Lessons of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident for Sustainable Energy Generation: Creation of the Safety Culture in Nuclear Power Plants Around the World

Abstract

The world's sustainable energy generation depends on safe and un-interrupted operations of its nuclear power plants. Nuclear power constitutes a major source of energy for many countries and its electricity generation share is around 16%. As such, global security and sustainability are hostages to nuclear safety. Without nuclear safety, in this era of proliferating nuclear weapons, global security will be a dream; and in a world with 58 still operating Soviet-designed nuclear power reactors, sustainability will only be a mirage. According to a Russian official, all the commercial nuclear reactors operating on Russian territory are nothing better than “bombs temporarily generating electricity.” The share of energy generation of these reactors in their respective countries is rather significant; and in the short run, their closure and replacement are neither realistic nor economically feasible. Human and organizational factors play a vital role in the safety of complex, large-scale technological systems. Fortunately, these days, this fact has been almost universally recognized, although not necessarily fully incorporated into the operation, by the nuclear industry around the world. In order to improve the safety problems of nuclear power, we need to improve the safety culture of this industry and proactively address human and organizational-related factors. To keep the nuclear genie bottled around the world, we need genuine international cooperation and coordination among equipment manufacturers, operating companies, operators' unions, regulatory agencies, international organizations, scientific and research communities, and affected governments.

Keywords:

• Chernobyl
• energy generation
• nuclear power and energy
• nuclear safety
• safety culture
• sustainability