Test Facility to simulate aerosol scavenging during the laser cleaning process. The facility can reproduce multiple phenomena expected in actual plant decommissioning, such as laser decontamination and simultaneous mist and spraying operations. Through the work, we have developed effective aerosol dispersion control methods and strategies based on the joint use of water mist and water spray to reduce radiation risk in either laser cutting or other means of decontamination methods. Preliminary laser cleaning experiments on various coated samples were conducted to assess the aerosol removal efficiency using water droplets and mist. It was verified that the proposed method effectively cleans the radiation hot spots during the decommissioning process.