Major Features in the Nuclear Industry - Assignment Example

Ref. Control Type of control Rank A Each batch of enriched uranium must not exceed a net uranium-235 mass of 600g. Operational control method: The best fit control measure for this safety procedure is operational/ instructional control that requires the presence pf a well trained personnel to ensure that the system runs uninterrupted. The personnel is tasked with making rational decisions, managing of the forced processes of the system, and controlling the dissipated heat in case the passive control fails. The operational control requires a person whose role is to oversee the complex activities in a safety control department. The operating staff is authorized persons who alternate in shifts. The personnel includes the managers, technicians, and the operators who are imposed to ensure that the technological processes, and operational control in the dissolver ensuring that the configurations are changed-over accordingly to ensure that the Uranium-235 never exceeds the cap of 600g at any time. Due to the sensitivity of this control, the personnel is supposed to be of good mind and relaxed to ensure perfection and responsibility. Therefore, before the shift is actuated, the person is scanned and passed through an alcohol test, medical test, and other physical check-ups. Ranked number 5 since it is one of the best operational controls. B The uranium-235 concentration in the dissolver must be monitored by regular sampling and must not be allowed to exceed 10 gU235/litre. Operational controls: The regular sampling requires the presence of the mangers and technicians who are expected to use the instruments and sample the dissolver’s content to make sure that the uranium-235 concentration is kept constant and does not exceed 10 gU235/litre. As stated above, the operator takes the readings of the sample and gives the control manager to assert them. The personnel is highly scrutinized to ensure they give accurate feedback and that no unnecessary accidents happen die to human errors. Ranked number 5 for it is the best and requires the operators to take the samples required. C The total quantity of liquor in the dissolver must be monitored and automatically controlled as not to exceed a maximum of 10 litres. Active Engineered “Safety Mechanism”: Examples of engineered safety mechanism in real life include; automated fire alarms in various buildings, traction controls and early warnings of brakes ahead. In the dissolver vessel considering this safety mechanism, if the liquor level is not controlled then it will make the dissolver vessel to Boil Over as a result of sudden conversion of the intensive heat in a liquor to water. In this case, the liquor in the dissolver vessel needs active monitoring to prevent overheating. In other words, this system mechanism takes into consideration the nuclear stability control systems and traction control systems. Ranked number 4 due to the involvement of the machines for auto control and monitoring. D The dissolver vessel should be designed to be safe by diameter for all possible uranium enrichments and concentrations. Passive Controls: The control helps the system to continue operating while mitigating the risks that might feture in case of delayed personnel control. This is the best control mode for it requires no user to operate. The system is controlled automatically depending on the set conditions. It mainly operates under the natural forces such as the gravity, conduction, buoyancy, and convention. Therefore, for this case of the dissolver is fixed with appropriate diameters, the fluid flow will utilize several of the above natural forces, most probably the gravity part of it. The designed diameter will utilize the passive safety of the nuclear farm. However, the process is not wholly suffice able for it does not help eliminate the residual heat that can easily cause radioactive materials catastrophe. Ranked number 1 for it is the best option available for some time now, because it can be applied in hostile areas such as the furnace and dissolver concentrations that are collusive to human beings. E The dissolver vessel should be fitted with fixed neutron poisons so that criticality safety will be ensured for all possible uranium enrichments and concentrations. Passive Controls: The mode of control is monitored via computers where the set conditions are always maintained without the involvement of the operators. The fixed neutron is poisonous and therefore the only second best mode of safety measure is maximum utilization of this controls method. The criticality safety in the concentrations and enrichments is done passively. This is the second best mode of control. Ranked number 2 F Batches of gadolinium should be added to each batch of uranium to ensure that the dissolver product will be safe under all possible conditions. This is operational Control method: The continuous non-rhythmical additions of the batches of gadolinium to the uranium-235 batch requires an operator who is well trained and his health status approved. The batches are used to ensure that the products received from the dissolver remains clean and safe in all the varying conditions. The batches are not exact amounts and it is not rhythmical to allow for passive control method. Therefore, the operational control method suffices for this activity of adding the batches alternatively and interchangeably. The personnel operating the process should be in gears doe to the radioactivity effect of the gadolinium and uranium. Ranked number 6 for it is worse compared to A and better compared to B G The dissolver vessel should be designed with a maximum volume of 10 litres. Passive engineered “safety feature”: The main reason for adopting this control measure is to control the level of evaporation in the dissolver vessel. Besides, the dissolve vessel pressure also depends on the volume in the dissolver vessel which makes this control measure to be classified as a passive engineered system. Ranked number 3 for it is the third best method of passive engineered control in the nuclear systems. 1B Ref. Control Type of control Rank A Only paint tins with a gross mass of less than 10kg may be admitted to the store. Operational engineered control: The activity involved here requires the manual and accurate prove that the paint tins admitted into a store is less than 10 kg. The personnel just needs a weigh balance to check the weight and keep record of the accepted tins. Therefore, the passive and active engineered controls will not offer better service compared to the operations control. This method is the most applicable for this case to ensure maximum safety. Ranked number 4 for it is worse than the FEC and better than D and B for this particular case study B Operators must ensure that the edge to edge separation between paint tins in the store is not less than 60cm. This is operational engineered control method, This means that the operators has to be present. The measurements between the edges of the tins has to be exactly 60 cm. This cannot be done passively since there is no applicable force that can help to measure the distances and their arrangement. The active engineered control as well cannot suffice since there are no elements and chemicals to arrange and takes the actual measurements. The control is ranked last for it is highly prone to human errors. Ranked number last for it is highly prone to human errors. C Paint tins must not be stacked on top of each other. Operational Controls “Operation Measures”: Stacking tins on top of each other may cause adverse conditions due to pressure. In other words, the operational effectiveness when it comes to storage of recovered sludge depends on the uniqueness of its content and therefore, it should not be ambiguous in any state.in some case, protective steel are embedded in the spaces between the stacks as well as the equipment situated inside the nuclear reactor container. Ranked number 3 for it is worse than E and better than the rest of the engineered controls. D A grid of 60cm squares must be marked on the floor area of the store. Each grid square may hold only a single paint tin, which must be placed at the centre of the square. This control measure will ensure that the recovered sludge is arranged in a very organized manner. In this case, the nuclear reactor will be able to detect the nature of human error during operations Ranked number 5. E A wooden framework will be provided to provide a series of defined storage locations for the paint tins awaiting assay. Paint tins may only be stored in these designated locations. Operational engineered control: Requires the personnel intervention to ensure that the tins are places in the specific framework to ensure that there are no possible errors that can lead to safety compromising. The methods cannot be done through passive control or active control due to the presented conditions. The designated locations have to be observed because they are secured to ensure no leakage of the radioactive that pose danger to the lives and surrounding environment. Therefore, this control measure is ranked number 2. Ranked number 2. F The paint tins to be used must have a volume of 10 litres. Passive Engineered control: The filling of the tins with the liquid will require accuracy and proximity that cannot be fulfilled by the rest of engineered controls. Therefore, the only option is passive engineered control by the use of gravity natural force that helps ensure that only 10 litres are dissipated into the tins. The cans are many and the content is hazardous to be handled by the personnel in the system. Hence calling for a passive control measure which is ranked number one for it is the best. Ranked number 1. QUESTION 2: The nuclear industry is huge and requires much more critical measures to avoid accidents. Therefore, the process of producing the nuclear energy is faced with some challenges, which can only be offset if only the operators are capable of containing the three major features that are found in the nuclear industry. These features are the major elements that help control the safety of the nuclear farms. The key features are the energy, radioactivity, and decay heat. Therese three features are broad and shedding some light on each would be worth. The Nuclear energy: By definition, nuclear energy is the multiple of the atoms mass by the speed of light squared. This was deduced by Einstein who did numerous experiments to land this conclusion. The nuclear energy was first used successfully by the Manhattan projects where a chain of reactions were observed leading to the creation of bombs. This energy was then adopted by the armies who could use it to propel war submarines without necessary refueling the tanks. Due to the growth of the technology through the public sectors, the commercial power plants deployed and committed to electricity production. This can be proved by the close to 20% electricity supply in the USA. The commercialization of the nuclear energy has presented more harm than cure. It presents the stray energy in form of radioactive nuclear waste that needs to be properly stored to avoid hazards and human accidents. The energy I major produced through two methods: the nuclear fission and fusion respectively. The nuclear fission is a one energetic atoms splitting such as the plutonium into its halves. The neutron is used to hit the atom leading to its splitting. The commercialization of nuclear fission is the conversion of the nuclear energy into electricity. The water is heated to produce steam that drives the turbines. The hot water is in a circular motion and it goes back to the cooling chamber before being released to the ecology. The water evaporates as clean water and the sludge of the remains is disposed geologically to avoid cases of accidents. The radioactivity: The radio activity is a process where the particles are emitted from the nucleus of the big atoms such as the uranium which are unstable. The particles have energy that is hazardous when the human beings are exposed to them. The radiation effects can be seen in the aftermaths of the Hiroshima bomb last. The major effects of the commercialization of the nuclear energy is radiations the causes burns, abnormalities to the new-borns, sterility to both genders, and blood damage to the humans. Some of the protective measures are, not smoking in radioactive prone areas, handle the source with forceps and not bare hands, and wear rubber gloves. This is the same case with the decay heat that results due to the atoms disintegration. All the three features have to be taken into consideration as far as the nuclear fission gets more commercialized. QUESTION 3. The principle application that requires that the exposures and other risks of radiation interaction is required to be As Low As Reasonably Possible (ALARP) which is a fundamental must have requirement by the UK health and safety legislators. The ALARP can be interpreted differently hence failure to satisfy the aim of the legal requirement. Therefore, it is possible to define the risk profile of the substance in a detailed manner rather than just simply adopting the ALARP requirements. The legacy and new facilities tends to overlook the ALARP due to the intensions of the use of them. The hospitals have to be design in a way that serves the clients best. Any safety case is supposed to show how its operator will be able to meet the regulatory provisions requirements that are very relevant to the control of any adverse effects including risks top health and safety of its personnel at the legal facility (Alan, et al 453) (5). Most of the legal regulations are embedded in the terminology or rather the phrase that revolve around curbing the risk level to ALARP. In this case, it is accepted that the operator must work hard to prove via supported and reasoned arguments that indeed there are no any other measures or techniques that can practically be employed to make the risks to be as low as possible further (Prasad, 213) (7). Additionally, the phrase reasonably practicable is very significant to the health and safety of any nuclear energy regime (Barnard, et al 265) (1). In other words, it gives room to the operator to establish goals to ensure their own safety rather than depending and following blindly prescriptive requirements (Mario, et al 1260) (1). Besides, such conditions also allow the nuclear plant to either accept or reject any arrangements of the operator as far as safety is concerned. Furthermore, this act of flexibility in any nuclear plant can be very beneficial but it can at times be very challenging because it basically needs individuals to practice judgment with respect to how they will be able to curb any potential risks (Barnard, et al 270) (1). One striking aspect in this case is the fact that a decision can be reached upon evaluation of any existing good practice. However, in case the nuclear plant incurs a complex situation, it is accepted that it can be very challenging to make a decision based on good practice alone. For example, in case the nuclear plant has embraced a new technology, then it can be very challenging to make a decision following previous good practice hence leaving room for other decision-making techniques to be employed in informing the judgment. The safety case for any nuclear plant must possess a detailed description of the legal formal assessment of safety that is worked on by the operator. In such instance, the regulations of the FSA should identify all potential adverse happenings that might cause a major accident. Besides, the FSA should also identify control measures and technical measures that are important in reducing any potential risks to a level that can be classified to be ALARP (Mario, et al 1260)6. In other words, ALARP can basically be classified, as a very reasonable way that any nuclear plant can approach any adverse effects or potential problems since it acknowledges that there is no organization that can realize 100% absolute safety which makes an essential part of legislative goal setting. Moreover, the adopted control measures in ALARP for any primary adverse event can be taken to collectively eliminate the risk to a level that can be deemed to be ALARP. Thus basically implies that, it is only the inclusion of sufficient level of related risk information will some nuclear plants be able to make the right decision as far as the appropriate safety and health measure is concerned. When it comes to legacy facilities, the extent of reasonable practicability revolves around whether the potential risks that are anticipated can be reduced based on previous good practice. In this case, the risk assessment is performed by taking into consideration some of the previous held legal principles and good practice that entailed very low sacrifices. In this case, the higher the original level of risks in question, the more extensive is the effort involved in showing that the employment of the good practice will help curb the risk to ALARP (Prasad, Cole, and Haase) (8). On the other hand, for new facilities, a selection between multiple fields is encouraged at any stage including the design stage that revolve around making a decision as far as the design concepts are concerned (Mycle, and Froggatt 56) (10). However, in such instances, it is accepted that anew installation has no potential of producing risk or a problem that is much extensive than the already existing good practice cannot handle for comparable functions. In other words, in case of anew project, it is wise for the operators to take into consideration the risks and adverse conditions that are involved over the whole project life cycle. Therefore, the reasonable risk applicability should therefore be determined based on the assumptions of this baseline hence ensuring that the risk reduction technique that is chosen is ALARP.QUESTION 4A: In the nuclear core, the origin of the nuclear energy that is released occurs because of the interplay of two forces that are opposing .In other words, the Nuclear force which is responsible for combining g neutrons and protons, and the Coulombs force which ensures that protons are repelling are responsible for this energy release. In this case, this force otherwise known as the strong nuclear force prevents electric repulsion closely. It is this strong nuclear attraction and repulsion that causes overheating hence the need for nuclear shielding. Nuclear shielding revolves around the protection of the nuclear plant surroundings from adverse effects of ionization radiation. There are three major way of performing this act. : First, reducing the time because the a level of radiation an individual is exposed to basically depends on the time that the individual are directly exposed to the radiation source hence this can be curbed by reducing the exposure time (Barnard, et al 268) (1). Second, by reducing the distance such that if an individual is very near the source of radiation then they are believed to be very vulnerable as compared to if they are very far (Prasad, Cole, and Haase, 76) (8). Third is shielding such that if the source of radiation is very intensive such that distance and time cannot deal with it, shielding is found to be very efficient. In this case, shielding is made up of concrete, water, or lead barriers. In case of gamma radiation, it is accepted that depleted uranium can be employed as a potential shield protection but is found to be inadequate when it comes to shielding of neutron radiation. The primary source of nuclear radiation in nuclear plants is the nuclear reactor core and the nuclear reactor itself (Mario, et al) (6). Hence in such instances, the nuclear shielding employed is biological shielding. Additionally, radiation shields are employed in this case in reducing neutrons or gamma rays on the reactor vessels. In so doing, this shielding protects the reactor vessels alongside its internal parts from intensive heat caused by gamma ray absorption using thermal shields. Shielding to decrease outside radiation hazard is performed when increasing distance or decreasing the time is not possible. The material to be used in shielding depends on the kind of energy and type of radiation. Particles of Alpha are shielded easily. Thin pieces of papers are enough to stop the alpha particles; hence alpha particles present no outside radiation hazard. Particles of beta are more penetrating as compared to alpha particles. The shields for beta are made of brass, aluminum, plastic, or any other materials that possess low atomic number. QUESTION 4B: Determination of photon flux is the photon flux QUESTION 4C1: Material Linear energy absorption coefficient (cm2/g) Density (g/cm3) Linear energy abs. coeff. (m-1) Water 4.942E-02 1.000E+00 4.94 Concrete 4.557E-02 2.300E+00 1.978 Lead 4.606E-02 1.135E+01 4.058 Iron 4.265E-02 7.874E+00 0.542 Glass 4.447E-02 2.230E+00 1.994 QUESTION 4C2: The best material to help reduce the implication of gamma is concrete because it has a moderate density and very high medium rate. Besides, since the linear energy absorption coefficient is moderate compared to other materials, concrete is much better because its benefits are more and its costs are manageable and readily available. Besides, concrete is less expensive and it is economically available hence making it the available reliable shielding material whose cost is practically low and it is available. The Y shielding is also well managed making the concrete to be the best choice left of lead and others. QUESTION 4D: CONTROL: Reduce exposure Distance PRINCIPLE: The radiation amount which an individual accumulates depends on the time they stay in the field of radiation. DESCRIPTION To reduce an individual’s dose, it is advisable to restrict the time of exposure in the area.in other words, how long an individual stays in a radiation area is computed based on limit/dose rate. CONTROL Reduce the exposure Time PRINCIPLE The amount of gamma radiation an individual is exposed to depends on the proximity to the gamma radiation source. DESCRIPTION The intensity of gamma radiation decreases as the distance between the gamma radiation source and an individual decreases. CONTROL Concrete shielding PRINCIPLE Shielding is a more effective technique when employed in areas where time and distance are not able to reduce the gamma radiation exposure. DESCRIPTION Lead is a very common and effective shielding material because it is inexpensive and readily available, it possesses a moderate density, and it is very cheap to work with. However, the intensity and the amount of shielding employed are believed to depend on the level and the amount of photon energy. CONTROL Employment of a half value of the original radiation intensity PRINCIPLE Shows how best a material is able to reduce the intensity of radiation half as low as its original intensity. DESCRIPTION The higher the thickness of a material is able to reduce the radiation exposure, the more effective it is as far as reducing the halfway radiation exposure reduction is concerned (Barnard, et al 268)1. Works Cited Barnard, S., et al. "The first gamma-H2AX bio dosimetry intercomparison exercises of the w2434developing European bio dosimetry network RENEB." Radiation protection dosimetry 164.3 (2015): 265-270. Birnbach, David J., et al. 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Haase. "Radiation protection in humans: extending the concept of as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) from dose to biological damage." The British Journal of Radiology (2014). Ringen, Knut. "Optimal Safety and Health Management of Construction Activities: Evidence from the US Nuclear Power Industry." 30th International Congress on Occupational Health (March 18-23, 2012). Icoh, 2012. Schneider, Mycle, and Antony Froggatt. "World nuclear industry status report 2013." (2013). Read More