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.”
R. G. Gonzalez, F. D'Auria, O. Mazzantini
Nuclear Technology | Volume 194 | Number 1 | April 2016 | Pages 61-72
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-155
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Atucha-2 is a Siemens-designed pressurized heavy water reactor located in Argentina. Its geometrical complexity and peculiarity [e.g., oblique control rods (CRs) and positive void coefficient] required a developed and validated complex three-dimensional (3-D) neutron kinetics (NK) model. In the framework of the agreement between NA-SA (Nucleo-electrica Argentina Sociedad Anonima) and the University of Pisa, a detailed NESTLE (3-D NK code) model of the Atucha-2 nuclear power plant (NPP) was developed. This document summarizes the procedures for implementing oblique CRs into the RELAP5/NESTLE model: A particular arrangement of the RELAP5/NESTLE CR insertion mode for oblique CRs and an implementation into the homogenized two-group cross sections of ad hoc calculated correction factors (these parameters were obtained by previously executed Monte Carlo calculations) were developed. Some applications, among the scenarios selected to perform safety analysis (Final Safety Analysis Report) of the Atucha-2 NPP (CNA-II), are also reported: preliminary scram rod worth, analysis of a CR ejection accident, and a CR faulty withdrawal.
