Standards

Formed in 1957, the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Standards Committee has been active in the development of industry standards ever since. The Standards Committee is a term that relates to the entire collective group of individuals who participate in standards activities for ANS. The Standards Committee is a historical term that is used to identify professionals who participate in various committees allocated by the ANS Standards Board. The Standards Committee does not conduct itself as a committee. It does not meet nor act as a single body. It is simply a collection of qualified volunteers who participate in the development and maintenance of ANS consensus standards and related documents.

The Standards Board is the top-level management body of the Standards Committee. It is charged with providing governance, direction, and guidance to all activities in the development and maintenance of ANS consensus standards, related documents and special committees. The Standards Board meetings are conducted as a committee and conform to Roberts Rules of Order. The Standards Board reports directly to the ANS Board of Directors.

ANS standards receive approval from the American National Standards Institute and are thus considered American National Standards. Industry standards are often started to establish safe practices. Once a standard is written and approved, it may influence regulatory guidance. Further, standards developed under voluntary consensus procedures, like those of ANS, often receive wide acceptance in their industry due to the broad representation of experts who worked to create the standard.

ANS standards, as well as the standards of many other organizations and industries, are documents that set forth requirements for the design, manufacture, or operation of a piece of equipment. They can also address computer firmware and software. A standard can address the necessary physical and functional features of equipment, its safe application, or some combination of these. These standards are applied on a voluntary basis. When a standard is adopted by a state or federal agency, then it becomes part of their mandatory code.

Since its start, ANS has written and approved over 150 different standards, and numerous versions of many of those. At present ANS has 90 standards that are current American National Standards and many others that are considered historical standards. These technical documents are written, reviewed, and approved by the army of talented volunteers that support our program. ANS has close to 1000 volunteers who provide their experience and expertise to the various levels of standards committees to see that these important documents are written for the industry's needs.

The various web pages for the standards program should answer your basic questions about this important activity of the American Nuclear Society. But, for any of your questions that remain unanswered, we encourage you to contact standards@ans.org.