ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference 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!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
The Frisch-Peierls memorandum: A seminal document of nuclear history
The Manhattan Project is usually considered to have been initiated with Albert Einstein’s letter to President Franklin Roosevelt in October 1939. However, a lesser-known document that was just as impactful on wartime nuclear history was the so-called Frisch-Peierls memorandum. Prepared by two refugee physicists at the University of Birmingham in Britain in early 1940, this manuscript was the first technical description of nuclear weapons and their military, strategic, and ethical implications to reach high-level government officials on either side of the Atlantic. The memorandum triggered the initiation of the British wartime nuclear program, which later merged with the Manhattan Engineer District.
David Pickett, Yiming Pan (CNWRA), John Wise, Ricardo Torres, Darrell Dunn (NRC)
Proceedings | 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017) | Charlotte, NC, April 9-13, 2017 | Pages 410-413
To renew a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) specific license for an independent spent fuel storage installation or a certificate of compliance for a dry storage system, the applicant must conduct an aging management review (AMR) that evaluates the potential aging-related degradation of those structures, systems, and components (SSCs) determined to be within the scope of renewal. Any credible aging mechanisms and effects identified for important-to-safety SSCs must be addressed in either time-limited aging analyses (TLAAs), if applicable, or aging management programs (AMPs). To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the renewal process, the NRC is developing guidance for its staff in reviewing AMRs and AMPs—titled the Managing Aging Processes in Storage (MAPS) Report. The report generically evaluates potential aging mechanisms for storage system components, concluding whether or not the mechanisms could affect an important-to-safety function. Aging mechanisms are evaluated for (i) casks and internal components; (ii) neutron shielding; (iii) neutron poisons; (iv) concrete overpacks and support pads, and ceramic fiber insulation; and (v) spent fuel assemblies. The report provides aging management tables that identify the component-specific aging mechanisms and consequent effects that must be managed. Finally, the report describes example AMPs that include recommended prevention, mitigation, monitoring, and inspection activities.
