Like detectives looking for clues, researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been working for nearly a decade on ways to identify the "fingerprints" of potential chemical threats.
Pointing the finger at chemical criminals: Several scientists from PNNL and other institutions will discuss new methods and approaches at the American Chemical Society's national meeting in San Francisco April 2-6.
In fast-neutron reactors, fuel is sealed in ~7 millimeter diameter steel tubes called cladding. When a high-energy "fast" neutron strikes an atom in the steel, it can knock the atom out of place, like a cue ball striking another billiard ball. This leaves two types of damage in the metal: an empty spot where the atom was, and the displaced atom wedged between other atoms. Over time, these defects typically drive undesirable rearrangement of the microstructure, potentially reducing the life of the cladding.
Cybersecurity is increasingly top-of-mind and in the news. Individuals worry about identify theft and the compromise of financial and medical records. And the federal government battles myriad threats aimed at our national security.
Nuisance alarm rates in radiation detectors at seaports and ports of entry are down significantly due to PNNL data analysis efforts that are saving time and money at the ports.
On October 22, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)​​​​​​​granted Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station a 40-year operating license for its new Unit 2 reactor. This is the first nuclear reactor to be granted an operating license by the NRC in two decades.