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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.
Jeff A. Halfinger, Michael D. Haggerty
Nuclear Technology | Volume 178 | Number 2 | May 2012 | Pages 164-169
Technical Paper | Small Modular Reactors / Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT11-65
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Babcock & Wilcox Company launched an aggressive program in 2008 to develop a scalable nuclear reactor using its unique history of over 50 years of continuous reactor engineering and manufacturing. The B&W mPower™ reactor design is a passively safe advanced light water reactor (ALWR) with a below-ground containment structure. This optimized ALWR represents true generation III+ nuclear technology that B&W believes can be certified, manufactured, and operated within today's existing U.S. regulatory, industrial supply chain, and utility operational infrastructure.The mPower reactor takes a competitive approach to plant operations and emphasizes safety and compliance with the EPRI Utilities Requirements Document (URD), incorporating decades of lessons learned from the operating fleet. The design's scalability, ease of transport, and independence from water rights for secondary heat rejection make it well suited for deployment in a wide range of applications, including incremental additions to the base load, load-following conditions, and industrial applications. The mPower reactor is also a viable solution to retrofit aging conventional power plants, leveraging the existing plant siting and transmission system.