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
Accelerator Applications
The division was organized to promote the advancement of knowledge of the use of particle accelerator technologies for nuclear and other applications. It focuses on production of neutrons and other particles, utilization of these particles for scientific or industrial purposes, such as the production or destruction of radionuclides significant to energy, medicine, defense or other endeavors, as well as imaging and diagnostics.
Meeting Spotlight
2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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
May 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2025
Nuclear Technology
June 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Countering the nuclear workforce shortage narrative
James Chamberlain, director of the Nuclear, Utilities, and Energy Sector at Rullion, has declared that the nuclear industry will not have workforce challenges going forward. “It’s time to challenge the scarcity narrative,” he wrote in a recent online article. “Nuclear isn't short of talent; it’s short of imagination in how it attracts, trains, and supports the workforce of the future.”
George Apostolakis, Ali Mosleh
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 70 | Number 2 | May 1979 | Pages 135-149
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE79-A19646
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A model for the evaluation of probabilities of rare events by combining the available experience with expert opinion is developed, using the core melt frequency of nuclear power reactors as an example. A distribution for this frequency is assessed using the statistical evidence and including “near misses.” This distribution is subsequently modified, via Bayes' theorem, to include the estimate derived by the Reactor Safety Study, which is treated as an expert's opinion. A probabilistic model for the credibility of this opinion that includes the critics' point of view is presented. The resulting (posterior) distribution is the assessed distribution of the frequency of reactor core melts based on a body of knowledge that includes the available experience and the WASH-1400 estimate.