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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.
Esko H. Tusa, Asko Paavola, Risto Harjula, Jukka Lehto
Nuclear Technology | Volume 107 | Number 3 | September 1994 | Pages 279-284
Technical Paper | Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A35008
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
At the Loviisa Nuclear Power Station (NPS) all liquid waste, i.e., spent resins and evaporator concentrates, have been stored in a large tank storage facility. Dominating radionuclides in the evaporator concentrates have been 134Cs and 137Cs. By removing cesium from the waste, purified liquid can be released within licensed release limits, and cobalt as a second dominating nuclide is left in a small waste volume on the bottom of the tank. Since 1985, the use of inorganic hexacyanoferrate-based materials for purification of cesium has been studied. A full-scale system for cesium removal, called the IVO-CsTreat System, was constructed in 1990 to 1991. A method to produce the ion exchanger in granular form in industrial scale was developed, and the facility to produce it was constructed. The ion exchange material was produced in 1991, and the full-scale purification facility was commissioned at the Loviisa NPS in October 1991. In the test run, 253 m3 of concentrate was purified between October 31, 1991 and June 11, 1992 with three ion exchange columns, each with a volume of 8 ℓ. A volume reduction factor of over 10000 was achieved as the ratio of liquid and ion exchanger volume. The decontamination factor for cesium was ∼2000.