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
August 2025
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
July 2025
Latest News
DOE issues new NEPA rule and procedures—and accelerates DOME reactor testing
Meeting a deadline set in President Trump’s May 23 executive order “Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy,” the DOE on June 30 updated information on its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rulemaking and implementation procedures and published on its website an interim final rule that rescinds existing regulations alongside new implementing procedures.
Larry G. Blackwood, Yale D. Harker
Nuclear Technology | Volume 138 | Number 1 | April 2002 | Pages 58-68
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT02-A3277
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Assessment of active mode measurement uncertainty in passive-active neutron radioassay systems used to measure Pu content in nuclear waste is severely hampered by lack of knowledge of the waste Pu particle size distribution, which is a major factor in determining bias in active mode measurements. The sensitivity of active mode measurements to particle size precludes using simulations or surrogate waste forms to estimate uncertainty in active mode measurements when the particle size distribution is not precisely known or inadequately reproduced. An alternative approach is based on a statistical comparison of active and passive mode results in the mass range for which both active and passive mode analyses produce useable measurements. Because passive mode measurements are not particularly sensitive to particle size effects, their uncertainty can be more easily assessed. Once bias corrected, passive mode measurements can serve as confirmatory measurements for the estimation of active mode bias. Further statistical analysis of the errors in measurements leads to precision estimates for the active mode.