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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.
Zixu Xu, Kazuma Aoki, Shingo Tamaki, Sachie Kusaka, Yuuki Chimura, Isao Murata
Nuclear Technology | Volume 211 | Number 7 | July 2025 | Pages 1496-1508
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2410642
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The treatment field of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a n-γ mixed field. In the Osaka University BNCT project, a material-filtered radio-photoluminescence glass dosimeter (RPLGD) was proposed for the simultaneous measurement of neutron and gamma-ray doses. In this study, to validate the material-filtered RPLGD, various types of n-γ mixed fields are designed by irradiating different moderator assemblies with a D-D neutron source at the OKTAVIAN facility, Osaka University, Japan. The n-γ mixed fields are classified into fast neutron–, epithermal neutron–, or thermal neutron–dominated fields and a gamma-ray-only field with the specific characteristics as follows: (1) the dose ratios of gamma ray to neutron are 1.0% to 977.0% for the fast neutron–dominated field, 5.0% to 921.1% for the epithermal neutron–dominated field, 0.7% to 946.3% for the thermal neutron–dominated field, and 11880.6% for the gamma-ray-only field; (2) the proportions of fast, epithermal, and thermal neutron doses to total neutron dose are 98.4% to 100.0% for the fast neutron–dominated field, 74.0% to 85.4% for the epithermal neutron–dominated field, and 90.1% to 90.8% for the thermal neutron–dominated field, respectively; and (3) the maximum gamma-ray energy is up to 12 MeV.