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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.
Franco Michel-Sendis, Sébastien Chabod, Alain Letourneau, Stefano Panebianco, Jean-Christian Toussaint
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 322-327
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/NT168-322
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The MEGAPIE project, a 1-MW liquid lead-bismuth spallation target, has operated successfully at Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. It constitutes the first step in demonstrating the feasibility of heavy liquid-metal target technologies for accelerator driven systems. With the 4-month irradiation phase now concluded, the experiment has provided unique data for a better understanding of the behavior of the target under realistic irradiation conditions. A complex neutron detector, which has journeyed throughout all of the irradiation inside the target and close to the proton beam, has been extracted along with metallic foil monitors. These have provided a measure of the total inner neutron flux. This paper aims to present the current developments in this analysis and in the Monte Carlo simulations that have been performed.