Nuclear Power Plant Accidents
Introduction
Nuclear power plant accidents can have a significant impact on society and the environment. The history of nuclear power generation has proved over the past six decades that the potential for accidents to occur is very remote; however they have occurred in the past and will no doubt be a serious concern for the future. When such accidents and incident do happen, they have potentially deadly and widespread impacts on economies, populations and the environment.
Nuclear Power Plant Accidents
A nuclear accident is defined as an incident which results in a certain amount of radiation being emitted which has the potential to endanger the public and the environment, including soil contamination. In terms of nuclear power plants, the failure
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In 1957 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established by the United Nations in order to oversee and audit world nuclear safety. It prescribes safety procedures, protocols, standards and also investigates and reports on nuclear incidents. Nuclear power plant safety is dependent on much the same factors in any comparable industry, that being comprehensive planning, intelligent design which incorporates safety margins and back-up systems, high quality components and a well-developed safety culture. Avoiding accidents in the nuclear energy industry has largely been successful, with only three major accidents to date – Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. These three major accidents occurred during more than …show more content…
Turner Year: 2015 Due Date: 18 August 2015
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Sweden (Forsmark – 2006)
Switzerland (Lucens – 1969)
Turkey (Ikitelli – 1999)
United Kingdom (Sellafield – 2005, Chapelcross – 1967, Windscale Pile – 1957)
United States (Erwin – 2006, Braidwood – 2005, Three Mile Island – 1979, Monroe – 1966, Charlestown – 1964, Santa Susana - 1959)
Ukraine (Chernobyl – 1986)
Yugoslavia (Vinca – 1958)
(Adapted from http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/14/nuclear-power-plant-accidents-list-rank)
The International Atomic Energy Authority ranks accidents by using a special International Nuclear Events Scale (INES) – ranging from ‘Anomaly’ to ‘Major Accident’, numbered from one being the least significant, to seven being the most significant. It is a scale used worldwide in order to advise the general public with regards to the significance of nuclear events and their safety implications. It takes into account the impact on the human population, the natural environment and the degree of radioactive contamination (http://nuclear-energy.net/nuclear-accidents).
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