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The human factor in licensing and operating the next generation of nuclear plants
As human factors specialists working at the intersection of human performance and nuclear operations, we are witnessing one of the nuclear sector’s most significant transitions in decades. The emergence of small modular reactors, microreactors, and other advanced designs is reshaping the industry’s landscape. Digital instrumentation and controls, passive safety systems, and increased automation are creating opportunities for greater safety margins and more flexible operation. These same features also fundamentally redefine what it means to “operate” a nuclear plant. Interactions among human roles, automation, and passive systems shape how people maintain awareness, exercise judgment, and intervene when necessary. These developments affect both operational realities and the regulatory foundations on which nuclear safety is built.
Fu-Zhi Li, Meng Zhang, Xuan Zhao, Tao Hou, Li-Jun Liu
Nuclear Technology | Volume 172 | Number 1 | October 2010 | Pages 71-76
Technical Paper | Nuclear Plant Operations & Control | doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A10883
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The rapid development of the nuclear power plant (NPP) in China leads to increasing attention to the minimization of radioactive waste. The primary coolant is one of the sources of low-level radioactive wastewater and must be decontaminated before its discharge to the environment. One of the possibilities is by means of continuous electrodeionization (CEDI) technology. In this paper the lab-scale experiments demonstrate that CEDI can offer favorable decontamination of primary coolant in NPP, with minimized radioactive spent resin production. Displacement of the anion exchanger by weak base anion exchangers in a CEDI module can improve the Co2+ and Sr2+ removal. In the dilute effluent of the modified module, Co2+ and Sr2+ concentrations are below 2 ngl-1 and 58 to 114 ngl-1 , respectively, which is much lower than the commercial one of 205 to 289 ngl-1 and 268 to 326 ngl-1 . This displacement has a negligible influence on the electrical resistance of the module.