National Nuclear Science Week - Day 4

National Nuclear Science Week - Day 4

NUCLEAR SAFETY

Here is a link to today's official NNSW site posting.

Safety has been a prime consideration in nuclear plant design since the very beginning. The United States' commercial nuclear program has its original roots in the safest program ever created - that of the US Navy. Since the construction of the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, a culture of respect for the requirement of safety has existed in the US nuclear industry, pervasive among reactor vendors, suppliers, owner-operators, architect-engineers, and among regulators.

Look here to see some information about the newest commercial plant design which will be built in the United States - the Westinghouse AP1000 - and how the design deals with a total loss of offsite power and onsite power, known as SBO or Station Black Out.

A while back an AP piece questioned safety at US nuclear plants. See this video produced by the NEI to describe safety at US nuclear power plants.

Some writers have further questioned the 40 year lifetime of plants (so clearly explained in the previously linked video) because they think that they have found a probable cause in terms of reactor vessel embrittlement. This however is not the case at all and we can prove that if we read this post.

Here is the Nuclear Energy Institute's page on Safety & Security at nuclear plants.

Finally for today, here at NEI's website is a great page with comments on nuclear energy made after, and in light of, the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station. These are statements by people in place to make law and policy, from all walks of life and 'both sides of the aisle' as it were.

Safety is absolutely the top priority in any successful nuclear energy or nuclear related operation; those who cannot or will not adhere to the best practices are removed from the operation as soon as found - and this happens every day. Those few persons who cannot respect a fifty plus year heritage of safety and respect are not damaging any operation through their absence.

11:30 AM Eastern Thursday January 26, 2012
ATOMIC POWER REVIEW