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AT MULTI-UNIT NUCLEAR GENRATING STATIONS, CONTROL ROOM OPERATORS ARE GENERALLY LICENSED TO OPERATE ALL SIMILAR UNITS. SIMULATOR TRAINING CONDUCTED AT THE LICENSEE TRAINING FACILITY OCCURS ON ONE SIMULATOR WHICH MAY NOT EXACTLY MIMIC ANY UNIT. INADEQUATE TRAINING ON UNIT-TO-UNIT AND UNIT-TO-SIMULATOR DIFFERENCES, IN CONJUNCTION WITH LIMITED PER-PERSON SIMULATOR TRAINING HOURS, CAN RESULT IN INCREAS ...

DETERMINATION OF URANIUM IN THE URINE OF WORKERS IS REQUIRED BY THE NRC AT NUCLEAR FACILITIES. EXTREMELY LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF URANIUM, ESPECIALLY IN SMALL SAMPLES, ARE DIFFICULT TO MEASURE USING EXISTING TECHNOLOGY. FUTURE NRC PLANS TO CHARACTERIZE BIOAVAILABLE URANIUM FRACTIONS COMPRISING THE URANIUM BODY BURDEN WILL REQUIRE EVEN HIGHER SENSITIVITIES. HIGH SENSITIVITY TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED FOR UR ...

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WHEN ROTATING MACHINERY DETERIORATES, VIBRTION PATTERSN CHANGE. WHEN BEARING FREQUENCIES APPEAR, THEN INCREASE IN AMPLITUDE, BEARING FAILURE LOOMS. THE SAME WITH VALVES; WHEN THEY LEAK, THEY VIBRATE. AS LEAKAGE INCREASES, THE VIBRATION PATTERN CHANGES. THERE ARE MANY OTHERS. THE KEY IS KNOWING WHERE AND HOW DEEPLY TO LOOK. THE KEY IN OLDER REACTOR PLANTS IS TO UNOBTRUSIVELY, ECONOMICALLY BACKFIT S ...

STEAM GENERATOR TUBES REPRESENT A UNIQUE PART OF THE REACTOR COOLANT SYSTEM (RCS). LEAKAGE FROM ANY OTHER PART OF THE RCS IS CAPTURED BY THE CONTAINMENT BUILDING, BUT STEAM GENERATOR TUBE LEAKAGE IS TRANSPORTED OUT OF THE CONTAINMENT BUILDING ALONG WITH THE STEAM, WHICH IS NORMALLY UNCONTAMINATED. STEAM GENERATOR TUBES, CONSEQUENTLY, DESERVE, AND RECEIVE SPECIAL CONSIDERATION. THE ASSURANCE OF STE ...

ON FEBRUARY 9, 1991, AT THE MIHAMA UNIT 2 NUCLEAR POWER STATION, OPEARTED BY KANSAI ELECTRIC CORPORATION, A STEAM GENERATOR TUBE RUPTURED AND RELEASED APPROXIMATELY 9,000 GALLONS OF REACTOR COOLANT INTO THE SECONDARY SYSTEM. THE LEAKAGE CAUSED A RAPID DEPRESSURIZATION OF THE REACTOR COOLANT SYSTEM, WHICH RESULTED IN AN AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP AND ACTUATION OF THE HIGH PRESSURE SAFETY INJECTION SYST ...

CHANGES IN PLANT STATUS, EITHER BEFORE OR DURING AN ACCIDENT SEQUENC CAN CONSIDERABLY AFFECT ITS OUTCOME; BOTH THE ACTURAL OUTCOME AND THAT PREDICTED BY PROBABILISTIC RISK ASSESSMENT. IN ORDER TO ACCURATELY REPRESENT THE POSSIBLE ACCIDENTS AND THEIR PROBABILITIES, THE PRA MODEL MUST CONSIDER THE DYNAMIC CHARACTER OF THE PLANT, IT'S SYSTEMS AND OPERATORS. A LIVING, DYNAMIC PRA IS ONE IN WHICH ALL T ...

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ACOUSTIC FIELDS CAN BE DESIGNED TO COAX LIQUID BORNE SUBMICRONIC PARTICLES TO ANNOUNCE THEIR PRESENCE LOUDER THAN THE USUAL SCATTERING SIGNALS WHICH ARE PRIMARILY DETERMINED BY THE DENSITY AND COMPRESSIBILITY CONTRAST BETWEEN THE PARTICLE MATERIAL AND THE HOST FLUID. WE EXPECT A SIGNAL ENHANCEMENT OF AT LEAST 60DB. THE KEY CONCEPT IS TO COAX THE PARTICLES TO SOFT CAVITATE AND DETECT THE ENSUING TR ...