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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.
W. Steinwarz, H. J. Cordewiner, H. D. Röhrig
Nuclear Technology | Volume 46 | Number 2 | December 1979 | Pages 312-317
Technical Paper | Nuclear Power Reactor Safety (Presented at the ENS/ANS International Meeting, Brussels, Belgium, October 16–19, 1978) / Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32332
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The application of nuclear heat in chemical processes involves a novel safety problem caused by contamination of the product gas with tritium. For a 3000-MW(thermal) nuclear process heat installation, a study was made on tritium distribution. Based on conservative assumptions and a calculation model for source/sink balances, an upper limit for the tritium concentration in the product gas of ∼5900 Bq/m3 (STP) was derived. The critical pathway in the application of the product gas then leads to a radiation exposure being far below the German 0.3 mGy ( 30 mrem) annual whole-body dose concept. Improvements in the calculation model and additional data for modified design features may further reduce the tritium contamination.
