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Meeting 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!
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Latest News
The U.S. Million Person Study of Low-Dose-Rate Health Effects
There is a critical knowledge gap regarding the health consequences of exposure to radiation received gradually over time. While there is a plethora of studies on the risks of adverse outcomes from both acute and high-dose exposures, including the landmark study of atomic bomb survivors, these are not characteristic of the chronic exposure to low-dose radiation encountered in occupational and public settings. In addition, smaller cohorts have limited numbers leading to reduced statistical power.
Julien Beaucourt, Gabriel Georgescu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 3 | March 2021 | Pages 323-334
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1770530
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Extension of the operational lifetime beyond 40 years is currently a noteworthy project in the field of nuclear safety in France, especially for 900-MW(electric) reactors that will be the first ones to go through the fourth periodic safety review. For 1300-MW(electric) reactors, the safety studies have already been engaged. Probabilistic Safety Assessments (PSAs) play an important role in this process, including assessment of the robustness of the plants against internal and external hazards. Among the hazards, internal explosion induced by hydrogen accumulation due to leakage of pipes and/or singularities, or failure of venting systems in the battery rooms is now taken into account in the PSA developed by the licensee (EDF). The PSAs are then reviewed by IRSN, which is the French Technical support organization. To achieve this purpose, IRSN develops its own Level 1 PSA studies. This paper takes into account the most recent developments of the IRSN analyses, especially regarding the Bayesian quantification of the hydrogen leak frequency derived from an original method developed by Sandia National Laboratories.