Considerations of risk in nuclear safety decision-making

摘要

The evidence from the use of an implicit form of IRIDM in the UK demonstrates that risk is a useful paradigm in safety decision-making provided it is based on a more complex and wider concept than the risk metrics produced by a PSA. However, PSA has an important role in safety decision-making and should be part of any IRIDM process. A formal IRIDM process is not as a panacea that, by application of an algorithm, can determine optimum safety decisions. IRIDM does not provide the safety decision - but it provides a framework for making safety decisions. It is not the judgement process - it is an aid to the judgement process. Risk informing safety decisions is more a matter of philosophy and use of a well-founded judgement than a specific process. It should infuse all safety decision-making from the major structured process used for major new facilities through to the day-to-day decisions taken without recourse to detailed analysis. The UK's 40 years of experience has shown the value of IRIDM.