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Conference Spotlight
2026 Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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!
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December 2025
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November 2025
Latest News
Modernizing I&C for operations and maintenance, one phase at a time
The two reactors at Dominion Energy’s Surry plant are among the oldest in the U.S. nuclear fleet. Yet when the plant celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, staff could raise a toast to the future. Surry was one of the first plants to file a subsequent license renewal (SLR) application, and in May 2021, it became official: the plant was licensed to operate for a full 80 years, extending its reactors’ lifespans into 2052 and 2053.
P. Maka, E. Van Heerden, M. Rezaee
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 199 | Number 1 | April 2025 | Pages S987-S993
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2024.2315905
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Evaluating atmospheric dispersion and radiological doses in the vicinity of buildings is required for small modular reactors (SMRs) because of the reduced size of their exclusion area boundary. The current Canadian nuclear industry tool for these calculations implements the methodology defined in CSA Standard N288.2-M91, which was written to support large Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) nuclear reactors as opposed to SMRs. The ORCA (On/offsite Radiological Consequences of Accidents) code has been developed to address this technical concern in addition to evaluating atmospheric dispersion and doses in the far field. The code calculates worker and public doses following an airborne release of radioactive material into the atmosphere under postulated accident conditions at a nuclear facility. The current paper presents the key assumptions and methods utilized in ORCA and discusses qualification of the software to the requirements of CSA Standard N286.7-16. The new model is applicable to SMRs and existing reactor designs and reduces conservatisms in the near field (i.e., <1 km from the source) relative to the methods in CSA N288.2-M91.