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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.
Yuichi Sano, Yoshihiko Shinoda, Masaki Ozawa
Nuclear Technology | Volume 148 | Number 3 | December 2004 | Pages 348-357
Technical Paper | Reprocessing | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3572
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Based on state-of-the-art separation chemistry, extended recycling of rare-metal fission products (RMFPs) from fast breeder reactors is examined as a new strategy for spent fuel reprocessing. Fission product fractionation is in accordance with the modern trend toward zero emission of toxic materials; salt-free separation utilizing in situ electrochemistry will suit the current direction of research and development in the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. A catalytic electrolytic extraction and dissolution method, which would avoid secondary waste arising, was proposed to separate the target, the radioactive but potentially strategic elements Pd, Ru, Rh, Tc, Te, and Se, dissolved in high-level liquid waste (HLLW). It was confirmed that RMFPs could be recovered essentially from simulated HLLW with the conceptual scheme, although further studies for the optimization were required to obtain higher recovery ratios of RMFPs. Elemental separation not only offers alternative material resources to meet expanding demands for catalysts in fuel cell/hydrogen energy systems but is also the first step for transmutation or other selective strategies for waste management of long-lived fission products.