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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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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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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.”
Thomas E. Michener, David R. Rector, Judith M. Cuta
Nuclear Technology | Volume 199 | Number 3 | September 2017 | Pages 330-349
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2017.1305190
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
COBRA-SFS, a thermal-hydraulic code developed for steady-state and transient analysis of multiassembly spent-fuel storage and transportation systems, has been incorporated into the Used Nuclear Fuel-Storage, Transportation and Disposal Analysis Resource and Data System tool as a module devoted to spent-fuel-package thermal analysis. This paper summarizes the basic formulation of the equations and models used in the COBRA-SFS code, showing that COBRA-SFS fully captures the important physical behavior governing the thermal performance of spent-fuel storage systems, with internal and external natural convection flow patterns, and heat transfer by convection, conduction, and thermal radiation. Of particular significance is the capability for detailed thermal radiation modeling within the fuel rod array.
