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US nuclear power plants have what appears to be a rather simple safety requirement: Any event with a probability of 1 in a million or more of occurring mus
by jqpabc123 4y ago
US nuclear power plants have what appears to be a rather simple safety requirement:
Any event with a probability of 1 in a million or more of occurring must be accounted for, designed for, tested, verified and documented in an approved manner.
In practice, what this means is that every piece of steel and every batch of concrete and every piece of electronics used in every building structure, piece of equipment or control device in a nuclear power plant must be thoroughly tested to make sure it meets required specifications.
First, you have to find vendors that will even attempt to provide equipment and/or materials that have been tested in this way. Documentation must be maintained of these tests. The individuals signing this documentation must be approved beforehand as having the necessary qualifications. These records must be maintained and available for periodic inspection and verification by inspectors who have also been verified and approved.
And it goes on and on and on.
- BMc2020 4y agoWhy can't they build them cheaply in other countries without that safety requirement?
- jqpabc123 4y agoFrance has 56 nuclear facilities and plans to add more. They have achieved cost improvements by using cookie-cutter standardized designs. This has not been approved in the USA in the interest of design progress and advancement --- which has been ground to a halt as a result. Similar efforts are now underway in the USA. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/04/westinghouse-announces-a-small-nuclear-reactor.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/04/westinghouse-announces-a-sma...
- BMc2020 4y agoThank you, but you answered a question that wasn't asked. According to a translation of his remarks published by Reuters, Macron said the French nuclear industry would “remain the cornerstone of our strategic autonomy.” It's for national security, not because they are built cheaply.