Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down

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Nuclear Power Plant Shut Down
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Nuclear Plant Scenario
Background
Most Dangerous Reactors A Compendium of Reactor
Risk Assessments
Ignalina Units 1 2...
Units 1 2
Reactors remain unstable and difficult to
control and rely heavily on operator intervention
to keep things from going out of kilter.
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Ignalina Plant

• 2 RBMK Reactors

• Output of each
• 4,800 thermal megawatts
• 1,500 electrical megawatts

• Produce 60-80 of Lithuanias electricity

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Lithuanian Population within 30 km
54,000 Inhabitants
30km
28,000 Animals
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Daugavpil, Latvia is 20 km from plant (Population
130,000)
20km
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Emergency Levels
Local emergency - within structures
Plant emergency - within the sanitary zone
General emergency - beyond the sanitary zone
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International Nuclear Event Scale
Level 1- Anomaly...variation from permitted
procedures
Level 2 - Incident
Level 3- Serious Incident...very small release
of radioactivity
Level 4 - Accident Without Significant
Off-Site Risks
Level 5 - Accident with Off-Site Risks...limited
release of radioactivity local countermeasures
Level 6 - Serious Accident...significant release
of radioactivity full implementation of local
countermeasures
Level 7 - Major Accident...major release of
radioactivity widespread health and
environmental effects
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International Nuclear Event Scale
Level 1- Anomaly
Level 2- Incident
Level 3- Serious Incident
Level 4 - Accident Without Significant
Off-Site Risks
Three-Mile Island
Level 5 - Accident with Off-Site Risks
Level 6 - Serious Accident
Chernobyl
Level 7 - Major Accident
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Chernobyl Timeline
Fallout Reaches Sweden Poland
Explosion
Fire Fighters Arrive
Fallout Reaches UK
Start of Safety Test
Fallout Reaches Belarus Baltics
0123
Reactor Entombment
0130
1986
April 25
April 26
April 28
May 2
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Global Coverage

• Normandy 1944 - 30 journalists

• Grenada 1983 - 500 journalists

• DESERT STORM 1991 - 1600 journalists

• Hurricane Andrew (Florida) 1992 - 1500 journalists

31 Satellite Transmission Trucks
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Likelihood of Outside Support

• The higher the proportion of victims.

• The more socially random the impact.

• The more sudden the change for the worse.

• The more the victims are blameless.

• The greater the sufferers are an identification
  group.

• The greater the communications about losses
• suffered by victims, the more identification.

Adopted from Allen H. Barton, Social
Organization Under Stress
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Public Affairs Lessons from Three Mile Island
Incident
Before you start something, you should have a
goal.
Guard against influence from agencies not part of
your plan.
Isolate your decision makers from the media.
Do not overreact to the situation.
Tell the truth.
Maintain maneuvering room.
Avoid trivia and trivial problems.
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Conventions
Notification

• Notify those states that are or may be affected
• ...nature, time, and location.

• Provide information to minimize radiological
• consequences.

Assistance

• Overall direction, control, coordination, and
• supervision shall be the requesting state.

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Notification Channels
Power plant
Civil Security Department
Non-Governmental Organizations
International Atomic Energy Agency
Member/Affected States
World Meteorological Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
UN High Commission for Refugees (above 250,000)
World Health Organization
UN Environment Program
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May 5
Event
1600 Local - Lithuanian officials notify Latvia
that Ignalina has been shut down by automatic
reactor safety systems (reactor trip).
Initial assessment is a normal functioning of
plants emergency systems. The cause of trip
under investigation.
1630 -Latvian reports of a widespread electrical
blackout (within Latvia) triggered by the
unexpected shutdown of Ignalina.
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Nuclear Plant ScenarioWorkshop 1

• Evaluate situation
• Identify information and resource requirements
  and potential sources
• Prepare recommendations for government action, to
  include a public relations plan

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Event Update
1600 Local - Automatic reactor trip.
1630 -Blackout in Latvia
2000 -Lithuania reports contact with Ignalina
lost, radiation monitors between Ignalina and
Daugavpil indicate higher than normal readings,
and a general emergency is declared
At least a class 5 event
May 5
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Nuclear Plant ScenarioWorkshop 2

• Evaluate situation
• Identify information and resource requirements
  and potential sources
• Prepare recommendations for government action, to
  include a public relations plan
• Identify changes from Workshop 1 and discuss
  reasons for changes

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Nuclear Plant Scenario

• Scenario-a series of events at the Ignalina
  nuclear power plant in neighboring Lithuania that
  affect Latvia
• Objectives
• To understand events, and actions in response
  to those events, in the context of a free (and
  global) press
• To reinforce major teaching points for crisis
  management (recognition of crisis, information
  requirements, resources, need for common
  understanding, legal authority)