Bright thinking leads to breakthrough in nuclear threat detection science

03-Jul-2017 - Taking inspiration from an unusual source, a Sandia National Laboratories team has dramatically improved the science of scintillators -- objects that detect nuclear threats. According to the team, using organic glass scintillators could soon make it even harder to smuggle nuclear materials ...

Improved remote detection of hazardous radioactive substances

14-Jun-2017 - A recent study, affiliated with UNIST has introduced a method for the remote detection of hazardous radioactive substances. With the help of this newly-developed detection device, the detection of various types of radioactive materials can be done from a remote distance. In their study Professor ...

Study analyses foods for radioactive substances

19-Apr-2017 - In cooperation with the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), the Federal Office for Radioactive Protection (BfS) is to analyse foods prepared within the scope of the BfR MEAL Study for radiation caused by radioactive elements such as uranium. Main focus will be on the foods most often ...

Potential approach to how radioactive elements could be 'fished out' of nuclear waste

14-Mar-2017 - Manchester scientists have revealed how arsenic molecules might be used to 'fish out' the most toxic elements from radioactive nuclear waste - a breakthrough that could make the decommissioning industry even safer and more effective. Elizabeth Wildman, a PhD student in the research group led by ...

Entering the 'Wild West' of chemistry to reveal a surprise finding

15-Feb-2017 - Researchers at The University of Manchester have entered the "Wild West" of the periodic table to finally solve a decades-old scientific challenge -- and have revealed that an important but niche chemical bonding principle may be much more widely applicable than previously thought. The surprise ...

Technique could lead to safer, more efficient uranium extraction

30-Jan-2017 - The separation of uranium, a key part of the nuclear fuel cycle, could potentially be done more safely and efficiently through a new technique developed by chemistry researchers at Oregon State University. The technique uses soap-like chemicals known as surfactants to extract uranium from an ...

Treated carbon pulls radioactive elements from water

20-Jan-2017 - Researchers at Rice University and Kazan Federal University in Russia have found a way to extract radioactivity from water and said their discovery could help purify the hundreds of millions of gallons of contaminated water stored after the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. They reported that ...

Composite material for water purification

Removal of multiple contaminants from water by supported ionic liquid phases

17-Jan-2017 - Fresh, clean water coming directly from the tap is a true luxury. In developing countries, people often have no choice but to use a contaminated river for drinking water. Water filters can help by quickly converting polluted surface or ground water into safe drinking water. In the journal ...

Improving nuclear waste recycling technologies

27-Dec-2016 - Researchers from The University of Manchester have taken a major step forward by describing the quantitative modelling of the electronic structure of a family of uranium nitride compounds - a process that could in the future help with nuclear waste recycling technologies. "In this nuclear age, ...

How to measure oxygen coefficient in complex oxides

12-Oct-2016 - Scientists of the Faculty of Chemistry of the Lomonosov Moscow State University under the leadership of Prof. Yury Teterin and in cooperation with Russian and British colleagues have developed a technique, which provides an opportunity of quantitative evaluation of oxygen coefficient of uranium ...