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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 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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Glass strategy: Hanford’s enhanced waste glass program
The mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection (ORP) is to complete the safe cleanup of waste resulting from decades of nuclear weapons development. One of the most technologically challenging responsibilities is the safe disposition of approximately 56 million gallons of radioactive waste historically stored in 177 tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
ORP has a clear incentive to reduce the overall mission duration and cost. One pathway is to develop and deploy innovative technical solutions that can advance baseline flow sheets toward higher efficiency operations while reducing identified risks without compromising safety. Vitrification is the baseline process that will convert both high-level and low-level radioactive waste at Hanford into a stable glass waste form for long-term storage and disposal.
Although vitrification is a mature technology, there are key areas where technology can further reduce operational risks, advance baseline processes to maximize waste throughput, and provide the underpinning to enhance operational flexibility; all steps in reducing mission duration and cost.
Steven Nesbit (Duke Energy), David Blee (U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council), Edward Davis (Pegasus Group), Alexander Hoppes (Areva)
Proceedings | 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017) | Charlotte, NC, April 9-13, 2017 | Pages 884-888
In 2016 the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council’s (USNIC) Backend Working Group issued recommendations for breaking the nuclear waste management impasse. USNIC advocates a comprehensive, durable approach that includes the following elements:
• Complete the Yucca Mountain Repository Project license application process and re-establish a dedicated Department of Energy (DOE) organization for nuclear waste management.
• Pursue options for consolidated interim storage. Private sector solutions should be encouraged, and first priority should be given to used fuel currently residing at sites with no operating reactor.
• Assure shared value for host communities. The federal government should provide the necessary resources for impact assistance, along with incentives that support the long-term mission of the site and its value to the host community.
• Implement management and funding reform. This action should begin with the establishment of a separate, politically independent but accountable federal corporation-type organization. In addition, the Nuclear Waste Fund must be restructured so the new management entity has access to both the fund’s assets and annual receipts, subject to appropriate congressional oversight.
• Prepare for transportation of used fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Near-term work should focus on assuring the availability of necessary infrastructure and capabilities to move used fuel and high-level waste to consolidated storage facilities and repositories.
• Enhance research, development and demonstration. Continued work must enable advanced reactor and backend technologies that offer the promise of improved economics, enhanced safety, improved utilization of energy resources and optimization of waste management and disposal.
