| Spring 1997
|
Warner Blyckert, Editor |
MESSAGE FROM THE OUTGOING CHAIR
NCSD is growing and changing. In an effort to improve member services, NCSD is now on the world wide web (WWW)! Please visit our developing web site at http://www.vic.com/~ncsd
Special thanks go to NCSD members Jack Bullington and Billy Lee, Jr. During their "spare time" these gentlemen researched options and spoke with many providers to find us a host site without charge, at least for the near term. Special thanks are also due Mrs. Lee who completed most of the HTML programming needed.
Billy Lee promises to add links to sites of interest as time permits if you help identify sites. We want to add member lists and e-mail addresses. However, we must first identify and resolve issues of member privacy and protection, find quick-and-easy methods for confirming NCSD membership, and implement user-friendly methods for members to enter and update their own information.
Billy Lee, Jack Bullington, and the NCSD Executive Committee need your input now. PLEASE answer this questionnaire immediately:
1. Do you have world wide web access which includes permission to check NCSD's site and associated pages?
2. If you had appropriate access, would you check NCSD's WWW site periodically?
3. What would you like to see on NCSD's WWW site? What do you not want to see on it?
4. If we are charged for items you want on NCSD's WWW site, what portion of NCSD limited funds would you allocate for these charges? Please answer in dollar and percentage amounts.
5. If individual and global E-mail addresses were available, would you use those addresses to communicate with NCSD Officers, Executive Committee, or NCSD members?
6. Are you willing and able to assist in maintaining and improving NCSD's WWW site? If yes, what kind of assistance will you donate?
7. If you are an instructor or in some way affiliated with a college or university, are you willing and able to support a student who helps maintain and improve NCSD's www site? For example, would you give extra-credit and support or provide WWW access?
8. What additional comments, suggestions, complaints, or questions do you have regarding NCSD's WWW site?
If you wish to be on the member list included on the NCSD web page, please include your name, affiliation, E-mail address, and phone number to help assure an accurate membership list is incorporated. At least for now information, the information on the NCSD WWW site will not be protected, so the list will be available to anybody who has WWW access.
Please send your responses to:
Valerie Putman
LMITCO
PO Box 1625, M/S 3458
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3458, USA
E-mail: vlp@barbie.inel.gov or vputman@inel.gov;
fax 208-526-0518
Finally, I would like to give a special thanks to all the board members and officers who served with me during my tenure. A new slate of officers and board members were annouced at the ANS Annual Meeting in Orlando (see next page). Special appreciation goes to Rick Anderson who completes his five-year rotation in the various NCSD officer postions. Board members who completed their term are Paul Felsher, Burt Rothleder, and Michaele Brady.
COMMUNICATIONS INFORMATION
Below is a list of the new division officers, executive committee, and committee chairs along with their telephone number, facsimile number, and electronic mail address. If you have any questions about the division activities or wish to offer comments or suggestions, or offer to help, the persons on this list are the people with whom to initiate contact.
| Francis M. Alcorn (99) 804-522-5157 v 804-522-5922 f fmalcorn@aol.com |
Warner A. Blyckert (98) Publications/Newsletter 509-946-0941 v 509-946-4395 f yck@ornl.gov |
Steve M. Bowman (00) 423-574-5263 423-576-3513 st5@ornl.gov |
Jack Bullington Secretary 803-952-3385 803-952-3063 jack.bullington@srs.gov |
| Douglas Croucher Treasurer/Finance 303-966-2175 v 303-966-7641 f douglas.croucher@rfets.gov |
Paul D. Felsher (97) Awards/Honors 303-966-8395 v 303-966-6022 f paul.felsher@rfets.gov |
Adolf S. Garcia (98) Education 208-526-4420 v 208-526-7245 f garciaas@inel.gov |
Song Huang (00) -- -- -- |
| David Heinrichs (98) Membership 510-424-5679 v -- none |
David Lindenschmidt Program 614-424-7514 v 513-779-6621 f lindesnd@battelle.org |
Thomas P. McLaughlin ANS-8 Chair 505-667-4789 v 505-665-4970 f tmp@lanl.gov |
Cecil V. Parks Vice Chair 423-574-5280 v 423-576-3513 f cvp@ornl.gov |
| Valerie L. Putman Division Representative/Nominating 208-526-9529 v 208-526-0518 f vlp@barbie.inel.gov |
Burton M. Rothleder(97) Govt/Industry Issues 301-903-3726 v 301-903-9523 f burton.rothleder@hq.doe.gov |
John A. Schlesser ANS-8 Secretary 505-665-2815 v 505-665-4970 f johna@lanl.gov |
Richard G. Taylor (99) 423-574-3529 v 423-576-1785 f rgt@ornl.gov |
| Peter R. Thorne (99) International Relations 011-44-1925-833004 v 011-44-1925-832161 f none |
Dennis A. Tollefson Chair 423-574-9877 v 423-576-1785 f tof@ornl.gov |
AWARDS COMMITTEE - Paul Felsher
The NCSD announces and congratulates the winners of the best paper award for the last Winter Meeting in Washington, D. C. The authors and winning paper were:
Stephen J. Walls and Peter R. Thorne for the paper "Aspects of the Relationship Between British Nuclear Fuels plc and the U.K. Regulators." The paper was presented by Peter Thorne.
PROGRAM COMMITTEE - Dave Lindenschmidt
The ANS Winter Meeting is scheduled for November 16-20, 1997 and will be held in Albuquerque, NM. The sessions being sponsored by NCSD are described below and paper submittals are encouraged to be to ANS Headquarters by June 20. Please contact the session organizer or Dave Lindenschmidt if the paper submittal will be delayed beyond June 20.
Data and Analysis for Nuclear Criticality Safety This session is general criticality safety for papers which do not fit any other NCSD-sponsored session topic.
Evolution of Technical Criticality Information THEME SESSION (TO INCLUDE INVITED AND CONTRIBUTED PAPERS) This session will cover a review of global accomplishments in technical criticality safety information generation, publication, and availability. This information consists of experimental data and computer code analysis and has served to generate the criticality safety basis for fissile material handling and processing. The results of these experiments as well as computer studies have been recorded in a variety of methods. The aim of this session is to identify the variety and quality of the information, the researchers, the meetings that were held, publications generated, and where and how to find this information, both published and unpublished. Contact Hans Toffer (303-966-3426) or Bill Lee (423-241-5970).
Integrating Criticality and Fire Safety Cosponsored by Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) Sometimes it appears to be a simple matter to assure criticality safety by limiting the presence and use of hydrogenous moderators. However, decisions to implement such limits must consider effects on fire suppression methods and safety. The decision can be complicated by many factors including: optimum moderation for some normally dry arrays is similar to the mist produced by fire hoses and water sprinklers; facility management does not necessarily control firefighter decisions when a community response agency becomes involved; fires are more probable and can be more destructive than criticality accidents; and more resources and attention are traditionally given to criticality safety. This session explores the issues of, trade-offs in, and lessons learned from integrating criticality and fire safety. Contact Adolf Garcia (208-526-4420) or Valerie Putman (208-526-9529).
Cross-Section Data Uncertainties and Impact on Nuclear Criticality Safety Cross-section data is of prime importance in the accurate prediction of the neutron multiplication factor. Problems faced by the NCS community often require a different focus on data needs than that typically required by other areas of nuclear analyses (reactor physics, radiation protection, etc.). In the past this situation was often overlooked because of the heavy reliance on criticality experiments to validate the prediction method and the associated data. Changing missions, reduction in critical experiment capabilities, and increased need to reduce the subcritical margin cause cross-section data uncertainties to be of prime importance in more and more criticality safety evaluations. This session will explore strategies for and present experiences with identifying resolving, and/or compensating for data deficiencies in a criticality safety evaluation. In addition, the session will stimulate papers that review the current program recently implemented by the DOE to improve the measurements, processing, and testing of cross-section data relative to nuclear criticality safety. Contact Cecil Parks (423-574-5280) or Rick Anderson (505-667-2821).
Criticality Safety of Drums Drums allow for efficient storage of fissile material in a variety of forms. Drum geometry and flexibility also causes criticality safety problems. The session will deal with problems of loading drums safely, assuring content, fissile and moderation limits, assuring safety when records are lacking, array safety, and off-normal conditions. While drums are frequently used, large waste containers (e.g. boxes) have similar NCS issues associated with them and will be addressed in this session as well. Contact Robert Wilson (303-966-9681) or Donna D'Aquila (614-897-4076).
Workshop The Nuclear Criticality Safety Division is holding a workshop in conjunction with the ANS winter meeting this November. The workshop will be focused on the validation of codes and data used for criticality safety analyses, and will be held all day Thursday and Friday morning the week of the meeting. A separate registration fee is required for the workshop, but may be submitted with the registration form and fee for the ANS meeting. Contact Adolf Garcia (208 526 4420). The planned outline for the workshop is:
Introduction
Workshop for Managers in Nuclear Criticality Safety, July 8-10, 1997, for those people with oversight responsibility for criticality safety but not direct supervision of the criticality safety process. Also, 18th Annual Nuclear Criticality Safety Short Course for those with less than two years experience in the field. Both offered by the University of NM in Albuquerque. Contact Cheryl M. Brozena, Admin Assistant, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, 209 Farris Engineering Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (phone 505 277 2225. E-mail cbrozena@unm.edu).
Nuclear Criticality Safety, Aug. 18-22, 1997, Knoxville, Tennessee, a short course for those who wish to increase their knowledge and understanding of nuclear criticality safety offered by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Contact: Lydia Salmon, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 (phone 423-974-2525; E-mail lsalmon@utk.edu).
Elizabeth "Libby" Briggs Johnson, of Oak Ridge, died Thursday, October 10, 1996, at her home after a lengthy illness. Mrs. Johnson was retired as a development staff member in the Instrumentation and Controls Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory She began her employment with Union Carbide Nuclear Division on September 29, 1946, and retired from Martin Marietta Energy Systems on October 1, 1994. She was a member and served as secretary of the American Nuclear Society, to which she was also named a Fellow; a member of the Nuclear Regulator Commission; a member of Sigma Xi (1975); a member of the New York Academy of Sciences; an administrative judge for the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; and was named honorary chairman in 1995 of the International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety at Albuquerque, New Mexico. She held a bachelor of science degree from Western Kentucky University and a master of science degree from Vanderbilt University.
Robert L. (Rob) Oxenham, former member of the Nuclear Criticality Safety Department at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) passed away on April 17, 1997 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Rob had a varied career in the Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear complex. After receiving an undergraduate degree in Physics from Florida State University, Rob took a job with the NCS department at PORTS, where he contributed significantly to NCS training. He later transferred to Safety Analysis and became a major contributor on the Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plant (GCEP) that was being built for deployment at PORTS in the early 1980s. Rob joined Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio in 1985, where he was a principal safety engineer for the DOE's salt mine repository project. Rob rejoined PORTS in 1987 as a criticality safety engineer, where he remained until he went on disability leave in January 1997. Rob was a mentor and good friend for many people in the safety analysis and NCS communities over the years, and will be sorely missed.
The Nuclear Criticality Safety Division and the Eastern Washington Local Section of the American Nuclear Society cordially invite you to spend a week with us at our 1997 conference: Criticality Challenges in the Next Decade. The conference will be held September 7-11, 1997 at Campbell's Resort on beautiful Lake Chelan, Washington. This conference will feature an outstanding array of technical presentations from around the United States and the world. Highlights include: plenary speakers Dennis Cabrilla (DOE-HQ), Don Alexander (DOE-RL), Trent Primm (ORNL), Tom Doering (FCF), and Peter Thorne (BNFL), a banquet with guest speaker Duane Clayton, luncheon presentations by Alan Waltar (immediate past president of the ANS) and Ron Knief, tutorials on Criticality Safety Analysis Codes (MCNP, KENO, and MONK) and Emergency Response, a panel discussion on Plutonium Utilization and Disposition, and, of course, a full slate of technical sessions.
For more information contact Scott Finfrock (tel: 509/376-4078, fax: 509/375-1523, E-mail: Scott_H_Finfrock@rl.gov) or see the conference web page: http://revolution.3-cities.com/~finfrock/cs97home.html.