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Introduction to Nuclear Energy > Lecture 5: Nuclear Safety > Flashcards

Lecture 5: Nuclear Safety Flashcards

1
Q

Why is nuclear safety so important?

A

Public unease and political influence.

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2
Q

Why have safety demands increased?

A

Following reactor accidents

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3
Q

What is the process for NPP assurance?

A

Design of new facility submitted to national safety authority for review and approval.
Documentation submitted (Reactor Safety Analysis Report SAR) in increasingly detailed stages.

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4
Q

Who controls the safety authorities?

A

National government organisation

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5
Q

What is the sequence of approval?

A

Decision made in principle.
Site prepared.
Construction license obtained.
Construction.
Operating license authorised.

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6
Q

Name five documents to be submitted within the SAR:

A

Pre-construction
Systems testing
Fuel load
Commissioning and operational service
Decommissioning

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7
Q

What is the role of the safety auhority?

A

Devise rules for the safe design, construction and operation of NPP.
Assess safety documentation to ensure standards are being met.
Authorise construction, operation and modification of NPPs.
Monitor compliance with rules.

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8
Q

How is the sequence of approval followed?

A

In series, one stage at a time.

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9
Q

How are national safety authorities kept compliant?

A

Follow rules and guidelines set by international bodies.

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10
Q

What is a major hurdle to the development of nuclear energy worldwide?

A

Lack of international standardisation for nuclear safety regulation.

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11
Q

How does the lack of industrial standardisation affect developers?

A

Companies designing reactors must comply to various requirements from one country to the next.

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12
Q

What are the two sections of a reactor safety report (SAR)?

A

Deterministic & Probabilistic assessments

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13
Q

What is involved with a deterministic assessment?

A

Accident sequences and their respective designed protection systems (DBCs).
Engineering analysis to prove success of each DBC.

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14
Q

What is a probabilistic assessment?

A

Numerical risk assessment of a core melt or large radioactivity release to meet acceptable numerical targets.

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15
Q

Name the five levels of defence:

A

Prevention
Detection
Mitigation
Severe Accident Control
Off-site Emergency Response

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16
Q

What does preventative defence involve?

A

Conservative design, quality assurance and surveillance to prevent abnormal occurances.

17
Q

What does detection involve?

A

Detect and control of any deviation from normal operation

18
Q

What does mitigation involve?

A

Use of engineered protection systems to defend against uncontrolled accidents and prevent escalation

19
Q

What does severe accident control involve?

A

Additional engineering systems utilized to prevent radioactivity escaping if melt down occurs

20
Q

What does off-site accident control entail?

A

Plan for evacuation and sheltering to protect public.

21
Q

What are design basis conditions (DBCs)?

A

Accident sequences against which protection systems are designed.

22
Q

How many initiating events are typically involved with a DBC list?

A

100-200

23
Q

What are the five categories of DBC?

A

DBC 1) Normal operational transients (several per year)
DBC 2) Anticipated operational occurrences (>1 in 100 years)
DBC 3) Incidents (>1 in 10000 years)
DBC 4) Accidents (>1 in 100000 years)
Hazards) Event that causes widespread plant failure in a single incident

24
Q

Give examples of hazards:

A

Earthquake
Flooding
Fire
Aircraft impact
Pipe leaks / ruptures
Explosions
Extreme weather conditions

25
Q

Why do designers create a DBC list?

A

To demonstrate to regulators that all initiating events have been acknowledged and thought-through.

26
Q

Define a core catcher:

A

A device provided to catch the molten core material of a reactor in case of a meltdown and prevent escape from the containment building.

27
Q

What is a UK legal safety requirement?

A

Demonstrate that risk to workers and public is ALARP.

28
Q

What is ALARP?

A

As low as reasonably possible. The cost and difficulty of reducing risk further is grossly disproportionate to the reduction achieved.

29
Q

How are the consequences of single events predicted?

A

Modelling and experimentation.

30
Q

What are used to estimate event probabilities?

A

Fault trees

31
Q

What are cutsets?

A

Combinations of failures of basic components that lead to system failure.

32
Q

Is a long or short cutset better?

A

Long, as system less vulnerable to individual component failures.

33
Q

How are cutset failure probabilities calculated?

A

Event trees.

Introduction to Nuclear Energy (16 decks)

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