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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.
B. Juste, R. Miró, J. M. Campayo, S. Diez, G. Verdú
Nuclear Technology | Volume 168 | Number 3 | December 2009 | Pages 637-642
Accelerators | Special Issue on the 11th International Conference on Radiation Shielding and the 15th Topical Meeting of the Radiation Protection and Shielding Division (PART 3) / Radiation Protection | doi.org/10.13182/NT09-A9281
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The work focuses on reconstructing, by means of a scatter analysis method, the primary beam photon spectrum of a linear accelerator. This technique is based on irradiating the isocenter of a rectangular block made of methacrylate placed at 100 cm from the source and measuring scattered particles around the plastic at several specific positions with different scatter angles. The MCNP5 Monte Carlo code has been used to simulate the particle transport of monoenergetic beams and register the scatter measurement after contact with the attenuator. Measured ionization values are input necessary for calculating the spectrum as the sum of monoenergetic individual energy bins using the Schiff bremsstrahlung model. The measurements have been made in an Elekta Precise linac using a 6-MeV photon beam. Relative depth and profile dose curves calculated in a water phantom using the reconstructed spectrum agree with the experimentally measured dose data to within 5%.