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Division Spotlight
Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences
The mission of the Decommissioning and Environmental Sciences (DES) Division is to promote the development and use of those skills and technologies associated with the use of nuclear energy and the optimal management and stewardship of the environment, sustainable development, decommissioning, remediation, reutilization, and long-term surveillance and maintenance of nuclear-related installations, and sites. The target audience for this effort is the membership of the Division, the Society, and the public at large.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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
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Nuclear Technology
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Latest News
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Jawaria Ahad, Amjad Farooq, Masroor Ahmad, Naseem Irfan, Khalid Waheed
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 10 | October 2024 | Pages 1767-1823
Review Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2302716
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Severe accidents in nuclear power plants can breach the integrity of containment due to pressure build up, resulting in the release of radioactive products. Special interest has been shown towards iodine out of 80 fission products due to its short half-life, i.e., 8.02 days, high activity, and possible health hazards, like irreversible accumulation in the thyroid gland and capability to trigger thyroid cancer locally. To mitigate such accidents, the filtered containment venting system (FCVS) has been proposed and has garnered attention post Fukushima. This review paper presents an introduction to severe accidents, post-accident release of iodine, safety measures taken, and lessons learned by different countries after accidents like Windscale pile, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, as well as the status of FCVSs in all countries possessing nuclear reactors up until now (11 years after Fukushima).
FCVS is crucial for mitigation of severe accidents and to ensure the safety of people and the environment. A complete review of the history of FCVS, how its use started, its current status, and the status of patents and research on this system has not been done yet to the best of authors’ knowledge. This review covers FCVS in detail, including its history, design criteria and efficiency, as well as the different types and their merits and demerits.
Completed and ongoing projects related to FCVS are discussed along with testing facilities of FCVS established by different countries. Many countries have made FCVS a part of their power plants, and some are in the process of installation. Many countries have not opted to install this system because of challenges, like its high cost, the technical difficulties of installing FCVS on old power plants, and the potential environmental impact of venting in FCVS.
This review paper will be helpful in providing an in-depth understanding of this system, the merits of FCVS, the parts of FCVS that need improvement, its limitations, and the status of research on this subject, along with areas of research that require more attention.
