atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power | 04.2019
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All results are from a survey of 2,061 people, conducted on behalf of the <strong>Nuclear</strong> Industry Association by YouGov, 29 November to 6 December2018<br />
<strong>atw</strong> Vol. 64 (2019) | Issue 4 ı April<br />
Arrangements over the second year of<br />
their implementation.<br />
The EU reaffirmed its support <strong>for</strong><br />
the IAEA’s 2018-2021 <strong>Nuclear</strong> Security<br />
Plan, highlighting the importance of<br />
the universalisation and implementation<br />
of the Amendment to the Convention<br />
on the Physical Protection of<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> Material (A/CPPNM). Implementation<br />
of the EU Council Decisions<br />
in support of IAEA’s activities on<br />
nuclear security was also discussed.<br />
The two sides also reviewed cooperation<br />
on technical matters in the field of<br />
nuclear security.<br />
Officials reviewed progress on the<br />
implementation of nuclear safeguards<br />
in EU Member States and on the European<br />
Commission Safeguards Support<br />
Programme to the IAEA.<br />
The next Senior Officials Meeting<br />
is expected to take place in Vienna in<br />
early 2020<br />
| | www.iaea.org<br />
Did you miss the NEA webinar<br />
on the true costs of decarbonisation?<br />
(nea) The NEA hosted a webinar on<br />
17 January to preview the findings<br />
from the report The Costs of Decarbonisation:<br />
System Costs with High<br />
Shares of <strong>Nuclear</strong> and Renewables.<br />
The webinar featured introductory<br />
remarks by the OECD Secretary-<br />
General Ángel Gurría and NEA<br />
Director- General Magwood, who led a<br />
discussion on the importance of<br />
system costs in assessing the overall<br />
costs of the energy transitions under<br />
way. If you missed the live webcast,<br />
the video recording is available at<br />
oe.cd/nea‐system‐costs‐webinar‐2019<br />
| | www.oecd-nea.org<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> Industry Association<br />
publishes 2018 public polling<br />
(niauk) New research, carried out <strong>for</strong><br />
the <strong>Nuclear</strong> Industry Association by<br />
YouGov has revealed what the public<br />
thinks about nuclear energy.<br />
The 2018 polling data has found<br />
that 72% of people support nuclear as<br />
part of a low carbon energy mix. In<br />
addition, nuclear is seen as the most<br />
secure <strong>for</strong> keeping the lights on, with<br />
35% agreeing it is the most secure, followed<br />
by 16% <strong>for</strong> solar, and 13% <strong>for</strong><br />
gas and offshore wind respectively.<br />
The 2008 Climate Change Act established<br />
a legally binding climate<br />
change target aiming to reduce the<br />
UK’s emissions by at least 80% by<br />
2050. However, the research showed<br />
that 73% of people agreed the government<br />
should be doing more to combat<br />
carbon emissions.<br />
When asked about small reactors,<br />
two in five of those asked agreed that<br />
they could play a role in tackling climate<br />
change, and 45% agreed they<br />
could increase energy security.<br />
The research also showed nuclear<br />
is considered the best <strong>for</strong> job creation<br />
and investment, when compared to<br />
other energy sources.<br />
| | www.niauk.org<br />
Reactors<br />
NIA Polling:<br />
What the public think<br />
YouGov, on behalf of the <strong>Nuclear</strong> Industry Association, has carried out polling to find<br />
out what the public think about nuclear. Here are the findings of the 2018 research.<br />
More people support nuclear as<br />
part of a low carbon energy mix<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> energy is ranked highest<br />
<strong>for</strong> job creation and investment<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> Industry Association is a company limited by guarantee registered in England No. 2804518.<br />
Registered Office: 5 th Floor, Tower House, 10 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7HA<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> energy is seen<br />
as most secure <strong>for</strong><br />
keeping the lights on<br />
Most agree government<br />
should be doing more to<br />
combat CO 2 emissions<br />
45% agree, SMRs<br />
could increase<br />
energy security<br />
Two in five agree<br />
SMRs could tackle<br />
climate change<br />
Men favour new build<br />
more than women<br />
NIAUK.ORG<br />
| | <strong>Nuclear</strong> Industry Association publishes 2018<br />
public polling<br />
40 years after Three Mile Island,<br />
nuclear plants are among the<br />
safest U.S. Facilities<br />
(nei) March 28 marks 40 years since<br />
the accident that damaged the core of<br />
the Three Mile Island (TMI) 2 nuclear<br />
reactor. The event was caused by a<br />
combination of equipment failure and<br />
the inability of plant operators to<br />
understand the reactor’s condition at<br />
certain times during the event.<br />
The TMI accident was a cultural<br />
touchstone <strong>for</strong> the nation and a turning<br />
point <strong>for</strong> the industry. And while there<br />
were no reported injuries or adverse<br />
health effects from the accident, our<br />
industry learned crucial lessons from<br />
that day and has continued to enhance<br />
the safety of our plants year after year.<br />
As a result, safety is in the DNA of<br />
every U.S. nuclear plant. By a variety<br />
of metrics – rate of human error, worker<br />
injury or equipment failure, number<br />
of unplanned shutdowns and level<br />
of occupational exposure – plant operations<br />
are smooth, stable and smart.<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> plants pursue excellence<br />
All companies operating power reactors<br />
have adopted a shared safety model<br />
and <strong>for</strong>med an independent safety<br />
organization, the Institute of <strong>Nuclear</strong><br />
<strong>Power</strong> Operations, to per<strong>for</strong>m frequent<br />
in-depth audits of all the reactors including<br />
peer audits, in which operators<br />
of similar plants travel from site to site<br />
to critically examine each other’s practices,<br />
successes and challenges.<br />
Additionally, plant executives brief<br />
each other on their malfunctions, personnel<br />
errors and other events and<br />
critique each other’s approach to operations.<br />
The plants still adhere to a strict<br />
code of regulations from the U.S.<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> Regulatory Commission, but<br />
the peer-to-peer interactions are more<br />
comprehensive and promote a level of<br />
safety and excellence in operations far<br />
beyond what the government requires.<br />
In fact, the Electric <strong>Power</strong> Research<br />
Institute (EPRI) found that the risks<br />
posed to public health and safety from<br />
nuclear plants are much lower than<br />
previously understood. While studies<br />
in the 1980s and 1990s showed plants<br />
had operated at a relatively modest<br />
margin of safety, a recent EPRI study<br />
shows that U.S. plants are nearly 100<br />
times more safe than the NRC’s own<br />
safety goals.<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> plants are well-run<br />
Highly trained experts run America’s<br />
98 nuclear plants. With the NRC’s oversight<br />
and layers of safety precautions, a<br />
nuclear plant is one of the safest industrial<br />
environments in the United States.<br />
Plant workers are well- qualified: Reactor<br />
operators must hold federal licenses<br />
that require extensive training to<br />
obtain and they typically spend one<br />
week out of every five in training.<br />
Following the accident at Three<br />
Mile Island 2, the industry <strong>for</strong>med the<br />
National Academy <strong>for</strong> <strong>Nuclear</strong> Training<br />
to promote the highest levels of training<br />
program excellence and consistency<br />
across the industry. Every four<br />
years nuclear power plants are required<br />
to demonstrate high standards in their<br />
training programs to maintain program<br />
accreditation by the academy.<br />
Plants also have training simulators,<br />
which are exact duplicates of control<br />
rooms, but connected to a computer,<br />
not a reactor. That allows the operators<br />
to practice responses to postulated accidents<br />
that cannot be run on a real reactor,<br />
similar to jet pilots who practice<br />
engine failures or instrument malfunctions<br />
on a simulated airliner.<br />
<strong>Nuclear</strong> plants have evolved<br />
since 1979<br />
Innovation drives the nuclear industry.<br />
These plants may look the same<br />
on the outside, but throughout their<br />
operation, they are continuously<br />
235<br />
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