• Title/Summary/Keyword: Nuclear accidents

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Conceptual Design of Information Displays Supporting Severe Accident Management in Nuclear Power Plants Based on Ecological Interface Design (EID) Framework (생태학적 인터페이스 디자인 프레임워크에 기반한 원전 중대사고 지원 정보디스플레이 개념설계)

  • Cho, Piljae;Ham, Dong-Han;Lee, Hyunchul
    • Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.61-72
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    • 2022
  • This study aims to propose a conceptual design of information displays for supporting responsive actions under severe accidents in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Severe accidents in NPPs can be defined as accident conditions that are more severe than a design basis accident and involving significant core degradation. Since the Fukushima accident in 2011, the management of severe accidents is increasing important in nuclear industry. Dealing with severe accidents involves several cognitively complex activities, such as situation assessment; accordingly, it is significant to provide human operators with appropriate knowledge support in their cognitive activities. Currently, severe accident management guidelines (SAMG) have been developed for this purpose. However, it is also inevitable to develop information displays for supporting the management of severe accidents, with which human operators can monitor, control, and diagnose the states of NPPs under severe accident situations. It has been reported that Ecological Interface Design (EID) framework can be a viable approach for developing information displays used in complex socio-technical systems such as NPPs. Considering the design principles underlying the EID, we can say that EID-based information displays can be useful for dealing with severe accidents effectively. This study developed a conceptual design of information displays to be used in severe accidents, following the stipulated design process and principles of the EID framework. We particularly attempted to develop a conceptual design to make visible the principle knowledge to be used for coping with dynamically changing situations of NPPs under severe accidents.

Safety analysis of marine nuclear reactor in severe accident with dynamic fault trees based on cut sequence method

  • Fang Zhao ;Shuliang Zou ;Shoulong Xu ;Junlong Wang;Tao Xu;Dewen Tang
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.12
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    • pp.4560-4570
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    • 2022
  • Dynamic fault tree (DFT) and its related research methods have received extensive attention in safety analysis and reliability engineering. DFT can perform reliability modelling for systems with sequential correlation, resource sharing, and cold and hot spare parts. A technical modelling method of DFT is proposed for modelling ship collision accidents and loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs). Qualitative and quantitative analyses of DFT were carried out using the cutting sequence (CS)/extended cutting sequence (ECS) method. The results show nine types of dynamic fault failure modes in ship collision accidents, describing the fault propagation process of a dynamic system and reflect the dynamic changes of the entire accident system. The probability of a ship collision accident is 2.378 × 10-9 by using CS. This failure mode cannot be expressed by a combination of basic events within the same event frame after an LOCA occurs in a marine nuclear reactor because the system contains warm spare parts. Therefore, the probability of losing reactor control was calculated as 8.125 × 10-6 using the ECS. Compared with CS, ECS is more efficient considering expression and processing capabilities, and has a significant advantage considering cost.

PRACTICE SPECIFIC TRAINING FOR APPLICATION OF IONIZING RADIATION IN INDUSTRIES

  • Sdagopan, Geetha;Kim, Hyunkee
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.177-180
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    • 2012
  • Industrial radiography practice is usually employed in public domain. Over the years there are several radiation accidents reported in this practice. The accidents often result in severe or fatal exposures to occupational workers and public. The number of radiation accidents is also significant when compared with other industrial accidents. This paper describes practice specific training as one of the measures to the improve radiation safety and reduce the accidents. The efforts by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to disseminate information and to improve the radiation safety status in industrial radiography are also discussed.

PRESENT DAY EOPS AND SAMG - WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

  • Vayssier, George
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.44 no.3
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    • pp.225-236
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    • 2012
  • The Fukushima-Daiichi accident shook the world, as a well-known plant design, the General Electric BWR Mark I, was heavily damaged in the tsunami, which followed the Great Japanese Earthquake of 11 March 2011. Plant safety functions were lost and, as both AC and DC failed, manoeuvrability of the plants at the site virtually came to a full stop. The traditional system of Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs) and Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG) failed to protect core and containment, and severe core damage resulted, followed by devastating hydrogen explosions and, finally, considerable radioactive releases. The root cause may not only have been that the design against tsunamis was incorrect, but that the defence against accidents in most power plants is based on traditional assumptions, such as Large Break LOCA as the limiting event, whereas there is no engineered design against severe accidents in most plants. Accidents beyond the licensed design basis have hardly been considered in the various designs, and if they were included, they often were not classified for their safety role, as most system safety classifications considered only design basis accidents. It is, hence, time to again consider the Design Basis Accident, and ask ourselves whether the time has not come to consider engineered safety functions to mitigate core damage accidents. Associated is a proper classification of those systems that do the job. Also associated are safety criteria, which so far are only related to 'public health and safety'; in reality, nuclear accidents cause few casualties, but create immense economical and societal effects-for which there are no criteria to be met. Severe accidents create an environment far surpassing the imagination of those who developed EOPs and SAMG, most of which was developed after Three Mile Island - an accident where all was still in place, except the insight in the event was lost. It requires fundamental changes in our present safety approach and safety thinking and, hence, also in our EOPs and SAMG, in order to prevent future 'Fukushimas'.

Configuration Management and Domestic and International nuclear power plant trends (형상관리와 국내외 원전 동향)

  • Ko, Min-Hyuck;Lee, Daesung
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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    • 2022.10a
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    • pp.351-353
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    • 2022
  • There have been several nuclear accidents at home and abroad so far, and there have been major and small damages. Overseas, in order to reduce such accidents, the safety and reliability of nuclear power plant operations have been improved by introducing a technology called Configuration Management. Through basic information on Configuration Management and successful cases of introducing Configuration Management from overseas nuclear power plants, this paper checks the technical parts applicable to Korea and examines whether they can be newly applied by supplementing them for domestic nuclear power plants.

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A Study on the Introduction of the ETV for Disaster Prevention - Focusing on the Role of the Korea Coast Guard for the Prevention of Radioactive Waste Accidents and Marine Accidents - (재난 예방을 위한 ETV 도입에 관한 연구 - 방사성폐기물 사고 및 해양사고 예방을 위한 해양경찰의 역할을 중심으로 -)

  • Jin, Ho-hyun
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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    • v.24 no.6
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    • pp.694-700
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    • 2018
  • Korea has disposed of medium and low level radioactive waste generated by operating nuclear power plants permanently through the radioactive waste repository located in Gyeongju. However, the maritime transport of radioactive waste is exposed to the risk of marine accidents, and it will be necessary to introduce a system to secure safety from the viewpoint of the function and role of the Korea Coast Guard. Especially, Korea is affected by large-scale marine accidents, such as the Hebei Spirit or Sewol accidents. From this point of view, we analyzed the current status of Korea radioactive waste shipping and examined the response systems of major foreign countries. As a result of examining major cases of accidents, we have operated an Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) fleet centering on European countries in order to respond urgently to marine casualties that may have social, regional and international effects, such as accidents of similar nuclear material carriers and dangerous cargo ships. It proves a partial effect. Based on this, we propose the introduction of the Korean ETV System. In other words, it is necessary to respond to large-scale marine accidents that could lead to enormous environmental, property, and personal damage, such as marine accidents involving nuclear material ships, large oil tankers, and large passenger ships. For this, it seems necessary to introduce Korea ETV, which can carry out emergency towing, oil pollution control function, large - scale rescue equipment and manpower. This will lead to the enhancement of the Korea Coast Guard response to marine accidents, and will not miss the golden time of the initial response to the national disaster, which will help protect precious people, property and the environment.