Porfin: computerization of radiological protection

Nuclear power plant operation calls for the execution of a large number of activities such as those carried out by the Radiological Protection Services (RPS) which, although indispensable, do not contribute directly to production. These activities are usually performed prior to the execution of other jobs, often delaying their initiation. During refuelling outages where the RPS tasks multiply, this situation becomes more noticeable. It is obvious that the optimization of radiological protection, providing better service in the shortest possible time, would directly affect plant productivity. In view of the characteristics of certain important tasks developed by the RPS, which involve a large amount of data recording and retrieval, it could be advisable to subject them to a software treatment which would make the process flexible and more reliable. Empresarios Agrupados is currently developing a general application known as the Program to Obtain Final Results (PORFIN) which computerizes some of these basic activities. The projected model has a modular structure which allows the addition of program blocks as they are constructed. Program blocks work independently, so that the RPS can use them without waiting for the entire application to be terminated. a process which could sometimes last for several years. (Author)