Nuclear safety regulation Lessons from US experience

Abstract

The complexity of nuclear power plants forces a large degree of reliance on the judgement of safety experts. It is therefore vital to sound decisions that the safety and licensing regulators be independent, that they surmount the public battles over nuclear power, and that they act in the open. There is no conceptual short cut to nuclear safety regulation, however enticing the reliance on quantitative risk evaluations may be. Nuclear power plant safety depends on nearly every aspect of design, construction and operation. The licensing regulators need independent oversight, too, through independent review of accidents and near-accidents. Regulation has become more effective over the years, but the cost of safety is high. The key to improvement in safety and economics lies in greater simplicity of nuclear power plant design.