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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
Albuquerque, NM|The University of New Mexico
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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
First astatine-labeled compound shipped in the U.S.
The Department of Energy’s National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) on March 31 announced the successful long-distance shipment in the United States of a biologically active compound labeled with the medical radioisotope astatine-211 (At-211). Because previous shipments have included only the “bare” isotope, the NIDC has described the development as “unleashing medical innovation.”
V, V. Rondinella, R. Nasyrow, D. Papaioannou (EC-JRC), E. Vlassopoulos (EPFL), F. Cappia, O. Dieste-Blanco, T. A. G. Wiss (EC-JRC)
Proceedings | 16th International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference (IHLRWM 2017) | Charlotte, NC, April 9-13, 2017 | Pages 734-740
The consequences of potential accidents causing spent fuel rod failure may involve fuel particles release and dispersion. This paper presents recent results from spent fuel experimental studies performed at JRCKarlsruhe addressing handling/transportation and longterm storage issues. An impact test using a hammer drop device in hot cell was performed on a spent fuel segment from a UO2 PWR rod with a burnup of ~67 GWd/tHM. The segment was not defueled and was repressurized to 40 bar before the test. Similarly to what observed in previous impact tests, only the fuel volume directly affected by the rod fracturing was released. In addition to the fuel material released during the impact, neither further particles release nor "flow-out" type of behaviour was observed by further tapping on the fractured segments after the test. Preliminary particle size distribution analysis of the fuel particles deposited on a second stage filter of the testing chamber collecting particles with size ?8 ?m indicates a log-normal distribution with main particle size of 2.4 ?m and standard deviation of 1.1 ?m. A few sub-micron particles were detected. The detailed analysis of the results, including finer particle fractions, is still ongoing. The final goal of these investigations is to determine criteria and conditions governing the response of spent fuel rods to impact loads and other thermo-mechanical solicitations corresponding to normal and off-normal conditions that may be experienced by the rod during handling, transportation, storage and after extended storage. In addition to impact and other mechanical loading tests, property measurements as a function of accumulated radiation damage are performed on spent fuel and alpha-doped analogues to determine the long term evolution and the potential effects of ageing processes on the mechanical integrity of the spent fuel rod.
