How the engineers are sinking nuclear power
TL;DRAbstract
Poor concrete work, improper welds, and construction and installation errors at nuclear power plants are blamed on budget and schedule pressures and the nuclear industry's lack of quality assurance. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Nunzio Palladino, who trained under the exacting Admiral Rickover, has ordered the industry to upgrade its quality assurance and to take safety regulations and training more seriously. The industry's response is a program that will send a team of Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO) investigators to each plant under construction every 18 months to make spot checks of worker training and performance. The Electric Power Research Institute is also developing equipment to test construction quality. Both industry officials and critics remain skeptical that quality assurance will improve with more regulation. (DCK)
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Poor concrete work, improper welds, and construction and installation errors at nuclear power plants are blamed on budget and schedule pressures and the nuclear industry's lack of quality assurance. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Nunzio Palladino, who trained under the exacting Admiral Rickover, has ordered the industry to upgrade its quality assurance and to take safety regulations and training more seriously. The industry's response is a program that will send a team of Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO) investigators to each plant under construction every 18 months to make spot checks of worker training and performance. The Electric Power Research Institute is also developing equipment to test construction quality. Both industry officials and critics remain skeptical that quality assurance will improve with more regulation. (DCK)
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