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
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jun 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
July 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
May 2026
Latest News
Breaking ground on a new approach to construction
The drive to Kairos Power’s reactor demonstration site in Oak Ridge, Tenn., is not only scenic—it’s historic. Nearly 85 years ago, roughly 30,000 construction workers transformed orchards and farmland into a key Manhattan Project site. Depending on your route, you may pass by one of the three gatehouses that were once military checkpoints controlling access to Atomic Energy Commission production facilities.
H. W. Lewis
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 91 | Number 2 | October 1985 | Pages 220-222
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE85-A27443
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In the performance of probabilistic risk assessments, in which there are inevitably large uncertainties, it is customary to characterize the computed probabilities in terms of their medians. When this is done, it is incorrect to add the probabilities of different accident sequences to find an overall probability of some consequence (like core melt), or to add the risks of the members of a population of reactors to find the societal risk. The error is not only one in principle, but is substantial when the uncertainties are large. In addition, the uncertainties are reduced when the probabilities are combined properly. Some examples are given.