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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
John S. Schork, Bradley A. Parfitt
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 2 | October 1989 | Pages 486-489
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Health Physics and Environmental Release / Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27741
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) defueling and decontamination activities required workers to wear several layers of protective clothing when they worked in the highly contaminated environment of the TMI-2 reactor building (RB). It was recognized that the insulating properties of the protective clothing would impose heat stress on the workers. A specific program for the control of worker exposure to heat stress was developed, including medical testing of workers, training and education, work time limits, and the extensive use of “ice vests” as a personal body-cooling device. The logistical and operational aspects of each phase of the program are also addressed. Finally, the use of engineering controls to combat heat stress in the RB and to reduce the reliance on personal protective devices is described.