General Process

Primary Author(s)

Activity

In 2001, the NCSD Executive Committee endorsed use of whitepapers to relate guidance on pertinent issues or examples of good practices in the practice of Nuclear Criticality Safety.  The whitepaper process is intended to be a venue for all members of the division to promote best practices, lessons learned or to explore meaningful discussions on issues of importance to the criticality safety community.  Whitepapers are intended to be living documents that could and should change as practices improve.

To read the entire document, click here (Word)  (PDF)

Mikey Brady-Raap
Pacific Northwest Lab
(509) 375-3781
michaele.bradyraap@pnl.gov

Lon Paulson
GNF
(910) 675-5460
lon.paulson@gnf.com

Revised 6/06 (Rev 1)

Education Committee Overview

The following initiatives (i.e., development of White Papers) were identified by consensus to implement the mission statement:

• Overview of the ANS/NCSD Education Committee
• Establish guidance on a definition of a criticality safety engineer specialist
• Establish guidance on a successful nuclear criticality safety mentoring program
• Establish guidance on an acceptable evaluation of nuclear criticality safety
• Establish guidance on a criticality safety engineer specialist training and qualification program
• Establish guidance on proper implementation of the double contingency principle

To read the entire document, click here (Word)  (PDF)

Lon Paulson
GNF
(910) 675-5460
lon.paulson@gnf.com

Revised 6/06 (Rev 0)

Successful NCS Mentorship Program

As the Nuclear Criticality Safety Community grows older and large numbers of experienced criticality safety engineer specialists retire, there is a need for young aspiring criticality safety engineer specialists to fill the gap.  It is very important that the lessons-learned over the past ~50 years are passed on to the "next generation."  This can be effectively accomplished utilizing a nuclear criticality safety mentorship program.  A more experienced criticality safety engineer specialist (i.e., Mentor) should educate the lesser-experienced criticality safety engineer specialist (e.g., Trainee, or Engineer).  Mentorship should not end once the Criticality Safety Trainee becomes a qualified Criticality Safety Engineer or Senior Criticality Safety Engineer at his/her nuclear facility.  It is an ongoing, continuous process while an active member of the Nuclear Criticality Safety profession.

To read the entire document, click here (Word)  (PDF)

Bonnie Rumble
Paschal Associates
(740) 897-4047
bonnie.rumble@gmail.com

Revised 6/06 (Rev 0)

Nuclear Criticality Safety Evaluations

One of the more difficult tasks of a criticality safety engineer (CSE) is to develop the rationale for the establishment of controlled parameters and the proper documentation of the basis for subcritical limits derived for the controlled parameters.  In addition, clear specifications of associated control and functionality requirements to safely operate a process or facility that contains fissile material must be clearly communicated to operating personnel.

To read the entire document, click here (Word)  (PDF)

Lon Paulson
GNF
(910) 675-5460
lon.paulson@gnf.com

Jim Morman
Argonne National Lab
(630)252-6076
jamorman@anl.gov

Revised 11/09 (Rev 1)

Nuclear Criticality Accidents In The Workplace: Fact Sheet

A nuclear criticality accident is the occurrence of a self-sustaining neutron chain reaction that is either unplanned or behaves unexpectedly. Only a few special nuclear materials such as enriched uranium or plutonium are capable of supporting a self-sustaining neutron chain reaction, hereinafter called nuclear criticality. Nuclear criticality results in the same reactions that occur in a nuclear reactor. The products of nuclear criticality are heat, radiation, and radioactive materials called fission products.

To read the entire document, click here (Word)  (PDF)

Richard Taylor
C S Engineering
(865) 482-8086
rtaylor238@comcast.net

Revised 6/06 (Rev 1)
Minor Revision (4/09)

NCSD Whitepaper Disclaimer

As detailed in the accompanying NCSD Whitepaper Approval Process, these whitepapers have been prepared and approved by the Education Committee and the NCSD Executive Committee has approved the whitepapers being placed on the NCSD webpage. It should be noted that the NCSD whitepapers are developed to disseminate good practices, increase communication and stimulate discussion within the NCSD community on specific topics. They are designed and intended to be living documents. Each whitepaper provides one of numerous ways of applying good practices on the subject, thus it is not intended to be used as a standard or as interpretation of a standard. Comments on the whitepapers should be sent to the primary author as well as the Chair of the Education Committee.