Nuclear Safety #258002

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Articulate the fundamental principles of nuclear safety, including the defense-in-depth philosophy.

• Identify the key engineered safety features and inherent safety characteristics of different nuclear reactor designs.

• Understand the role of a robust management system and a strong safety culture in preventing incidents.

• Explain the regulatory framework for nuclear safety, including the function of the national regulatory body and international safety conventions.

• Recognize the principles of radiation protection and emergency preparedness.

• Analyze historical nuclear events to understand the root causes and lessons learned.

This course is designed for professionals who are new to the nuclear industry or whose work interfaces with nuclear safety:

• New Engineers and Technicians joining the nuclear industry

• Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Personnel

• Project Managers and Consultants working on nuclear projects

• Government Officials and Policy Makers

• Journalists and Communicators covering the energy sector

• Environmental and Safety Professionals

• Students in engineering, physics, or public policy

• Pre-assessment
• Live group instruction
• Use of real-world examples, case studies and exercises
• Interactive participation and discussion
• Power point presentation, LCD and flip chart
• Group activities and tests
• Each participant receives a binder containing a copy of the presentation
• slides and handouts
• Post-assessment

Day 1: Foundations of Nuclear Safety

• Morning Session: The Imperative for Safety

  • Why Nuclear Safety is Unique: Understanding the potential consequences and the social contract.

  • The Evolution of Safety Thinking: From early reactors to modern standards.

  • Fundamental Safety Principles: Introduction to the IAEA’s Safety Fundamentals.

• Afternoon Session: The Defense-in-Depth Philosophy

  • The Multiple Layers of Protection: From robust design to emergency plans.

  • Concept of Redundancy, Diversity, and Physical Separation.

  • Case Study: Analyze how defense-in-depth is applied in a specific reactor design.

Day 2: Technical Safety of Nuclear Reactors

• Morning Session: Reactor Physics and Safety Principles

  • Key Concepts: Reactivity, feedback mechanisms, and decay heat.

  • Inherent Safety Features: How physics contributes to safety (e.g., negative temperature coefficient).

• Afternoon Session: Engineered Safety Systems

  • Reactor Protection System: The logic and function of automatic shutdown systems.

  • Core Cooling Systems: Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS) and makeup systems.

  • Containment: The final barrier and its design requirements.

  • Workshop: Trace the safety systems response to a hypothetical transient.

Day 3: The Human and Organizational Factor

• Morning Session: Safety Culture

  • Defining a Strong Safety Culture: Characteristics and behaviors.

  • Leadership’s Role in fostering a questioning attitude and a transparent environment.

  • Self-Assessment and continuous improvement.

• Afternoon Session: Human Performance and Management Systems

  • Reducing Human Error: Procedures, training, and human factors engineering.

  • The Integrated Management System: How safety, health, environmental, and quality requirements are integrated into all activities.

  • Case Study: Examine the organizational root causes of a historical incident (e.g., Three Mile Island).

Day 4: Regulatory Framework and Radiation Protection

• Morning Session: The Regulatory Landscape

  • Role of the National Regulatory Body: Licensing, inspection, and enforcement.

  • International Safety Conventions: Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS), and the role of the IAEA and WANO.

  • The Licensing Process for a Nuclear Facility.

• Afternoon Session: Radiation Protection

  • Principles of ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable).

  • Dosimetry, monitoring, and controlling exposure.

  • Practical Exercise: Calculate shielding requirements or dose limits for a given scenario.

Day 5: Emergency Preparedness and Beyond

• Morning Session: Preparing for the Unlikely

  • Emergency Preparedness: On-site and off-site plans, classification of emergencies.

  • The role of government and international assistance.

• Afternoon Session: Beyond Power Reactors & Course Synthesis

  • Safety of Other Facilities: Fuel cycle facilities, research reactors, waste repositories.

  • Decommissioning Safety.

  • Final Capstone Exercise: Groups are presented with a complex scenario and must develop a safety case or identify all relevant safety principles and structures involved.

  • Course Recap: The Future of Nuclear Safety (SMRs, advanced reactors).

  • Final Q&A and Certification.