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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.
John B. Rajan, Romesh Kumar, Donald R. Vissers
Nuclear Technology | Volume 83 | Number 2 | November 1988 | Pages 205-211
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT88-A34162
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This study was conducted to develop improved treatment/disposal techniques for waste reactive metals. The basic approach considered was to convert the reactive metal (primarily sodium, with small quantities of radioactive and nonradioactive contaminants) to a glass form by reacting it primarily with silica sand, along with other minor additives to impart mechanical and chemical integrity to the waste form. A high-soda silicate glass was selected as the most desirable glass form for waste sodium disposal; however, it was found that small quantities of other additives would be necessary to impart acceptable resistance to leaching by groundwaters and other environmental stresses. Differential thermal analyses (DTA) with varying compositions of sodium oxide, silicon dioxide, calcium oxide, and magnesium oxide showed that the primary glass-forming reactions occur at <300°C. For the well-mixed samples used in the DTA tests, there were no additional thermal effects as the temperature was raised to 1260° C, indicating that the glass-forming reaction was essentially completed at the low temperature. Samples of different glasses were produced in a laboratory furnace to determine qualitative glass characteristics. Samples of sodium disilicate glass were tested for teachability of sodium by water. This particular glass had a relatively high sodium leach rate of 0.73 × 10−2 μg.mm−2.min−1 at room temperature in pure water. A conceptual one-step process for waste sodium conversion was designed, incorporating a low-g, low-pressure-drop, high-temperature cyclone as the reaction vessel as well as the reaction product separator.