Meetings

Session Title: “Rejuvenate Nuclear Technology Infrastructure and Facilities”
Session Type: Panel
Time Slot: Mon PM (1:00-3:35)
Co-Sponsor: DESD
Session Organizer: Kevin Reynolds (CNS); Dustin Miller (Chase Env)
Session Chair: Kevin Reynolds (CNS)
Session Alt Chair: Dustin Miller (Chase Env)
Summary: There is an urgent need to rejuvenate and build the infrastructure, facilities, and skilled associated scientific staff involved in the research, testing, development, and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. Maintaining this national testbed is critical to support vibrant commercial nuclear businesses. This panel will include speakers from Government and Private industry to speak to efforts ongoing in the United States that are attempting to address rejuvenation of infrastructure and facilities in the nuclear industry.

Session Title: “Data, Analysis and Operations in Nuclear Criticality Safety-I”
Session Type: Contributed Papers
Time Slot: Mon PM2 (3:55-5:40, 4 papers)
Session Organizer: Theresa Cutler (LANL)
Session Chair: Mac Cook (SNL)
Session Alt Chair: TBD
Summary: The purpose of this session is to provide a forum for timely presentation of general issues in the area of nuclear criticality safety that are not covered in other special session topics.

Session Title: “Credible Accident Sequences in NCS”
Session Type: Panel
Time Slot: Tues AM (10:15-12:00)
Session Organizer: Lon Paulson (GE HNE)
Session Chair: Tom Mclaughlin (LANL, retd)
Session Alt Chair: Lon Paulson (GE HNE)
Summary: The purpose of this panel session is to provide practical examples of the determination of “credible” nuclear criticality accident sequences with fissionable materials in operations outside reactors. Panel to include NRC licensees, DOE facilities, or international fissionable material operations perspectives. A revisit of what constitutes a “credible” criticality accident sequence under current regulatory framework can improve facility operations, eliminate unnecessary controls, and permit focused attention on those that remain. Panelists should present and emphasize what constitutes a “credible” abnormal condition leading to a postulated nuclear criticality accident sequence or alternatively, present what constitutes a “not credible” determination for a postulated criticality accident sequence. Practical applications may include existing fissionable material operations, storage, natural phenomena hazards (NPH), facilities undergoing decommissioning, new facilities under design and construction, CAAS system needs evaluation, or other. Credibility comes down to a shared belief between the analyst, the operator, and perhaps the regulator that there are enough barriers to assure ourselves that the credible [believable] scenarios have been prevented and enough controls and barriers are in place such that we render the sequence “highly unlikely”.

Session Title: “Real World Applications of Sensitivity/ Uncertainty”
Session Type: Contributed Papers
Time Slot: Tues PM (1:30-3:40, 4 papers)
Session Organizer: Jennifer Alwin (LANL), Natasha Glazener (LANL)
Session Chair: Jennifer Alwin (LANL)
Session Alt Chair: Natasha Glazener (LANL)
Summary: As sensitivity/uncertainty codes gain wider dissemination throughout the nuclear industry, they are being applied to an ever increasing scope of problems. These new applications provide an opportunity to explore novel facets of these codes, may provide unique insight to answer technical criticality safety questions and generate interesting lessons learned.

Session Title: “ANS-8 Standards Forum”
Session Type: Discussion
Time Slot: Wed AM (8:00-10:00); as Committee Meeting
Session Organizer: Douglas Bowen (ORNL)
Session Chair: Douglas Bowen (ORNL)
Session Alt Chair: Larry Wetzel (BWXT)
Summary: Subcommittee ANS-8, Operations with Fissile Material Outside Reactors, meets to discuss various technical and administrative aspects of the approximately 20 national consensus standards under its purview. In addition to status and progress updates by representatives of individual working groups, formal presentations on the technical bases of numerical values such as subcritical limits and experiences with applications of particular standards are solicited. Agenda topics such as new and expanded standards are also encouraged.

Session Title: “Operational Reviews: How Facilities Meet ANSI/ ANS-8.1 Section 4.1.6”
Session Type: Panel
Time Slot: Wed AM (10:15-12:00)
Session Organizer: Kristin Wessels (CNS)
Session Chair: Kristin Wessels (CNS)
Session Alt Chair: Amber McCarthy (CNS)
Summary: This session addresses the different methods facilities use to perform their annual review of fissile operations required by ANSI/ANS-8.1 Section 4.1.6. Speakers will discuss topics including (but not limited to) which personnel participate in the operational reviews, the methods used to document the reviews, and how it is ensured that process drift is not occurring. Lessons learned and good practices associated with operational reviews will be discussed.

Session Title: “Data, Analysis and Operations in Nuclear Criticality Safety-II”
Session Type: Contributed Papers
Time Slot: Wed PM (3:55-6:05, 4 paper)
Session Organizer: Theresa Cutler (LANL)
Session Chair: Hailey Green (CNS)
Session Alt Chair: TBD
Summary: The purpose of this session is to provide a forum for timely presentation of general issues in the area of nuclear criticality safety that are not covered in other special session topics.

Session Title: “Sharing of Good Industry Practices and/or Lessons Learned in Nuclear Criticality Safety”
Session Type: Panel
Time Slot: Thurs AM1 (8:00-10:10)
Session Organizer: Deborah Hill (UK National Nuclear Labs)
Session Chair: Deborah Hill (UK National Nuclear Labs)
Session Alt Chair: John Miller (SNL)
Summary: Fundamental to the successful operation of any nuclear site is a first class safety culture which strives to continually improve in response to good industry practices and operating experience feedback. Speakers will provide examples of either lessons learned and / or specific good practices in their areas, following which an audience discussion will be initiated on alternative good practices and related experiences.

Session Title: “Data, Analysis and Operations in Nuclear Criticality Safety-III”
Session Type: Contributed Papers
Time Slot: Thurs AM2 (10:25-12:10, 4 papers)
Session Organizer: Theresa Cutler (LANL)
Session Chair: Ethan Reisker (SRS)
Session Alt Chair: TBD
Summary: The purpose of this session is to provide a forum for timely presentation of general issues in the area of nuclear criticality safety that are not covered in other special session topics.

TBD