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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.
Satoru Tsushima, Shinya Nagasaki, Atsuyuki Suzuki
Nuclear Technology | Volume 118 | Number 1 | April 1997 | Pages 42-48
Technical Paper | Kiyose Birthday Anniversary Special / Enrichment and Reprocessing System | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35355
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Photochemical techniques are used for the mutual separation of lanthanide elements. By emitting light from an ultrahigh-pressure mercury lamp to a nitric acid solution that contains fourfold mixtures of lanthanide elements (neodymium, samarium, europium, and gadolinium), (NH4)2SO4, and isopropyl formate, neodymium, samarium, and europium are photoreduced and form Ln2+ sulfates, while gadolinium is not photoreduced and does not coprecipitate. When lanthanum is introduced instead of gadolinium, lanthanum coprecipitates along with neodymium, samarium, and europium. These results are explained by photolyzing Nd-Gd and Nd-La systems for comparison, and the difference in precipitation behaviors between these two systems is explained by the differences in ion size of these elements. Photolysis is also performed for a Nd-Am system. Am3+ is carried along with neodymium and coprecipitated. As a way to decrease the amount of americium carried along with neodymium, americium is photo-chemically oxidized by emitting light from a deuterium lamp as well as from a mercury lamp. The fraction of americium carried with neodymium decreases with the use of this technique. This result is also explained by the differences in ion size of these elements.
