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Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
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2025 ANS Annual Conference
June 15–18, 2025
Chicago, IL|Chicago Marriott Downtown
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
Smarter waste strategies: Helping deliver on the promise of advanced nuclear
At COP28, held in Dubai in 2023, a clear consensus emerged: Nuclear energy must be a cornerstone of the global clean energy transition. With electricity demand projected to soar as we decarbonize not just power but also industry, transport, and heat, the case for new nuclear is compelling. More than 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050. In the United States alone, the Department of Energy forecasts that the country’s current nuclear capacity could more than triple, adding 200 GW of new nuclear to the existing 95 GW by mid-century.
Piyush Garg (Ohio State/Indian Inst of Technology (Kharagpur)),Yunfei Zhao, Carol Smidts (Ohio State)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1195-1209
Micro nuclear reactors have drawn increasing attention in the past ten years in the nuclear industry. However, compared with traditional nuclear power plants, micro-reactors differ in a number of aspects, such as digital human-machine interfaces, multi-unit operation, remote and autonomous operation. These differences hinder the applicability of current human reliability analysis methods in the context of micro-reactors, which then poses challenges to the licensing of advanced nuclear technologies and systems. The objective of this research is to fill the gap between the capabilities of current HRA methods and the characteristics of micro-reactors. In this research, the candidate performance shaping factors affecting decision-making of operators in the context of micro-reactors were identified, and preliminary analyses of their effects on operator performance were conducted. To be specific, the characteristics of micro nuclear reactors which pertain to human performance were first identified based on an investigation of the designs and applications of micro nuclear reactors. These characteristics represent the contextual feature space for various micro-reactor designs and applications. Then, the effect of these characteristics on human performance was investigated by referring to relevant studies for nuclear systems as well as other similar systems. The results in this research will help extend the framework of current HRA methods to enable them to be applicable to advanced micro-reactors.
