How Safe is Safe Enough in the Context of Nuclear Power?A paper by the European Nuclear Society: High Scientific Council

摘要

The cost of civil nuclear power for electricity production has increased significantly over recent years and, to some, the cost of nuclear power is rapidly becoming unaffordable. The increase in cost results from a number of reasons, notably the high cost of finance that is a consequence of high capital cost that is associated with the complexity and long build times of large nuclear power plants (NPPs) and the strict safety regulations imposed on the nuclear industry. [1] The requirement for complex control and protection systems, both passive and active, adds to the capital cost, as does the increasingly stringent security requirements. Safety is paramount and Europe continues to maintain high levels of nuclear safety. However, given the escalation in cost of new NPPs, the High Scientific Council of the European Nuclear Society (HSC) believes that it is timely to look at what safety means in the context of nuclear power.The purpose of this paper is to examine the question "how safe is safe enough" in the context of nuclear power. It is aimed at the decision makers in government, the nuclear industry and the regulatory organisations. As a result of this work, the HSC would like to see an open discussion between the nuclear industry and its regulators on the appropriate levels of safety for new NPPs to ensure that they are not priced out of the market by marginal and perhaps unnecessary safety gains.