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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.
Josselin Morand, Reinhard Hentschel, Andrea Wittig, Raymond Moss, Sabet Hachem, Yuan-Hao Liu, Wolfgang Sauerwein
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 2 | November 2009 | Pages 456-461
Shielding | 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/NT09-A9224
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Monte Carlo simulation of accelerated ions is a standard method in radiation protection. Such simulations have been used to calculate photon and neutron production in a beryllium target of the Essen d(14)+Be Fast Neutron Therapy Facility. In the deuteron case the predominant part of the neutrons is produced by breakup of the input particle, a decay that is not foreseen in standard versions of Monte Carlo codes. Thus, the calculation yields results that are different from measured ones. For simulations of the neutron beam at such facilities, an input description containing the spectral and geometric properties of the neutron and eventually photon beams produced in the target is needed. For the Essen neutron beam, such a description has been obtained by comparison of MCNPX simulations with published data and measurements at a static beam geometry having no background radiation. The validation of the neutron beam input description was obtained by comparing measured and calculated dose distributions in a water phantom using a standard collimator at the treatment gantry.