Argonne’s INSC Web Page Hosts 20,000 Visitors a Month from 80 Countries

Since its creation in 1996, the U.S. International Nuclear Safety Center (INSC) Web page has been accessed more than 8 million times. Operated by Argonne, the Web site is a comprehensive resource for safety analysis of nuclear power facilities around the globe. A complementary database and Web page are provided by the Russian counterpart—the Russian International Nuclear Safety Center (RINSC). Currently, the site receives 20,000 visits each month. Visitors come from 80 countries and spend an average of 11 to 12 minutes on the Web pages. Users include high school students interested in the maps of nuclear facilities across the world, individuals seeking unbiased information on nuclear safety, and scientists reading detailed assessments of material behavior during nuclear accidents.

“The materials property database provides critically assessed thermodynamic and transport properties of U.S. and Russian reactor materials during normal operations and accidents,” explained Web site manager Hubert Ley. Much of the materials information is available publicly, but the INSC Web site makes it available in one place. Data are provided for nuclear fuel and other reactor materials, including material properties at high temperatures. Argonne research in this area is included with studies from Russian researchers and others. “There are not many other publicly open materials properties databases that provide information for extreme temperatures,” Ley said.

Registered INSC users can access more highly detailed research that may not be available publicly or is copyright-protected.

The INSC and RINSC Web pages grew out of a 1995 agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy. The two groups agreed to focus resources to improve nuclear safety analysis capabilities and safety management techniques for Soviet-designed reactors. In addition to working on the Web pages, U.S. and Russian researchers collaborate on 10 safety-related joint projects.

The INSC projects include improving the safety culture at Russian reactors by adapting and applying U.S. guidelines for managing severe accidents, and determining if computer safety codes developed for U.S. reactors can be usefully applied to Russian-designed reactors. The Russian INSC, located in Moscow, is run by an independent, non-commercial organization as a part of the Ministry of Atomic Energy.

An unanticipated outgrowth of the projects is that the INSC is now becoming an asset for other DOE research projects in Russia. The INSC has worked out valuable lines of communications and procurement protocols that help accommodate the cultural differences between the two nations.

For more information please contact Dave Baurac at 630-252-5584

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