WPC Sub-groups

WPC has a number of sub-groups to cover specific topic areas. Participation in sub-groups is not restricted to WPC members.

 Current sub-group areas are outlined below:

UK Criticality Resources

Criticality safety capability is an essential requirement in the UK nuclear industry.  A considerable loss of criticality experience and expertise is forecast over the next few years. This reflects the general industry position on skills and age profile.  WPC activity covers the following areas:

• Recruitment/ retention of criticality assessors

• Criticality assessor development/ training

  • Competency/ skills frameworks to define common standards and practices

  • Good practices in training and mentoring 

  • Provision and delivery of supporting training material 

• Knowledge management and sharing experience within and between organisations

  • WPC webinar series and workshops

  • Development of Good Practice Guides

  • Creating a source of accessible and searchable information on aspects of criticality safety

The work includes liaison with industry initiatives including the UK Alpha Resilience Capability Programme. 

Nuclear Codes and Data Forum

The purpose of the forum is to encourage the discussion of nuclear code and data issues that are of general interest to the UK criticality community. This may include, for example:

• • Potential future user requirements/ developments.

  • General feedback/ discussion on codes and nuclear data, including:

    • Examples of, or advice on, novel uses.

    • Sharing of user experience (good practice or pitfalls).

    • Validation, including the use of sensitivity analysis tools

    • Interpretation of related safety criteria.

    • The use of alternative codes/ nuclear data libraries.

  • Good practice in code/data use.

The forum is open to all interested parties and has no formal membership.  The forum meets on an annual basis. While this usually coincides with the ANSWERS Seminar the meeting is not restricted to discussing ANSWERS codes. This does, however, provide an opportunity for UK users to collectively discuss what they would like from the codes with the ANSWERS code developers.

Links to information on Nuclear Codes and Data

Fissile Wastes

The WPC Sub-group on fissile wastes has established a consensus on a suitable framework for carrying out criticality safety assessment for the packaging and long-term management of Intermediate Level Waste (ILW). The framework includes the key features of proposed criticality assessment methodologies covering packaging, transport and disposal of the waste. It is intended that this should serve as guidance to UK waste producers to assist them in the production of suitable criticality safety assessment reports as part of the process of obtaining regulatory approval for waste operations.

Challenges in Nuclear Data

• Facilitating wider industry discussion on funding routes to develop and raise visibility of nuclear data/ tools and the skills needed to support these.

• WPC webinar presented giving high-level training to the UK criticality community on nuclear data and related tools/ techniques

Professional Development

• Delivery of Continuous Professional Development webinar sessions

• Development and delivery of Continuous Professional Development workshops

Fault Analysis

• A Good Practice Guide is being developed on the various techniques and methodologies available for use in Fault Analysis

Standards Activity

• Overseeing input to the maintenance and development of ISO and ANS criticality safety standards.

Criticality Handbooks

• Guidance being developed on the visibility and quality of historic criticality handbook data

• Review of options for the generation and sharing of a wider range of modern criticality handbook data (examples of on-line tools and databases from UK, US and Germany) so this can be better utilised.

Criticality Emergency Planning

• Expert group formed to share/ discuss relevant experience, e.g. implementation of REPPIR 2019

Learning from Experience (LFE)

• A database has been developed to encourage collation and sharing of LFE by members.

• Working with US and French counterparts on the international sharing of LFE.