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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.
Claude Prunier, François Boussard, Lothar Koch, Michel Coquerelle
Nuclear Technology | Volume 119 | Number 2 | August 1997 | Pages 141-148
Technical Paper | Enrichment and Reprocessing System | doi.org/10.13182/NT97-A35382
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The results of nondestructive and destructive examination of the SUPERFACT 1 experiment carried out by both the Transuranium Institute (TUI) and the French Commissariat à I’Energie Atomique (CEA) are reported. This experiment aimed to study the behavior of fuels made up with neptunium or americium (from 2 wt% up to 45 wt% of heavy atoms) under irradiation in the Phénix French fast reactor (FR). Posttest examinations, jointly performed by the CEA and TUI, allowed comparison of this behavior with the standard oxide fuel reference. The experiment’s main results are reviewed. Then, the real interest in the FRs for a high rate of transmutation of actinides is examined, and also, some limitations are discussed.
