Various factors to be considered for locating atomic power plant
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:-A nuclear power plant is allowed to operate only if adequate measures to prevent
accidents are in place. Nevertheless, if an accident occurs, it is necessary to be able to limit its
escalation and to mitigate the consequences, particularly with regard to the release of
radioactive materials, to reduce the potential exposure of the public and of plant personnel. A
low probability of accidents with potentially severe consequences must be demonstrated
through safety assessments, safety research, sound design, high quality construction, good
operating practices and procedures, proper staff selection and training, etc. Appropriate
reviews and assessments should be conducted by the regulatory body.
To provide support at the international level, the IAEA has published fundamental
safety concepts as well as Codes and Safety Guides as part of its Nuclear Safety Standards
(NUSS) programme. It is important that only one organization, the owner/operator, has
primary responsibility for the safety of a plant. As a prerequisite for obtaining an operating
license the owner/operator must accept this responsibility, which cannot be shared either with
the plant designer or constructor or with the authority which regulates safety in the country.
3.1.1. Defense in depth
A publication of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) entitled
Basic Safety Principles for Nuclear Power Plants discusses the need for a defense in depth
concept centered on several levels of protection, including successive barriers to prevent the
release of radioactive materials to the environment. The objectives are:
- To compensate for potential human and component failures,
- To maintain the effectiveness of the barriers by averting damage to the plant and to the
barriers themselves,
- To protect the public and the environment from harm in the event that these barriers are
not fully effective.
INSAG has further developed requirements for a defense in depth strategy in a more
recent publication. In this strategy, accident prevention is the first priority. However, if
preventive measures fail, mitigating measures, in particular a well designed confinement
system, can provide additional protection for the public and the environment.
3.1.2. Quality assurance
It is important to achieve the highest levels of quality in all stages of a nuclear power
project, from site selection through design, construction and commissioning to operation and
decommissioning. This is indicated by the fact that quality assurance (QA) is one of the five
main topics of the Codes and Safety Guides issued in the IAEA's NUSS program. Quality
assurance is defined as: "all those planned and systematic actions necessary to provide
adequate confidence that an item or service will satisfy given requirements for quality".