NRC appoints new members to ACRS

The ACRS is a group of technical experts that advises the NRC independently from agency staff on safety issues related to the licensing and operation of nuclear power plants, nuclear materials and waste management, and radiation protection. The committee can have up to 15 members, each serving four-year terms.

About the appointees: Craig Harrington is an engineer with more than 40 years of experience in commercial nuclear power. He worked for 23 years at the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant, covering plant construction, startup, operation, and licensing interactions. In addition, he previously worked at the Electric Power Research Institute as a subject-matter expert in pressurized-water reactor primary system applications and co-led the development of probabilistic fracture mechanics code for piping applications, developed jointly by the NRC and EPRI.

Harrington’s recent focus has been on materials management issues in small modular reactors and developing design-stage approaches. He holds a doctorate in engineering, a master’s in mechanical engineering, and a bachelor’s in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University.

Palmtag is a research professor at North Carolina State University with more than 25 years of experience in the nuclear industry, including roles in commercial companies, academia, and consulting with national laboratories. He has extensive experience in developing nuclear methods and performing analysis for both light water reactors and advanced reactors. His expertise includes steady-state and transient neutronics analysis, thermal hydraulics, cross-section generation, and in-core fuel management.

Palmtag previously worked at Studsvik Scandpower and Global Nuclear Fuel, and he served as a consultant for the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors for nearly a decade. Palmtag holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned his bachelor’s in nuclear engineering from the University of Missouri–Rolla.

About the ACRS: The committee has four primary purposes:

• To review and report on safety studies and reactor facility license and license renewal applications.
• To advise the NRC on the hazards of proposed and existing production and utilization facilities and the adequacy of proposed safety standards.
• To initiate reviews of specific generic matters or nuclear facility safety-related items.
• To provide advice in the areas of health physics and radiation protection.