ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Constellation seeks subsequent license renewal for Dresden
Constellation Energy has filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a subsequent license renewal for its Dresden nuclear power plant in Illinois. The extension would allow Dresden to run through 2051.
The filing begins a comprehensive, multiyear review by the NRC. Unit 2 is currently licensed to operate through 2029 and Unit 3 through 2031. The facility’s license was first renewed by the NRC in 2004.
Alan H. Wells, Albert J. Machiels
Nuclear Technology | Volume 179 | Number 2 | August 2012 | Pages 180-188
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT12-A14090
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Spent nuclear fuel transported in large casks must remain subcritical in all credible configurations for normal operation and hypothetical accident conditions. The effects on spent nuclear fuel reactivity from "worst-case" accident scenarios were surveyed in NUREG/CR-6835, "Effects of Fuel Failure on Criticality Safety and Radiation Dose for Spent Fuel Casks." The survey used scenarios that were postulated to provide theoretical upper limits for reactivity effects of fuel relocation, although they were described as going "beyond credible conditions." These scenarios involved physical changes either to fuel assembly rod arrays or to collections of fuel pellets with the fuel skeleton removed. To provide more credible estimates of the probability and maximum reactivity changes, a process is presented that deconstructs each scenario into a set of subscenarios and identifies the physical phenomena required to create the subscenario. The boundary between credible but unlikely scenarios and incredible scenarios is more easily discernible with this process.For marginally credible worst-case scenarios, it is concluded that the maximum reasonable reactivity increase either is less than the mandated administrative nuclear criticality safety margin for scenarios involving physical changes to fuel assembly rod arrays or is a substantial reactivity decrease for scenarios involving collections of fuel pellets. A cask designer could apply scenario deconstruction to evaluate the physical limits that apply to a particular transportation cask, and perform calculations specific to a particular cask design to show that criticality safety requirements are met.