Scientist: Severe safety requirements for modern nuclear power plants

Modern requirements for the safety of nuclear power plants are way more severe. The fact was underlined by Andrei Kuzmin, Acting Director General of the United Energy and Nuclear Research Institute Sosny, at the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 25 April to discuss the state and future of nuclear power engineering.

“Safety is the main condition for the development of nuclear power engineering and you can never get too much safety,” Andrei Kuzmin was convinced.

Analyzing the lessons taught by the Chernobyl disaster and other accidents at nuclear installations all over the world, the scientist remarked: “These accidents have resulted in a review of the entire system used to evaluate the safety of nuclear power plants in favor of more severe requirements. The accidents have demonstrated that apart from highly probable events it is necessary to allow for scenarios, which are highly improbable. It is also necessary to have a working scheme to respond to emergencies”.

As a result of the Chernobyl tragedy designs of power-generating units have been improved by several orders of magnitude. After the Fukushima events following the relevant proposal of the International Atomic Energy Agency the majority of the operational nuclear power plants all over the world have undergone stress tests to assess their safety levels. Such tests are carried out as early as the design stage for the nuclear power plants, which are being designed or are being constructed.

Andrei Kuzmin said that the recruitment of personnel to operate nuclear installations is as important as safety technologies. “The nuclear power industry needs highly qualified personnel, who strictly follow safety procedures and do not deviate from nuclear power plant operating regulations and other requirements,” the scientist was convinced.