OECD-NEA criticality working group - a status report and the burnup credit challenge

A Working Group established by the organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD-NEA), Paris, has examined the validity of computational methods used for calculations that evaluate the nuclear criticality safety issues involved in the storage, handling and transportation of fissile materials. The basic goal of this Working Group is to attempt to define and implement a procedure that can be shown to demonstrate the validity of the various computational methods used to make criticality safety calculations. The current activities of the Working Group involve an effort to establish the validity of computational methods used to evaluate the criticality safety of the storage, handling, and transportation of spent light-water-reactor fuel elements in which one seeks to take credit for the fissile material burnup and/or buildup of fission products. (J.P.N.)