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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.
M. Kelm, E. Bohnert
Nuclear Technology | Volume 129 | Number 1 | January 2000 | Pages 119-122
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3050
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The yields of the different radiolytic products formed by gamma radiolysis from NaCl brines at ambient temperature and dose rates between 0.1 and 1 kGy/h were determined. At a chloride concentration of 5.3 mol/l, H2, O2, and ClO3- were formed proportional to the dose and independent from the dose rate with G values of 0.6, 0.16, and 0.074, respectively. At a concentration of 2 mol/l, the chlorate yield dropped to a value close to zero, and the gas composition became stoichiometric. At pH 12 and in the presence of heavy metal ions, the yield of oxygen increased at the expense of chlorate. The concentrations of hypochlorite and chlorite were usually in the micromole per litre range. In pressurized solutions of 5.3 mol/l Cl- where all radiolytic gases were kept dissolved, equilibrium concentrations of radiolytic products were almost reached at a dose of ~1 MGy. The partial pressure of radiolytic gases was ~35 bars, and the chlorate concentration was ~170 mol/l.