Risk of Nuclear Assessment

H.‐P. Berg – RISK ASSESSMENT OF AIRCRAFT CRASH ONTO A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

RT&A # 01 (20) (Vol.2) 2011, March

RISK ASSESSMENT OF AIRCRAFT CRASH ONTO A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

H.-P. Berg  Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, Salzgitter, Germany e-mail: hberg@bfs.de

ABSTRACT

External hazards can provide safety significant contributions to the risk in case of nuclear power plant operation because such hazards have the potential to reduce simultaneously the level of redundancy by damaging redundant systems and lines or their supporting systems. Therefore, risk assessment of all potential external hazards to the plant under consideration is part of the overall safety assessment. In this paper, the procedure for assessing the external hazard aircraft crash is described in more detail. The first step is an appropriate screening procedure in order to determine scope and content of the assessment, taking into account plant- and site-specific conditions. The second step is to determine the methodical approach for those cases where a full scope analysis has to be performed and the inclusion into the used overall risk model. The considerations regarding this hazard do not cover an intended aircraft crash.

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INTRODUCTION

International experience has shown that internal hazards such as fire and flooding as well as external hazards such as earthquakes, flooding and air craft crash can be safety significant contributors to the risk in case of plants with the potential high hazardous risk such as process plants or nuclear power plants. This risk results from the fact that such hazards potentially can reduce simultaneously the level of redundancy – implemeted for increasing the overal reliability and safety of the plant – by damaging redundant components, systems and lines or their supporting systems (energy, water etc.). Therefore, arrangements should be implemented by the operator of the plant for assessing the vulnerability of plant and structures, determining...