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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
Kenneth J. Hofstetter, Beverly S. Ausmus+
Nuclear Technology | Volume 87 | Number 4 | December 1989 | Pages 837-844
Technical Paper | TMI-2: Decontamination and Waste Management / Nuclear Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A27677
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Microbial contamination of the reactor and related systems at Three Mile Island Unit 2 caused concern because of the ability of microorganisms to facilitate corrosion and to degrade the underwater visibility. Microorganisms first had a direct impact on defueling and decontamination operations in mid-1985 when the visibility in the fuel pools became limited due to a large population of euglena. In early 1986, the defueling operators experienced a total loss of visibility in the reactor caused by higher order microorganisms in the water. While the development of control techniques was complicated by the radionuclides and the chemical constituents in the water, adequate biological control was accomplished using hydrogen peroxide as a biocide. No evidence of microbially induced corrosion was observed on any components removed from the reactor, the defueling tools, or the fuel storage canisters.