NEA Publication Offers Guidance On Defence In Depth For Regulators

8 Feb (NucNet): A regulatory guidance booklet published by the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency and aimed primarily at nuclear regulators identifies areas where further work may be needed on defence in depth (DiD) at nuclear power facilities, including the impact of human and organisational factors on DiD, and improvements in the use of DiD for new reactor designs, multi-unit sites, fuel cycle facilities and research reactors. The booklet also says further work may be needed on the implementation of countermeasures for ‘level 5’ (offsite emergency arrangements) of DiD. The NEA said DiD is a concept that has been used for many years alongside tools to optimise nuclear safety in reactor design, assessment and regulation. The 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant accident “raised many questions and gave unique insight” into nuclear safety issues, including DiD. The booklet, ‘Implementation of Defence in Depth at Nuclear Power Plants: Lessons Learnt from the Fukushima-Daiichi Accident’, is online: http://bit.ly/1XdeXLm