• NUCLEAR SURVIVALWhat We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs

    By Nancy Huddleston

    Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEHow and Where Is Nuclear waste stored in the U.S.?

    By Gerald Frankel

    Around the U.S., about 90,000 tons of nuclear waste is stored at over 100 sites in 39 states, in a range of different structures and containers. For decades, the nation has been trying to send it all to one secure location. Perhaps there will be a temporary site whose location passes muster with the Supreme Court. But in the meantime, the waste will stay where it is.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEU.S. Supreme Court Takes Up Texas Nuclear Waste Disposal Case

    By Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News

    The case could establish the nation’s first independent repository for spent nuclear fuel in West Texas, despite the objections of state leaders.

  • RADIATION PROTECTIONVolcanic Ash Can Be Used for Radiation Shielding

    Radiation shielding is essential for hospitals, industrial sites, and nuclear facilities. Researchers have found a surprising new use for the copious amounts of volcanic ash scattered across the Philippines: it can be used to shield against harmful radiation.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEThe History of WIPP

    By Kim Vallez Quintana

    In 1975, the nation asked Sandia to investigate the possibility of building a repository in New Mexico for the disposal of radioactive transuranic defense waste. Little did those assigned to the project know that the task would absorb most of their careers and become one of the most controversial and important projects in U.S. history.

  • NUCLEAR PLANTSWar Risks from Nuclear Power Plants? Just Look at Zaporizhzhia

    By Henry Campbell

    As evidenced in an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report released in September, Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine continues to create high risk of a nuclear disaster. In considering future conflicts, no one can safely assume that an enemy will avoid targeting nuclear power stations.

  • NUCLEAR PLANTSSafer and More Precise Nuclear Plant Dismantlement

    As the need for technologies to cut and dismantle reactors and internal structures increases due to the end of the operational lifespan of nuclear power plants, an innovative laser cutting technology for nuclear dismantlement has been developed.

  • NUCLEAR SAFETYNo Power, No Operator, No Problem: Simulating Nuclear Reactors to Explore Next-Generation Nuclear Safety Systems

    To create safe and efficient nuclear reactors, designers and regulators need reliable data consistent with real-world observation. Data generated at the facility validates computational models and guides the design of nuclear reactors.

  • NUCLEAR FORENSICSUranium Science Researchers Investigate Feasibility of Intentional Nuclear Forensics

    Despite strong regulations and robust international safeguards, authorities routinely interdict nuclear materials outside of regulatory control. Researchers are exploring a new method that would give authorities the ability to analyze intercepted nuclear material and determine where it originated.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEHow Do You Convince Someone to Live Next to a Nuclear Waste Site?

    By Austyn Gaffney

    The world’s first permanent depository for nuclear fuel waste opens later this year on Olkiluoto, a sparsely populated and lushly forested island in the Baltic Sea three hours north of Helsinki.  Engineers know how to build a site that can safeguard nuclear waste for 100,000 years. The challenge is convincing people to live next to it.

  • NUCLEAR SAFETYHardy Transistor Material Could Be Game-Changer for Nuclear Reactor Safety Monitoring

    The safety and efficiency of a large, complex nuclear reactor can be enhanced by hardware as simple as a tiny sensor that monitors a cooling system. That’s why researchers are working to make those basic sensors more accurate by pairing them with electronics that can withstand the intense radiation inside a reactor.

  • NUCLEAR WASTEHow Do You Convince Someone to Live Next to a Nuclear Waste Site?

    By Austyn Gaffney

    Engineers know how to build a site that can safeguard nuclear waste for 100,000 years. The challenge is convincing people to live next to it.

  • NUCLEAR WEAPONS‘Risks of Nuclear Terrorism Are High and Growing.’ New Tools, Alliances, Renewed Focus Needed, experts recommend

    By Cyrus Moulton

    For roughly 80 years, the United States has managed the threat of nuclear terrorism through nonproliferation treaties, agency programs, intelligence activities, international monitoring support and more, withstanding the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and 9/11. A National Academies committee wants to ensure the U.S. remains prepared.

  • IRAN’S NUKESIran's Nuclear Activities 'Raises Eyebrows' at IAEA

    By Biresh Banerjee and Zachary Crellin

    Iran’s enrichment of uranium and a lack of access to international monitors is fueling suspicions about its nuclear activities. The International Atomic Energy Agency said its committed to promoting dialogue with Tehran.

  • IRAN’S THREATMemo: The Reported Destruction of Secret Workshop in 2020

    By David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, Spencer Faragasso, and Mohammadreza Giveh

    On March 24, 2024, Iran International reported that an “industrial production workshop […] belonging to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) was deliberately set on fire” in the summer of 2020. 1 The incident was not reported publicly at the time, and Iran International cites judicial and intelligence documents provided by a hacking group as their source. Iran alleged that the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, hired a group of nine Iranians to destroy the facility.