Feature Channels: Nuclear Power

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Released: 2-Feb-2022 12:05 PM EST
Major milestone for B61-12 life extension program
Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories marked a major milestone when the Nuclear Security Enterprise successfully produced the first completely refurbished bomb for the B61-12 life extension program in November 2021. More than 5,000 employees have worked on the B61-12 life extension program at Sandia during the last decade. As part of the program, Sandia worked to refurbish, replace or reuse about 50 different components and sub-systems that make up the B61-12.

Newswise: Johns Hopkins APL Names Former Under Secretary of Defense James N. Miller as Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis
Released: 28-Jan-2022 1:50 PM EST
Johns Hopkins APL Names Former Under Secretary of Defense James N. Miller as Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Dr. James N. Miller, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and an expert in nuclear deterrence, missile defense, cyber conflict and space policy, has been named as the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory’s (APL) Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis.

Newswise:Video Embedded secretary-s-honor-awards-recognize-dozens-of-ornl-employees
VIDEO
Released: 27-Jan-2022 6:05 PM EST
Secretary’s Honor Awards recognize dozens of ORNL employees
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary Jennifer Granholm in January as part of project teams spanning the national laboratory system.

Released: 18-Jan-2022 12:45 PM EST
Argonne scientists tapped for principal roles advancing next-generation nuclear
Argonne National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has recently selected three Argonne scientists, Robert Hill, Bo Feng and Meimei Li, to principal roles in ushering in the next generation of nuclear reactors that could fill a crucial energy niche.

Newswise: National Labs Support Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal by Studying Safety Material for Underground Sites
Released: 18-Jan-2022 11:00 AM EST
National Labs Support Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal by Studying Safety Material for Underground Sites
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Geoscientists from Berkeley Lab and two other U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories, Sandia and Los Alamos, are collaborating on the HotBENT project. This international field experiment is evaluating how well the natural, clay-based material (bentonite) placed around canisters of buried, high-level nuclear waste retains its safety functions when exposed to simulated long-term heating.

Released: 11-Jan-2022 10:05 AM EST
Energy justice for all: a conversation with Kathryn Huff from the Department of Energy
Argonne National Laboratory

This is an edited transcript of Argonne’s June 29 Instagram Live interview with Dr. Kathryn Huff, the principal deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary in the Office of Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Released: 11-Jan-2022 10:05 AM EST
Nuclear energy as a hidden gem: a conversation with Argonne nuclear chemist Andrew Breshears
Argonne National Laboratory

This is an edited transcript of Argonne’s June 29 Instagram Live interview with Andrew Breshears, a principal nuclear chemist at Argonne.

Newswise: Ultra Safe Nuclear licenses ORNL method to 3D print advanced reactor components
Released: 10-Jan-2022 9:20 AM EST
Ultra Safe Nuclear licenses ORNL method to 3D print advanced reactor components
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A novel method to 3D print components for nuclear reactors, developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been licensed by Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation.

   
Newswise: B61-12 bomb reaches major milestone
Released: 21-Dec-2021 6:55 PM EST
B61-12 bomb reaches major milestone
Los Alamos National Laboratory

A major milestone has been achieved with the recent delivery of the first production unit (FPU) of the B61-12, meaning the refurbished bomb is on track for full-scale production in May 2022.

Released: 14-Dec-2021 3:40 PM EST
Department of Energy Announces $9.25 Million for Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Partnership in Nuclear Energy
Department of Energy, Office of Science

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $9.25 million for research in the behavior and properties of structural materials under molten salt reactor conditions, via collaborations that enable effective use of DOE’s high performance computers.

Released: 29-Nov-2021 1:50 PM EST
Researchers team up to get a clearer picture of molten salts
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge, Brookhaven and Idaho national laboratories and Stony Brook University have developed a novel approach to gain fundamental insights into molten salts, a heat transfer medium important to advanced energy technologies.

Newswise: Lake’s radioactivity concentration predicted for 10,000 days after the Fukushima accident
Released: 4-Nov-2021 4:15 PM EDT
Lake’s radioactivity concentration predicted for 10,000 days after the Fukushima accident
University of Tsukuba

In March 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was damaged by a powerful earthquake and tsunami, causing nearby lakes to be contaminated with radioactive cesium-137.

Newswise: Underground tests dig into how heat affects salt-bed repository behavior
Released: 3-Nov-2021 10:15 AM EDT
Underground tests dig into how heat affects salt-bed repository behavior
Sandia National Laboratories

Scientists from Sandia, Los Alamos and Lawrence Berkeley national laboratories have just begun the third phase of a years-long experiment to understand how salt and very salty water behave near hot nuclear waste containers in a salt-bed repository.Salt’s unique physical properties can be used to provide safe disposal of radioactive waste, said Kristopher Kuhlman, a Sandia geoscientist and technical lead for the project.

Released: 28-Oct-2021 3:50 AM EDT
Not so Basic: Advances in pH and Phosphate Monitoring Enhance Safety in Nuclear Fuel Recycling
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Two PNNL interns are behind recent innovation in real-time testing and continuous monitoring for pH and the concentration of chemicals of interest in chemical solutions; outcomes have applicability not only to nuclear, but to industries.

Released: 22-Oct-2021 3:05 PM EDT
1 day. 3 rockets. 23 experiments.
Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories launched three sounding rockets in succession on Wednesday to hasten development of 23 technologies for the nation’s hypersonic modernization priority, including the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike and the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon programs.

Released: 15-Oct-2021 10:20 AM EDT
Researchers find few adverse health effects in wildlife exposed to low levels of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear accident
Colorado State University

More than 10 years ago, the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in a massive release of radioactive material into the environment.

Newswise: Bristol team gains unprecedented access to Chernobyl’s Reactor 4
Released: 7-Oct-2021 9:00 AM EDT
Bristol team gains unprecedented access to Chernobyl’s Reactor 4
University of Bristol

Researchers from the University of Bristol are leading activities with Ukrainian researchers and engineers at the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) to carry out pioneering radiation mapping research inside parts of the damaged building.

Released: 28-Sep-2021 2:35 PM EDT
Kauai Test Facility launches its largest missile
Sandia National Laboratories

The largest missile ever to launch from Sandia National Laboratories' Kauai Test Facility in Hawaii has shown the storied test range is still growing to meet the testing needs of advanced weapons systems.

Newswise:Video Embedded researchers-watch-molten-salts-carve-tiny-nooks-and-tunnels-into-metal-alloys-in-3d
VIDEO
Released: 23-Sep-2021 11:55 AM EDT
Researchers "Watch" Molten Salts Carve Tiny Nooks and Tunnels into Metal Alloys in 3D
Brookhaven National Laboratory

A multidisciplinary team of scientists has used the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User facility located at the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, to investigate how high-temperature molten salts corrode metal alloys.

Released: 23-Sep-2021 8:05 AM EDT
U.S. Researchers Simulate Compact Fusion Power Plant Concept
Department of Energy, Office of Science

The Compact Advanced Tokamak (CAT) concept uses physics models to show that by carefully shaping the plasma and the distribution of current in the plasma, fusion plant operators can suppress turbulent eddies in the plasma. This would reduce heat loss and allow more efficient reactor operation. This advance could help achieve self-sustaining plasma and smaller, less expensive power plants.

Released: 21-Sep-2021 6:05 AM EDT
Nuclear waste interaction in the environment may be more complicated than once thought
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators proposed a new mechanism by which nuclear waste could spread in the environment. The new findings, that involve researchers at Penn State and Harvard Medical School, have implications for nuclear waste management and environmental chemistry.

Released: 16-Sep-2021 3:10 PM EDT
Keeping Waste Where It Belongs: Grain Size Explains How Spent Nuclear Fuel Enters the Environment
Department of Energy, Office of Science

When compounds in spent nuclear fuel break down, they can release radioactive elements into the ground and water. Scientists know that one fuel compound, neptunium dioxide, reacts with water, but they do not fully understand the process. This new study found that neptunium tends to dissolve where grains of the material come together, and larger grains are less likely to dissolve.

Released: 15-Sep-2021 11:45 AM EDT
Climate Change from Nuclear War’s Smoke Could Threaten Global Food Supplies, Human Health
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Nuclear war would cause many immediate fatalities, but smoke from the resulting fires would also cause climate change lasting up to 15 years that threatens worldwide food production and human health, according to a study by researchers at Rutgers University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and other institutions.

   
Newswise:Video Embedded look-who-s-turning-25
VIDEO
Released: 2-Sep-2021 3:50 PM EDT
Look who’s turning 25
Sandia National Laboratories

Z machine celebrates its colorful history at Sandia

Released: 30-Aug-2021 4:05 PM EDT
Steering the Future of Spent Nuclear Fuel
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

A PNNL report reflects nearly 10 years of dedication bringing together experts, including local communities and tribes, to effectively plan for the safe and uneventful removal of radioactive waste from nuclear power plant sites.

Released: 24-Aug-2021 10:10 AM EDT
Extending nuclear power accident code for advanced reactor designs
Sandia National Laboratories

A number of new nuclear reactor designs, such as small modular reactors and non-light water reactors, have been developed over the past 10 to 15 years. In order to help the Nuclear Regulatory Commission evaluate the safety of the next generation of reactors, fuel cycle facilities and fuel technologies, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have been expanding their severe accident modeling computer code, called Melcor, to work with different reactor geometries, fuel types and coolant systems.

17-Aug-2021 8:00 AM EDT
Confirming the pedigree of uranium cubes from Nazi Germany’s failed nuclear program
American Chemical Society (ACS)

Before the Nazis could develop nuclear technology, Allied forces captured the uranium cubes central to Germany’s research. The fate of most is unknown, but a few are thought to be in the U.S. Scientists developing methods to confirm the cubes’ provenance will present their results at ACS Fall 2021.

Released: 19-Aug-2021 3:00 PM EDT
VIDEO AND TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE: Breakthrough Cases and COVID Boosters: Live Expert Panel for August 18, 2021
Newswise

Expert Q&A: Do breakthrough cases mean we will soon need COVID boosters? The extremely contagious Delta variant continues to spread, prompting mask mandates, proof of vaccination, and other measures. Media invited to ask the experts about these and related topics.

16-Aug-2021 5:15 PM EDT
National Ignition Facility experiment puts researchers at threshold of fusion ignition
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Achieving fusion ignition – the process that powers the sun, stars and thermonuclear weapons – has been a decades-long goal for inertial confinement fusion research. On Aug. 8, 2021, an experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) made a significant step toward ignition, achieving a yield of more than 1.3 megajoules (MJ). This is enabled by focusing laser light from NIF - the size of three football fields - onto a target the size of a BB that produces a hot-spot the diameter of a human hair, generating more than 10 quadrillion watts of fusion power for 100 trillionths of a second. This advance puts researchers at the threshold of fusion ignition, an important goal of the NIF, and opens access to a new experimental regime.

Released: 16-Aug-2021 11:45 AM EDT
With redesigned ‘brains,’ W88 nuclear warhead reaches milestone
Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories and its nuclear security enterprise partners recently completed the first production unit of a weapon assembly responsible for key operations of the W88 nuclear warhead.

Released: 10-Aug-2021 8:40 AM EDT
Bradley Wallin selected to lead Weapons and Complex Integration
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Bradley Wallin has been named Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) principal associate director (PAD) for Weapons and Complex Integration (WCI), Lab Director Kimberly Budil announced today. In this role, Wallin will lead the Laboratory's nuclear weapons program in its responsibilities to support U.S. strategic deterrence by assuring the safety, security and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and by providing the science, technology and engineering capabilities and experts required to enable and advance this essential responsibility.

Released: 5-Aug-2021 11:25 AM EDT
Key Improvements to Efficiency and Safety Will Enable Expansion of Nuclear Energy
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Nuclear power plants produce about 20% of the United States’ electricity. In order to increase the amount of carbon dioxide-free energy these plants can yield, improvements in efficiency and safety must be made. With support from $1.5 million in grants from the Department of Energy (DOE), researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will lead projects aimed at upgrading nuclear power plants with those goals in mind. The grants are part of more than $61 million in awards recently announced by the DOE to support nuclear energy research.

Released: 2-Aug-2021 1:00 PM EDT
Los Alamos National Laboratory welcomes NGD Systems to the Efficient Mission Centric Computing Consortium
Los Alamos National Laboratory

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Aug. 2, 2021- As the HPC community enters an era in which computation can be offloaded to storage devices, it is important to explore the mechanisms for using and programming these processing offloads.

Released: 20-Jul-2021 4:05 PM EDT
New weapons testing capability produces richer data, saves time, cost
Sandia National Laboratories

A team of Sandia National Laboratories engineers developed a new testing capability in support of its nuclear weapons mission. The team completed their first combined-environments test on a full-scale weapons system at the Sandia Superfuge/Centrifuge complex in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Released: 20-Jul-2021 1:25 PM EDT
Using Snakes to Monitor Fukushima Radiation
University of Georgia

Ten years after one of the largest nuclear accidents in history spewed radioactive contamination over the landscape in Fukushima, Japan, a University of Georgia study has shown that radioactive contamination in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone can be measured through its resident snakes.

Released: 28-Jun-2021 3:05 PM EDT
Energy Technologies Move Closer to Commercial Use
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Federal and industry-matched funding will move 11 PNNL technologies closer to commercialization where they will help bolster U.S. competitiveness.

Released: 27-Apr-2021 2:05 PM EDT
Sidestepping the Thin Data Problem in National Security
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Scientists are developing new techniques to make the most of limited data in the national security space, using explainable artificial intelligence to extract more meaning from the information in hand.

12-Apr-2021 6:05 PM EDT
Media Advisory – U.S. Secretary of Energy and Other Leading Experts Talk Preparation for the Effects of Climate Change
Argonne National Laboratory

The escalating effects of climate change are evident across our country, from the damaging 2020 western wildfire season to February’s southern deep freeze. The need has never been greater for a national strategy that combines the long-term goal of a 100% clean energy future with immediate, science-driven actions to help all communities overcome the effects of climate change.

Released: 12-Apr-2021 5:05 PM EDT
5 ways Argonne scientists are powering ahead on nuclear micro-reactors
Argonne National Laboratory

A cross-divisional effort at Argonne aims to advance portable nuclear reactor designs for places like military bases and remote communities.

Released: 8-Apr-2021 6:05 AM EDT
Research demonstrates that asteroid deflection can be enhanced by different neutron energies
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

A research collaboration between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Air Force Institute of Technology investigates how the neutron energy output from a nuclear device detonation can affect the deflection of an asteroid. Scientists compared the resulting asteroid deflection from two different neutron energy sources, representative of fission and fusion neutrons, allowing for side-by-side comparisons. The goal was to understand which neutron energies released from a nuclear explosion are better for deflecting an asteroid and why, potentially paving the way for optimized deflection performance.

Released: 7-Apr-2021 9:00 AM EDT
COVID-19 pandemic drives down U.S. energy use in 2020
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Americans used approximately 7 percent less energy in 2020, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

Released: 7-Apr-2021 9:00 AM EDT
Retaining Knowledge of Nuclear Waste Management
Sandia National Laboratories

Experts at Sandia National Laboratories just began their second year of a project to capture important, hard-to-explain nuclear waste management knowledge from retirement-age employees to help new employees get up to speed faster.

29-Mar-2021 11:45 AM EDT
How Many Countries Are Ready for Nuclear-Powered Electricity?
Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)

A new study in the journal Risk Analysis suggests that countries representing more than 80 percent of potential growth in low-carbon electricity demand—in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa—may lack the economic or institutional quality to deploy nuclear power to meet their energy needs. The authors suggest that if nuclear power is to safely expand its role in mitigating climate change, countries need to radically improve their ability to manage the technology.

Released: 19-Mar-2021 3:30 PM EDT
New plutonium research helps distinguish nuclear power pollution from global fall out
Lancaster University

Researchers looking at miniscule levels of plutonium pollution in our soils have made a breakthrough which could help inform future 'clean up' operations on land around nuclear power plants, saving time and money.

Released: 11-Mar-2021 5:40 PM EST
Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Monitoring Capabilities Still in Use 10 Years After Fukushima Earthquake and Nuclear Power Plant Disaster
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The events following the Fukushima disaster, a decade ago, drew upon Berkeley Lab’s long-standing expertise in radiation measurements and safety, and led to the creation of long-term radiation-monitoring programs, both locally and in Japan, as well as a series of radiation surveys and technology demonstrations including drone- and helicopter-based surveys, and vehicle-based and hand-carried measurements.

Released: 11-Mar-2021 11:50 AM EST
10 years after Fukushima, animals reclaim the landscape
University of Georgia

In the decade since a tsunami washed over the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, triggering the second-largest nuclear disaster in history, the surrounding towns have struggled to return to normal. But that’s not the case for the wildlife living in the area.



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