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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.
Erbang Hu, Rentai Yao, Zhanrong Gao, Shuxian Wang, Gang Jiang, Jia Yi Chen
Nuclear Technology | Volume 132 | Number 3 | December 2000 | Pages 339-351
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT00-A3148
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A set of deterministic and probabilistic models for estimating the accident washout factor are developed and established based on accident dispersion factor models given by current guidelines. The deterministic washout factor for different time intervals after accident release, the probabilistic washout factor, and the dose corresponding to various pathways are estimated based on the measured meteorological data on the site of a coastal nuclear power plant to be built in the southeastern part of China. The results show that for doses obtained from 0 to 8 h after a design-basis accident release, the external exposure dose from washout deposition given by the deterministic model is ~55% of that from dry deposition and 22% of individual effective dose (except wet deposition dose); the ratios of external exposure dose from washout to that from dry deposition and to effective dose (except wet deposition dose) given by the probabilistic model are ~5.73 and 2.29, respectively.