ABSTRACT
The main safety concern in the operation of nuclear power plants and their associated fuel fabrication facilities is the emission of uncontrolled radiation releases into the environment. Maintaining the public's health and safety while allowing for the continued development and utilization of nuclear energy has been a major focus in both Europe and the US, as well as in many other countries in which nuclear energy is used for power production. This chapter emphasizes how the nuclear industry and regulatory agencies model, analyze, and manage the risks of nuclear power. The defense-in-depth concept relies on several diverse and independent approaches to achieve safety. Chernobyl Unit 4 was a graphite-moderated boiling water reactor (BWR). The Chernobyl nuclear power plants were originally commissioned in 1972. A severe accident can occur in a nuclear power plant if the reactor system experiences some initiating event that disturbs normal operation, followed by multiple failures of safety systems.
