Nuclear Energy and the Environment

This book is based on the papers presented at a recent and very successful symposium entitled Nuclear Energy and the Environment held at the 238th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in Washington, DC, August 16-20, 2009. The 3-day ACS symposium was well attended with participants from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Taiwan, and the USA discussing research ideas and progress in separation of actinides and fission products, green separation techniques, radiation effects, and repository chemistry. This book starts with an overview of challenges in actinide separation chemistry for advanced nuclear fuel cycles and roadmaps of new cleanup technologies by the U.S. Department of Energy. It is followed by 3 sections covering recent research and development in separations chemistry, radiation chemistry, and repository chemistry. The book documents reasons to be optimistic for the future of nuclear power and challenges facing nuclear scientists and engineers today.