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Due to a lapse in appropriations, the NRC has ceased normal operations. However, excepted and exempted activities necessary to maintain critical health and safety functions—as well as essential progress on designated critical activities, including those specified in Executive Order 14300—will continue, consistent with the OMB-Approved NRC Lapse Plan.

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Fission (fissioning)

Fission (fissioning) … The splitting of an atom , which releases a considerable amount of energy (usually in the form of heat) that can be used to produce electricity. Fission may be spontaneous, but is usually caused by the nucleus of an atom becoming …

Tritium

Tritium … A radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Because it is chemically identical to natural hydrogen, tritium can easily be taken into the body by any ingestion path. It decays by emitting beta particles and has a half-life of about 12.5 years. For related …

Dose equivalent

Dose equivalent … A measure of the biological damage to living tissue as a result of radiation exposure . Also known as the " biological dose," the dose equivalent is calculated as the product of absorbed dose in tissue multiplied by a quality factor and …

Cosmic radiation

Cosmic radiation … A source of natural background radiation , which originates in outer space and is composed of penetrating ionizing radiation (both particulate and electromagnetic). The sun and stars send a constant stream of cosmic radiation to Earth, …

Dry cask storage

Dry cask storage … A method for storing spent nuclear fuel in special containers known as casks . After fuel has been cooled in a spent fuel pool for at least 1 year, dry cask storage allows spent fuel assemblies to be sealed in casks or canisters and …

Nuclear poison (or neutron poison)

Nuclear poison (or neutron poison) … In reactor physics, a substance (other than fissionable material ) that has a large capacity for absorbing neutrons in the vicinity of the reactor core . This effect may be undesirable in some reactor applications …

Uranium fuel fabrication facility

Uranium fuel fabrication facility … A facility that converts enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into fuel for commercial light-water power reactors , research and test reactors , and other nuclear reactors . The UF6, in solid form in containers, is …

ALARA

ALARA … As defined in Title 10, Section 20.1003, of the Code of Federal Regulations ( 10 CFR 20.1003 ), ALARA is an acronym for "as low as (is) reasonably achievable," which means making every reasonable effort to maintain exposures to ionizing radiation …

Binding energy

Binding energy … The minimum energy required to separate the nucleus of an atom into its component neutrons and protons . … Binding …

Half-life, effective

Half-life, effective … The time required for the activity of a particular radioisotope deposited in a living organism, such as a human or an animal, to be reduced by 50 percent as a result of the combined action of radioactive decay and biological …