Hands-On Training Courses
2024 Courses
2025 Courses
Hands-On Training Courses
2024 Courses
2025 Courses
Focus Area: Training & Education
Description
NCSP “hands-on” courses are FREE to participants with no tuition fee.
CAUTION! When registering for a course please ensure that you are signing up for the course that best meets your needs and experience, by carefully reading the course descriptions below.
Exams will be given at the end of each course, where an 80% grade must be received in order to pass.
The One-week Managers course is designed for fissile material handlers, process supervisors, line managers and regulators with criticality safety responsibilities.
The Two-week Criticality Safety Engineers course is designed to meet the ANSI/ANS-8.26, "Criticality Safety Engineer Training and Qualification Program", requirement for hands-on experimental training.
Additionally, a variety of NCSP videos and training modules are available for self-study. See the "Resources" section below.
Available Courses
2024 Courses
Two-week courses are held in multiple locations. The first week takes place at NFO/NATM. The second week meets at NCERC (participants must have a Q clearance) or SNL (open to all participants).
- Q clearance required
Dec 9–13 | Register here
Sep 9–13 | Register here
- Q clearance required
Aug 5–16 | CLOSED
Aug 5–16 | CLOSED
2025 Courses
Two-week courses are held in multiple locations. The first week takes place at NFO/NATM. The second week meets at NCERC (participants must have a Q clearance) or SNL (open to all participants).
- Q clearance required
- Q clearance required
Resources
LANL Heritage Video Conference (2000)
- Session 1: Critical Assemblies for Criticality Safety
- Session 2: Criticality Accidents at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos
- Session 3: Dosimetry of Criticality Accidents
- Session 4 Part 1: Clinical Effects of Criticality Accidents
- Session 4 Part 2: Clinical Effects of Criticality Accidents
- Session 5 Part 1: The Development of ANS Standards for Criticality Safety
- Session 5 Part 2: The Development of ANS Standards for Criticality Safety
- Session 6 Part 1: The Interaction between Criticality Safety Specialists and Operational Personnel
- Session 6 Part 2: The Interaction between Criticality Safety Specialists and Operational Personnel
- Session 7 Part 1: Regulatory Paradigm Shifts
- Session 7 Part 2: Regulatory Paradigm Shifts
- Session 8: Calculational Methods Developed during the Heritage Period
- Session 10: Conference Wrap-Up
- Discussion 1: The distinction between reactor safety and criticality safety.
- Discussion 2: Calculational analysis of criticality accidents.
- Discussion 3 Part 1: The double contingency principle.
- Discussion 3 Part 2: The double contingency principle.
- Discussion 4: Chemistry of the 1958 Los Alamos criticality accident.
- Discussion 5: Administrative changes in plutonium processing.
- Summary of session 3 and 4
- Heritage Video Conference 2000 Excerpt: The Double Contingency Principle
- 35 Years at Pajarito Canyon Site
Oak Ridge Critical Experiments Facility Heritage Videos
ORCEF DVD 1
- Chapter 1: Early History of Criticality Experiments
- Chapter 2: Purposes of Early Critical Experiment Campaigns
- Chapter 3: Early ORCEF Line Organizations & Facilities
- Chapter 4: Facility Description
- Chapter 5: Characteristic Experimental Programs
- Chapter 6: Polonium - Beryllium Neutron Source Experience
- Chapter 7: Operational Safety Experiments & Analysis
- Chapter 8: Additional ORCEF Experimentalists
- Chapter 9: Solution Sphere Experiment
- Chapter 10: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 2
- Chapter 1: Professional and Supplementary ORCEF Activities
- Chapter 2: Overview on Standards and Regulations
- Chapter 3: Development of Criticality Safety Guides
- Chapter 4: Coordination of National Critical Experiment Work
- Chapter 5: Heritage Participants: Introduction & Background
- Chapter 6: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 3
- Chapter 1: Experimental Categories: Basic Physics
- Chapter 2: Early (1946 - 1947) Fluoride Experiments
- Chapter 3: Performance of Gwin and Magnuson Eta Experiments
- Chapter 4: Kinetics and Noise Analysis
- Chapter 5: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 4
- Chapter 1: Experimental Categories: Transportation & Storage
- Chapter 2: Transportation and Storage
- Chapter 3: Experimental Categories: Operations and Production Support
- Chapter 4: Joe Thomas: Array Experiments
- Chapter 5: Dixon Callihan: K-25 Support
- Chapter 6: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 5
ORCEF DVD 6
- Chapter 1: Experimental Categories: Reactor Design
- Chapter 2: Dale Magnuson HFIR Research Reactor Experiments
- Chapter 3: Joe Thomas: HFIR Assembly Measurements for Core Performance
- Chapter 4: John Mihalczo: Pulsed Reactor Measurements
- Chapter 5: Dixon Callihan: Army Packaged Power Reactor
- Chapter 6: Dixon Callihan: Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) Reactor
- Chapter 7: Additional Reactor Design Critical Assemblies: Pictures
- Chapter 8: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 7
- Chapter 1: Professional Activities
- Chapter 2: Beginning of Nuclear Criticality Safety Data for Standards and Regulations
- Chapter 3: Standards and Regulations
- Chapter 4: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 8
- Chapter 1: Critical Data Reports, Publications, and Forums
- Chapter 2: Documentation
- Chapter 3: Forums
- Chapter 4: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 9
- Chapter 1: Supplementary ORCEF Coordinated Activities
- Chapter 2: Analytical Methods Development
- Chapter 3: KENO Computational Development
- Chapter 4: Sponsor & Credit
ORCEF DVD 10
- DVD 10: Y-12 Accident Radiation Source Simulation
- DVD 10: These are some of the participants of the ORCEF Heritage Project, Sponsor, and Credit
As part of the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program, a series of training modules are provided to assist site training organizations in developing a comprehensive criticality safety training program. These modules are intended to be used in conjunction with other resources such as the NCSP Nuclear Criticality Safety and University courses. The material in these NCSET modules is suitable for introductory level training of criticality safety personnel who either do not have a nuclear engineering background or who need a basic level refresher course.
These training materials have been developed for the criticality safety user community. Feedback from the users is important so that new modules can be designed and current modules improved to maximize their benefit to the largest possible audience. Please send your comments, suggestions, etc. to ncsp-mgmt [at] llnl.gov (ncsp-mgmt[at]llnl[dot]gov).
Module 1: Introductory Nuclear Criticality Physics (PDF)
Module 2: Neutron Interactions (PDF)
Module 3: The Fission Chain Reaction (PDF)
Module 4: Neutron Scattering and Moderation (PDF)
Module 5: Criticality Safety Limits (PDF)
Module 6: Introduction to Diffusion Theory (PDF)
Module 7: Introduction to the Monte Carlo Method (PDF)
Module 8: Hand Calculation Methods - Part I (PDF)
Multimedia Module: Buckling Conversion Method
Multimedia Module: Surface Density Method
Critical Dimensions of Systems Containing 235U, 239Pu,and 233U
Module 9: Hand Calculation Methods - Part 2
Module 10: Criticality Safety in Material Processing Operations - Part 1 (PDF)
Module 11: Criticality Safety in Material Processing Operations - Part 2 (PDF)
Module 12: Preparation of Nuclear Criticality Safety Evaluations (PDF) - August 3, 2010
Module 13: Measurement and Development of Cross Section Sets (PDF)
Module 14: A Review of Criticality Accidents by Thomas McLaughlin (video presentation taped Dec. 10, 1999; running time 1 hr 22 min)
Module 15: Fundamentals of Criticality Safety for Non-material Handlers (web-based interactive training course)
Module 16: Burnup Credit for Criticality Safety Analysis of Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel (PDF)
It Can Happen Here!
Joe Thomas Reminisces
Dr. Robert Wilson discusses the 1978 Idaho Criticality Accident (the last criticality accident in this country)