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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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ANS Student Conference 2025
April 3–5, 2025
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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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Latest News
State legislation: Colorado redefines nuclear as “clean energy resource”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law on Monday that adds nuclear to the state’s clean energy portfolio—making nuclear power eligible for new sources of project financing at the state, county, and city levels.
I. W. Croudace, P. E. Warwick, R. Marsh
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 71 | Number 3 | April 2017 | Pages 290-295
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2017.1293450
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Tritium is ubiquitous in and around nuclear plants, being formed via neutron capture by 2H, 6Li, 10B and 14N and via ternary fission. The highly mobile nature of 3H species results in widespread distribution of the radionuclide. Predictive modeling of 3H activity concentrations is challenging and direct measurement of 3H activities in materials is the preferred approach to underpin waste and environmental assessments. For well over a decade, the UK nuclear industry has engaged in a significant program of site decommissioning of its first generation reactors. This has resulted in a high demand for the rapid characterization of 3H in a diverse range of matrices, including concretes, metals, plastics, sludges, resins, soils and biota. To support such assessments, it has been necessary to develop dedicated instrumentation in parallel with robust radioanalytical methodologies; namely a multi-tube furnace and a high-capacity, closed (pressurized) oxygen combustion system. Data are presented on the development and validation of these instruments, designed specifically to enable the quantitative extraction of 3H (and other volatile radionuclides) from diverse sample types. Furthermore the furnace system has been employed as a tool to gain insights into the 3H association in decommissioning and environmental matrices exposed to 3H arising from nuclear power plant operations through tritium evolution with temperature profiling. The impact of the chemical speciation of 3H on analytical strategy is discussed. A major benefit of the multi-sample furnace is its ease of use and applicability to 3H determination in virtually any sample type. The complementary HBO2 oxygen combustion system has been developed for the quantitative oxidation of organic-rich samples (e.g. wood, plastic, oil, biota) and analytical data prove its effectiveness.
