Formed in 1957, the American Nuclear Society (ANS) Standards Committee has been active in the development of industry standards ever since. All ANS standards receive dual approval from the American National Standards Institute and are thus considered American National Standards. Industry standards are often started to establish safe practices. Once a standard is written and approved, it may influence regulatory guidance. Further, standards developed under voluntary consensus procedures, like those of ANS, often receive wide acceptance in their industry due to the broad representation of experts who worked to create the standard.