Nuclear Accidents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nuclear Accidents - Essay Example This paper reviews basic nuclear protocol as supplied by engineers and government agencies, looks at case studies of failure, and offers proposals and conclusions. Cases reviewed include Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the 2002 degradation in Davis-Besse. Nuclear Protocol Nuclear safety mandates are highly detailed and specific (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2004; Health and Safety Executive, 2006; CANDU, 2005a; CANDU, 2005b; IAEA, 2006). Regulations are provided at multiple levels: Local, provincial or state, national, and international under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Reviewing these mandates is illustrative for understanding major nuclear failures. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or USNRC, emphasizes a â€Å"strong nuclear safety culture† (2004). They instruct â€Å"managers† to make comparisons between provided principles and day-to-day operation. They argue that organizational culture is as important to long-term safety as engineering issues. Safety culture and safety-conscious work environments are essential, and the USNRC argues that, in fact, there is no tradeoff between safety culture and cost-effectiveness, as the same procedures and policies apply for both. They point out that the nuclear safety of a plant is a collective responsibility. In the failures reviewed in this paper, buck-passing, attempts to duck responsibility and other factors plagued the ability of the plants to cope with problems. They recommend, among other proposals, that Partnerships along the utility corridor not be used to decay responsibility Board members and corporate officers personally assess safety Support and administration departments are briefed on nuclear safety Coaching and mentoring with supervision by managers Production goals be secondary to safety concerns, and this commitment be explicitly stated in production goal review Trust is maintained: Management and labor give concessions to keep the plant's atmosphere trust-sustaining Probabilistic risk analyses used in day-to-day operation Design and operating margins kept under control and review, activities affecting core functionality be especially reviewed The UK's HSE lists over thirty engineering principles that must be strictly followed, with risk erring on the side of caution (2006, 4-80), as well as principles of radiation protection. Shutdown systems, for example, should have two redundant and diverse mechanisms in place ( Health and Safety Executive, 2006, 80). Need for personnel access should be controlled (Health and Safety Executive, 2006, 75). Passive sealed containment systems and intrinsic safety features should trump active dynamic systems (Health and Safety Executive, 74). Each of the failures reviewed stemmed from a failure to adopt a parallel standard. CANDU (2006b) finds that the mechanism for handling problems should be control, cool and contain, or the three Cs. If reactor power is controlled, fuel is cooled an d radioactivity is contained, threats are controlled. This mean that 3C-compliance has to be in place at all times: Emergency conditions or regular, peak hours or slow, shutdown or upset operation, etc. The IAEA (2006) add a few salient principles. Principle 4 notes that any radioactivity gain must be justified by a pressing need. Principle 5 states that protection must be at the maximum feasible level at