ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
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.
Atsushi Katoh, Yoshitaka Chikazawa, Masayuki Uzawa, Fumiaki Kaneko, Akihiro Ide
Nuclear Technology | Volume 189 | Number 1 | January 2015 | Pages 30-44
Technical Paper | Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-147
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In response to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi (1F) nuclear power plant, designers of the 2010 version of the Japan sodium-cooled fast reactor (JSFR) have been studying the robustness of JSFR's fuel handling system (FHS) against an earthquake and a tsunami. In the earthquake evaluation, the margin of seismic resistance and sloshing in the ex-vessel fuel storage tank (EVST) against an earthquake of the 1F-envelop condition were estimated. In the tsunami evaluation, for the case of loss of emergency power supply, a scenario is studied where fuel subassemblies are led to a stable cooling state, and potentialities for the cooling system are examined. As a result, it is shown that the original design of the JSFR FHS already had the potential to prevent the release of radioactive material. Additionally, some design improvements of the EVST cooling system are introduced.