Role of Regulation in Nuclear Plant Safety #8
In the mid-1960s, the nuclear safety regulator raised concerns about the reliability of the system relied upon to protect the public in event of a reactor transient. If that system failed—or failed again since it had already failed—the reactor core could be severely damaged (as it had during that prior failure.) The nuclear industry resisted the regulator’s efforts to manage this risk. Throughout the 1970s, the regulator and industry pursued non-productive exchange of study and counter-study. Then the system failed again—three times—in June 1980 and twice more in February 1983. The regulator adopted the Anticipated Transient Without Scram rule in June 1984. But it was too little, too late—the hazard it purported to manage had already been alleviated via other means. Read more >