Nuclear power incident

Nuclear power has achieved an excellent safety record. Exceptions are the accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 and at Chernobyl in 1986. In the United States, safety can be attributed in part to the strict regulation provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which reviews proposed reactor designs, processes appHcations forUcenses to constmct and operate plants, and provides surveillance of all safety-related activities of a utiUty. The utiUties seek continued improvement in capabiUty, use procedures extensively, and analy2e any plant incidents for their root causes. Similar programs intended to ensure reactor safety are in place in other countries. 

Considering the relatively small, controlled amount of com-husfihles in an LWR, it is surprising Jiiit fiiL S at nuclear power plants. should be important. The first incident to attract attention was the fire in the San Onofre cable trays (FRPJ). This was followed by spontiiiieous combustion of uncured polyurethane foam in the cable seals at Peach Bottom 1 (1971). The incident at Browns Ferry in 1975 was similar, except that a candle ignited the polyurethane foam. These events showed the effectiveness of fire as an initiator of multiple system failures -... 

Iman, R. L. and S. C. Nora, Modelling Time to Recovery and Initiating Event Fiequency for Loss of Off-Site Power Incidents at Nuclear Power Plants, January 1988. 

This incident occun ed in a nuclear power station but could just as easily occur in the process industries. 

According to a recent report [11], the nuclear power plant was the focus of the designers attention the standards used for the nuclear power plant were more stringent than those for the rest of the submarine. In the process industries utilities, storage areas and offplots often get less attention than the main units and are involved in disproportionately more incidents. 

Reinartz, S. (1989). Activities, Goals and Strategies Team Behavior during Simulated Nuclear Power Plant Incidents. In Conference Proceedings, Human Reliability in Nuclear Potver. London International Business Commurucations. 

Accident Risk in U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants (WASH-1400). An Analysis of Reportable Incidents for Natural Gas 4.7-19... 

Reported incidences of fretting have continued to proliferate, in particular in blade/disc fixings in both steam and gas turbines, in PWR and AGR nuclear power plants, between the conductors in overhead power... 

There were several root causes for the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant incident that occurred in March 1979.Inadequate follow-up to... 

On March 28, 1979, a loss of containment incident occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. An overheated reactor released radioactive steam and water to the atmosphere resulting in a mass evacuation of the surrounding community. Although no direct injuries were attributed to the incident, environmental effects were later observed and public outcry resulted in a slowdown in the growth of the nuclear power industry. 

The battle over nuclear power waxed hot and heavy for several years, swaying back and forth as incidents unfolded. The publication of the government-sponsored Reactor Safety Study in 1975, which showed that there would be very modest consequences from nearly all reactor accidents, was a positive event. The report concluded that the average number of fatalities from a meltdown would be about 400 and that there might be one meltdown in every 20,000 years of plant operation, or 0.02 deaths per year versus about 25 deaths per year due to air pollution from a coal-burning plant.8 It received little notice outside the scientific community. The movie The China Syndrome (released in 1979), which implied that a reactor meltdown accident would have— not possibly might have—very horrible consequences, was an important negative event. 

All this enables us to obtain reliable and full information under the normal work regime of a nuclear power plant and in the case of increased radionuclide emission into the environment (incidents, emergencies). 

Even if terrorists succeeded in detonating an explosive at a reactor site, the health consequences would be limited. The reactor accident at the Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania nuclear power plant caused a small release of radiation, insufficient to cause any radiation injuries. Bypassing several safety systems caused the Chernobyl reactor incident, involving two explosions, fires and reactor core meltdown. This accident caused the following early phase health effects (1) ... 

The worst nuclear power accident in the U.S. occurred at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. In this accident no one was killed and no one was directly injured. The event at Three Mile Island occurred from faulty instrumentation that gave erroneous readings for the reactor vessel environment. A series of equipment failures and human errors along with inadequate instrumentation allowed the reactor core to be compromised and go into a partial melt. The radioactive water that was released from the core was confined within the containment building and very little radiation was released. In the Three Mile Island incident, the safety devices worked as planned and prevented any serious injury. This accident resulted in improved procedures, instrumentation, and safety systems being implemented. 

The incident at Unit 2 of the 3-Mile Island (Pennsylvania) reactor during March 28 to April 1, 1979, led to the formation of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). The INPO sets objectives, guidelines, and criteria for aU U.S. -based nuclear power generating facilities. In 1985, this group established the National Academy for Nuclear Training, which accredits all plant operators and supervisors. 

There are three phases of a radiological accident early, intermediate, and late. The early phase of an incident is characterized by a need to make immediate decisions about protective actions. These actions are based on a nuclear power plants status and dose projections. Recommendations may be shelter in place or evacuation if the dose is greater than 1 rem. 

The reported excess incidence of childhood leukemia in children living near a fiiel processing nuclear plant located at Sellafield, England, was not confirmed fw other populations living near similar plants at other locations [21]. Additionally, Cook-Mozaffari et al. [22] found an excess mortality rate due to leukemia and Hodgkins disease in young people who lived near both existing and potential sites for nuclear power stations. 

Increased radioactive fallout was first observed by the control system of a nuclear power plant on the east coast of Sweden after the Chernobyl accident. Nonetheless, no increase has later been observed in thyroid cancer incidence among children in that special region, emphasizing the importance of iodine sufficiency. 

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