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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.
Judith A. Bezdecny, Kevin M. Vance, Douglass L. Henderson
Nuclear Technology | Volume 110 | Number 3 | June 1995 | Pages 369-395
Technical Note | Actinide Burning and Transmutation Special / Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT95-A35108
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The purpose of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Accelerator Transmutation of (Nuclear) Waste (ATW) project is the substantial reduction in volume of long-lived high-level radioactive waste of the United States in a safe and energy-efficient manner. An evaluation of the ATW concept has four aspects: material balance, energy balance, performance, and cost. An evaluation of the material balance compares the amount of long-lived high-level waste transmuted with the amount and type of waste created in the process. One component of the material balance is the activation of structural materials over the lifetime of the transmutation reactor. A preliminary radioactivity and radioactive mass balance analysis has been performed on four structure regions of the reaction chamber: the tungsten target, the lead annulus, six tubing materials carrying the actinide slurry, and five reaction vessel structural materials. The amount of radioactive material remaining after a 100-yr cooling period for the base-case ATW was found to be 338 kg of radionuclides. The bulk of this material (313 kg) was generated in the zirconium-niobium (Zr-Nb) actinide tubing material. Replacement of the Zr-Nb tubing material with one of the alternative tubing materials analyzed would significantly reduce the short- and long-term radioactive mass produced. The alternative vessel materials Al-6061 alloy, Tenelon, HT-9, and ; Cr-1 Mo and the alternative actinide tubing materials Al-6061 alloy, carbon-carbon matrix, silicon carbide, and Ti-6 Al-4 V qualify for shallow land burial. Alternative disposal options for the base-case structural material Type 304L stainless steel and the actinide tubing material Zr-Nb will need to be considered as neither qualifies for shallow land burial.