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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.
Hungyuan B. Liu, Robert M. Brugger
Nuclear Technology | Volume 108 | Number 2 | November 1994 | Pages 151-156
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A35026
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Convenient, economical epithermal neutron beams will be needed in the future for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). We studied two concepts for producing epithermal neutron beams with low-power reactors. The first design is a 100-kW reactor with a 235U fission plate placed outside the reflector region, plus an Al/Al2O3 moderator assembly. The beam, which is directed forward, delivers a flux of epithermal neutrons of 0.8 × 109 n/cm2·s and a fast neutron dose of 4.4 × 10−11 cGy·cm2/nepi. The second design is based on a slab reactor plus a similar Al/Al2O3 moderator assembly. With an operating power of 50 kW, the beam has an intensity of 1.4 × 109 n/cm2.s and a fast neutron dose of 4.6 × 10−11 cGy·cm2/nepi; this beam also is directed forward. These epithermal neutron beams should be acceptable for BNCT; a treatment could be completed in ∼1 h, and the fast neutron dose to the skin would not be the limiting dose. Such small reactors should be practicable in a hospital location.
