Nuclear Safety in Light Water Reactors: Severe Accident Phenomenology

This vital reference is the only one-stop resource on how to assess, prevent, and manage severe nuclear accidents in the light water reactors (LWRs) that pose the most risk to the public. LWRs are the predominant nuclear reactor in use around the world today, and they will continue to be the most frequently utilized in the near future. Therefore, accurate determination of the safety issues associated with such reactors is central to a consideration of the risks and benefits of nuclear power. This book emphasizes the prevention and management of severe accidents to teach nuclear professionals how to mitigate potential risks to the public to the maximum extent possible.

Organizes and presents all the latest thought on LWR nuclear safety in one consolidated volume, provided by the top experts in the field, ensuring high-quality, credible and easily accessible information Explains how developments in the field of LWR severe accidents have provided more accurate determinations of risk, thereby shedding new light on the debates surrounding nuclear power safety, particularly in light of the recent tragedy in Japan Concentrates on prevention and management of accidents, developing methodologies to estimate the consequences and associated risks

I. LIGHT WATER REACTOR (LWR) SAFETY, A HISTORICAL REVIEW
II. IN-VESSEL CORE DEGRADATION
III. EARLY CONTAINMENT FAILURE
IV. LATE CONTAINMENT FAILURE
V. FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE AND TRANSPORT
VI. SEVERE ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT
VII. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF THE ACCIDENT
VIII. INTEGRAL CODES FOR SEVERE ACCIDENT ANALYSES
APPENDIX 1: Corium thermodynamics and thermophysics
APPENDIX 2: Severe accidents in CANDU (PHWR)