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Division Spotlight
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.
John O’Hara (BNL), Stephen Fleger (NRC)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1778-1784
Design validation is an integral aspect of the systems engineering process and safety reviews. In the nuclear industry, integrated system validation (ISV) is the primary means of validating the human factors aspects of new and modified plant designs. However, challenges posed by ISV have led to interest in alternative approaches to validation. One alternative is multi-stage validation (MSV), which involves conducting validations at multiple points throughout the design process. The objective of this research was to define MSV and to identify its potential benefits, methodology, and technical issues and challenges. To address this objective, we reviewed standards and guidelines, case studies of design validation using MSV approaches, and technical literature discussing MSV methodology. From this technical basis we developed a characterization of MSV. The general goal of validation is to provide evidence that a design or design-related activity achieves its intended purpose. MSV approaches to validation achieve this goal by linking validation activities to design stages resulting in incremental, successive validation activities beginning in the early stages of the design process and continuing through the late stages of the design process. The main elements of an MSV program are: Determining the scope of MSV, identifying stages, developing MSV methodology, integrating MSV results across validation tests, and formulating validation conclusions. MSV has many challenges and benefits when compared with ISV alone. Further development of MSV methodology will help minimize MSV’s challenges and provide designers and regulators with guidance needed to implement and review MSV programs.