Topics in Nuclear Power

Journal Article · Fri Nov 04 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3653868· OSTI ID:21612126

Budnitz, Robert J ^[1]

---

1. Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

The 104 nuclear plants operating in the US today are far safer than they were 20-30 years ago. For example, there's been about a 100-fold reduction in the occurrence of 'significant events' since the late 1970s. Although the youngest of currently operating US plants was designed in the 1970s, all have been significantly modified over the years. Key contributors to the safety gains are a vigilant culture, much improved equipment reliability, greatly improved training of operators and maintenance workers, worldwide sharing of experience, and the effective use of probabilistic risk assessment. Several manufacturers have submitted high quality new designs for large reactors to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for design approval, and some designers are taking a second look at the economies of smaller, modular reactors.

• OSTI ID: 21612126
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1401, Issue 1; Conference: Conference on physics of sustainable energy 2: Using energy efficiently and producing it renewably, Berkeley, CA (United States), 5-6 Mar 2011; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3653868; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
DESIGN
ECONOMY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
FISSION
GAIN
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEAR POWER
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PERSONNEL
PROBABILISTIC ESTIMATION
REACTOR MAINTENANCE
REACTOR SAFETY
RELIABILITY
RISK ASSESSMENT
TRAINING
AMPLIFICATION
CALCULATION METHODS
EDUCATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FUELS
MAINTENANCE
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
POWER
POWER PLANTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
SAFETY
THERMAL POWER PLANTS