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.
Lalit Singh, Hitesh Rajput
Nuclear Technology | Volume 195 | Number 3 | September 2016 | Pages 301-309
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT15-151
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Verification of safety is a key activity in designing safety critical systems. The objective of safety verification is to avoid unacceptable risk of damage to public health or property or physical injury by any means. To ensure the goals of safety, these systems must reach a safe state for the occurrence of any failure. There is a need to verify the design of such systems to identify and overcome the probable risks, if any. This paper presents a case for safety verification of the main steam system of a nuclear reactor. The technique shown is based on Petri nets, to model and analyze the safety critical computer-based systems for safety verification. The paper further argues that the proposed technique is beneficial in improving faulty design.