IDCOR LESSONS FROM LONG AGO THE LEAPING BLACK SWANS

摘要

To provide a thorough response to the TMI accident, over 50 U.S. nuclear utilities, all U.S. reactor vendors and ten architect-engineering companies developed the Industry Degraded Core Rulemaking program (IDCOR). The purpose for this program was to develop comprehensive, integrated, well documented, technically sound positions on severe accident issues, and to serve as the U.S. industry voice with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on all severe-accident issues. Seven foreign countries also sponsored the IDCOR program including Japan. Using these and other lessons learned the authors provide a few collective significant findings in dealing with severe accident issues: 1.The nuclear industry often "picks the low hanging fruit" and reacts to that which is expedient rather than taking a longer and more holistic view of what is really best for the industry. 2.The NRC seems to fear unintended consequences in their decision making which exacerbates uncertainty, and then the NRC draws out the hard decisions, sometimes over years. 3.The views of NRC commissioners, who are political appointees, pervade the staff and confuse the staff in ways that prevent transparent dialogue with the industry. 4.A Major transformation is needed for both NRC and the nuclear power industry.