ABSTRACT
For nuclear owner-operators, plant maintenance organization runs up against another problematic contradiction, between the safety of facilities and radiation protection for workers. What are involved here are tasks-inspection, upkeep, cleaning, and repairing-that are indispensable for nuclear safety and that can only be performed by humans operating on the components of the nuclear production system. As we know, some of these components are highly radioactive, and radioactivity increases with the aging of the power plant. However, human intervention is only “socially acceptable” if the health of the workers involved is effectively protected.
