On-site pools for spent nuclear fuel at power plants and other facilities are reaching their design capacity across the country. With long-term storage plans for this spent fuel tied up in a political stalemate, the nation’s nuclear power reactors are turning to dry cask storage as an interim storage solution. “Current practices in nuclear safeguards […]
NSSPI Student Evaluates the Effect of ‘Holdup’ in Nuclear Material Accounting for Uranium Enrichment
Uranium enrichment has gained a lot of attention in recent years because of the possibility for diverting material from peaceful uses and of enriching uranium beyond acceptable limits. One of the safeguards challenges for uranium enrichment lies in accounting for material and preventing diversions through the enrichment process. In uranium enrichment, UF6 gas is fed […]
NSSPI Student Develops System to Monitor Health of Radiation Detection Systems
Radiation portal monitors are used around the world to detect the illegal transportation of radioactive material at border crossings and points of entry. These portal monitors utilize scintillating detectors composed of polyvinyl toluene (PVT) plastic to screen vehicles and cargo for gamma ray emissions that would indicate the presence of radioactive materials. Unfortunately, the PVT […]
NSSPI Student Examines Proliferation Risk of Thorium and U-233
Thorium is one of the earth’s most abundant heavy metals and is used in many nuclear applications, but it is often overlooked in studies of nuclear nonproliferation. Patrick O’Neal, a student with the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) working with Dr. Sunil Chirayath, is looking to address that oversight. “Thorium, despite […]
RED² Attracts Next Generation Leaders in Nuclear Engineering from Turkey
NSSPI Faculty Fellow Dr. Shaheen Dewji currently has two graduate students from Turkey working on NSSPI mission-relevant projects in her RED2 research group. This article was written by the students about their work with Dr. Dewji.