Abstract: Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) of various kinds are under design worldwide. Different design aspects, such as the safety and economic factors of SMRs, will be presented by comparing them with large commercial nuclear power reactors. The importance of the Human Reliability Program (HRP) will be discussed in the context of nuclear energy expansion using SMRs. The HRP is a security and safety reliability program designed to ensure that individuals who occupy positions affording access to certain materials, critical devices, facilities, and programs meet the highest reliability standards and physical and mental suitability. A robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers support to the employees to overcome the difficulties. The talk discusses some of these aspects.
About the speaker: Dr Sunil Chirayath is the Director of the Texas A&M University Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives (NSSPI) and a Professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University. He has over 30 years of experience in nuclear science and engineering and has worked in various capacities in academia and industry. Dr. Chirayath has advised several students, postdoctoral, Doctoral and master's students, who went on to develop successful careers. He has over 240 technical publications in journals and conference proceedings. Dr Chirayath's research interests include the development of safeguards approaches for advanced reactors, proliferation resistance analysis of nuclear fuel cycle facilities, nuclear forensics, and nuclear security insider threat analysis. Before joining Texas A&M in 2007, he was with AERB. He is a member of the University Consortium for Monitoring, Technology and Verification of the US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration. He is an Executive Committee Member of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) and Faculty Advisor of the Texas A&M student chapter. He is a member of and has held positions in various professional societies. He has held special appointments as Associate Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), Adjunct Professor at the NIAS and Honorary Professor at Amity University.