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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.
T. M. Krishnamoorthy, S. N. Joshi, G. R. Doshi, R. N. Nair
Nuclear Technology | Volume 104 | Number 3 | December 1993 | Pages 351-357
Technical Paper | Special Issue on Waste Management / Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34896
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Leach characteristics of some typical nuclides such as cesium, strontium, cobalt, I−, and CO3−2 from ordinary portland cement waste forms have been studied using the ISO test method and radiotracers of the respective nuclides, i.e., 134Cs, 85Sr, 60Co, 131I, and 14C. The leach studies suggest a rapid release of radioactivity in the beginning (fast component) followed by slow release for long periods of time (slow component). A mathematical model has been simulated to describe the leaching kinetics of these nuclides from the cement matrix. The effective diffusion coefficient Deff is computed from the two componental diffusion coefficients, and the retardation factor (α) for a nuclide is evaluated from a knowledge of the radioactivity distribution in the aqueous and solid phase at equilibrium. The product αDeff for all the nuclides studied has been found to be approximately constant and is equal to the intrinsic diffusion coefficient in the cement matrix. The net fractional release of different radionuclides from cement waste form showed a decreasing pattern, i.e., 134Cs > 131I > 85Sr > 14Cr > 60Co indicating the largest diffusion coefficient for cesium as 10−2 cm2/day and the least for 14C as 3 × 10−8 cm2/day.