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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.
Takuya Yamashita, Ikken Sato, Takeshi Honda, Kenichiro Nozaki, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Marco Pellegrini, Takeshi Sakai, Shinya Mizokami
Nuclear Technology | Volume 206 | Number 10 | October 2020 | Pages 1517-1537
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1704581
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Estimation and understanding of the state of the fuel debris and fission products inside the plant comprise an essential step in the decommissioning of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station (1F). However, because of the plant’s high-radiation environment, direct observation of the plant interior is difficult. Therefore, in order to understand the plant’s interior conditions, comprehensive analysis and evaluation based on various measurement data from the plant, analysis of plant data during the accident progression phase, and information obtained from computer simulations for this phase are necessary. These evaluations can be used to estimate the conditions of the interior of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and the primary containment vessel (PCV). This paper addresses 1F Unit 2 as the subject to produce an estimated map of the fuel debris distribution from data obtained about the RPV and PCV based on comprehensive evaluation of various measurement data and information obtained from the accident progression analysis, which were released to the public in June 2018.