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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.
Sham Sunder
Nuclear Technology | Volume 122 | Number 2 | May 1998 | Pages 211-221
Technical Paper | Radiation | doi.org/10.13182/NT98-A2863
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Alpha, beta, and gamma dose rates in water, in contact with the reference used fuel in the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program (i.e., Bruce A CANDU fuel, burnup 685 GJ/kg U), are calculated as a function of cooling time. Procedures to calculate the dose rates for used CANDU fuels of different burnups from results obtained for the reference fuel are described. These procedures can be adapted to estimate dose rates for fuels other than CANDU fuel. The dose rate information is needed to compare the results of leaching and corrosion experiments, conducted by different groups, with used fuels of different burnups and/or cooling times and to predict the effects of radiolysis of groundwater on used fuel oxidation and dissolution in a disposal vault.
