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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.
M. Hagiwara, H. Iwase, Y. Kirihara, H. Yashima, Y. Iwamoto, D. Satoh, Y. Nakane, H. Nakashima, T. Nakamura, A. Tamii, K. Hatanaka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 304-309
Neutron Measurements | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (Part 2) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT168-304
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A shielding benchmark experiment has been performed to obtain the spectra of neutrons penetrating 10- to 100-cm-thick iron shields and 25- to 200-cm-thick concrete shields and to investigate the accuracy of various calculation codes using a 137-MeV quasi-monoenergetic neutron source. The source neutrons are produced from a 1.0-cm-thick lithium target bombarded with 140-MeV protons, and the energy spectra are measured with the time-of-flight (TOF) method using a NE213 organic liquid scintillator. The neutrons emitted in the forward direction were collimated with a 150-cm-thick iron collimator with 10- × 12-cm aperture. TOF and unfolding methods are applied to obtain the energy spectra behind the shield for the peak energy region and continuous-energy region, respectively. Monte Carlo calculations with PHITS and MCNPX are compared with the measured data. The comparison shows that the calculated spectra are in good agreement with the measured spectra.