For practical reasons, the consequences of nuclear reactor accidents are often measured in economic terms. Figures currently available, however, show significant discrepancies. For this reason, the NEA created an expert group to investigate the methodologies used in calculating the economic...

Climate change will create specific risks and challenges for nuclear power plants and the electricity system as a whole. Extreme weather events caused by climate change – such as floods, storms, heat waves and droughts – have already affected the operation of nuclear power plants. Any...

Nuclear reactor safety is primarily concerned with the prevention of radiation-related damage to the public from the operation of commercial nuclear reactors; safety limits are introduced to avoid fuel failures during normal operation, or to mitigate the consequences of reactor accidents in...

An important factor for public confidence in the nuclear regulator is the general public trust of the government and its representatives, which is clearly not the same in all countries. These workshop proceedings identify a number of common principles for the communication of nuclear regulatory...

New nuclear reactor designs are expected to have a higher level of safety than current designs. As part of the efforts to achieve this, important safety issues related to the new designs need to be identified at an early stage, and research required for problem resolution defined. These...

Meeting the growing demand for energy, and electricity in particular, while addressing the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to ensure security of energy supply, is one of the most difficult challenges facing the world’s economies. No single technology can respond to this challenge,...

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, many countries began funding research and development on nuclear fuel designs with enhanced accident tolerance (ATFs). ATFs have improved designs, materials and performance features compared with those of the current generation...