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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
INL makes a case for eliminating ALARA and setting higher dose limits
A report just released by Idaho National Laboratory reviews decades of radiation protection standards and research on the health effects of low-dose radiation and recommends that the current U.S. annual occupational dose limit of 5,000 mrem be maintained without applying ALARA—the “as low as reasonably achievable” regulatory concept first introduced in 1971—below that threshold.
Noting that epidemiological studies “have consistently failed to demonstrate statistically significant health effects at doses below 10,000 mrem delivered at low dose rates,” the report also recommends “future consideration of increasing this limit to 10,000 mrem/year with appropriate cumulative-dose constraints.”
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by THD
Monday, November 14, 2022|3:15–5:00PM MST|Sonoran 3
Session Chair:
Elia Merzari
Session Organizer:
In recent years there has been an increased interest in advanced reactors in the United States. Several concepts are being proposed by multiple vendors and start-ups, with an accelerated pathway to market. In particular, DOE has recently issued two awards aimed at deploying demonstration reactors and several more aimed at accelerating current research activities. An important activity related to commercialization of these concepts is licensing and the overall role of the regulator. Furthermore, central to licensing and safety analysis is the understanding of thermal-hydraulics phenomena, which present considerable differences compared to light-water reactors. In this panel we will address current thermal-hydraulic issues in the licensing of advanced reactor concepts and ongoing research on this topic. This panel serves as a follow-up to the previous panel discussion from the 2021 Winter meeting.
To join the conversation, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
Register NowLog In
