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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.
Eike Hohmann, Marlies Luszik-Bhadra, Helmut Schuhmacher, Burkhard Wiegel, Georg Fehrenbacher
Nuclear Technology | Volume 172 | Number 3 | December 2010 | Pages 273-277
Technical Paper | Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A10935
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Recent developments in accelerator physics have led to new challenges for radiation protection dosimetry. As is well known, the ambient dose equivalent indicated by area monitors in high-energy neutron fields behind shielding is often unreliable. Therefore, it is desirable to measure the spectrum and to do "in-field" calibrations using the spectral information as reference. For this purpose, the PTB NEMUS (an extended-range Bonner sphere spectrometer) was modified with a new active thermal neutron detector based on silver activation capable of measuring in intense pulsed fields with high energies and fluence rates.