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Re: Incident/Accident
The fact is almost all interpretation use incident to describe events
that are, in effect, minor accidents.
This is clearly in INES:
incident: An event classified as Level 1, 2 or 3, i.e. beyond the authorized
operating regime, but not as serious as an accident.
accident: An event classified as Level 4, 5, 6 or 7, i.e. that involves a
release of radioactive material off-site likely to cause public exposure at
least of the order of authorized limits or requiring countermeasures to be
taken, or causes significant damage to the installation, or results in
exposure of workers on-site to such a degree that there is a high
probability of early death.
Level 1 (anomaly): An event beyond the authorized operating regime, but not
involving significant failures in safety provisions, significant spread of
contamination or overexposure of workers.
Level 2 (incident): An event involving significant failure in safety
provisions, but with sufficient defence in depth remaining to cope with
additional failures, and/or resulting in a dose to a worker exceeding a
statutory dose limit and/or leading to the presence of activity in on-site
areas not expected by design and which require corrective action.
Level 3 (serious incident): A near accident, where only the last layer of
defence in depth remained operational, and/or involving severe spread of
contamination on-site or deterministic effects to a worker, and/or a very
small release of radioactive material off-site (i.e. critical group dose of
the order of tenths of a mSv).
Clearly INES is applied only to Nuclear Installation
I am not go to comment the accident with fatalities, like Morocco, Zaragoza
(Spain), Egypt, Xinzhou (China), Georgia, Costa Rica, Panama, etc. I'll
consider only two accidents, because the situation of contamination: the
radiological Accident in Juarez (Mexico) and the Radiological Accident in
Goiania (Brazil)
JUAREZ, MEXICO
GOIANIA, BRAZIL
0 Deaths
4 deaths
5 300 - 700 rem
14 100 - 700 rem
80 > 25 rem
54 > 25 rem
720 0.5 - 25 rem
244 0.5 - 25 rem
3200 (?) < 500 mrem
2500 (?) <500 mrem
JUAREZ 418 buildings demolished
GOIANIA 3,500 cubic meter of Waste contaminated with Cs-137 generated
Taking into account the general description of the INES, "The International
Nuclear Event Scale (INES) is a tool to promptly and consistently
communicate to the public the safety significance of reported events at
nuclear installations. By putting events into proper perspective, the Scale
can ease common understanding among the nuclear community, the media, and
the public."
It is necessary to clarify, well understand to communicate correctly to
media and public such radiological events (accident ? - incident?)
Jose Julio Rozental
joseroze@netvision.net.il
Israel
----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Derenzo <dave@UIC.EDU>
To: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2002 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: Incident/Accident
>From what I understand, folks in the safety field (i.e., industrial
hygiene, fire safety, etc.) are moving away from the word "accident"
because it implies nothing could have been done to prevent it. They feel
that most events that were once called "accidents" were definitely
preventable.
At 03:11 AM 1/25/02, you wrote:
>Respect definitions the yet valid IAEA glossary:
>
>accident
>
>Any unintended event, including operating errors, equipment failures or
>other mishaps, the consequences or potential consequences of which are not
>negligible from the point of view of protection or safety.
>
>event
>
>In the context of the reporting and analysis of events, an event is any
>unintended occurrence, including operating error, equipment failure or
other
>mishap, the consequences or potential consequences of which are not
>negligible from the point of view of protection or safety.
>
>incident See INES.
>
>The word incident is often used, in INES and elsewhere, to describe events
>that are, in effect, minor accidents, i.e. that are distinguished from
>accidents only in terms of being less severe. This is an arbitrary
>distinction with little basis in normal usage. An incident can be minor or
>major, just as an accident can, but unlike an accident, an incident can be
>caused intentionally. The existing misuses of incident, such as INES,
cannot
>be eliminated, but new examples should not be created.
> nuclear incident: [Any occurrence or series of occurrences having the
same
>origin which causes nuclear damage or, but only with respect to preventive
>measures, creates a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage.]
>
>conclusions:
>
>a) accident "Any unintended event..........
>b) event "Any unintended occurrence.......
>c) incident ;
>(i)) " Often used to describe events that are, in effect, minor
accidents" -
>"distinguished from accidents only in terms of being less severe"
>(ii) "This is an arbitrary distinction with little basis in normal usage" -
>"An incident can be minor or major, just as an accident can"
>(iii) "but unlike an accident, an incident can be caused intentionally "
>
>More conclusion: -
>
>a) If event "Any unintended occurrence.......
>b) If " an incident can be caused intentionally " - In this case incident
is
>not an event - Sense or not sense?
>c) "The existing misuses of incident, such as INES, cannot be eliminated,
>but new examples should not be created."...
>
>When I asked why many colleagues from England and USa use incident instead
>accident, is really why I wish to understand better this reason.
>Many express Goiania Incident. There was not incident however rather an
>acident.
>England has a very important document: NAIR - National Arrangements for
>Incidents involving Radioactivity - Why they do not change Incidents by
>Events, like -IAEA INES? - By the way if radsafers are interested can
>download NAIR 2000, as a leaflet pdf format, using
>http://www.nrpb.org/radiation_incidents/nair.htm
>
>Now with respect the first Jack's point, I would like to make some
>comments:
>
> >My early experience and training as a rad con supervisor included
specific
> >public relations, now called "politically correct," responses to
> >radiological events or "issues," another one of those words.
>
>Comment:
>
>We can't to avoid the use of the words accident or incident, we have to
>understand the correct nuclear/radiological meaning to use one or the
other.
>Event as you refer is exactly this: accident or incident
>
> >Accident" wasn't used because it conveyed a meaning, especially to the
> >public, of a catastrophic event--we don't want to create undue panic or
>concern.
>
>Comment:
>
>Again, we can't avoid explaining to the public the Nuclear/Radiological
>Event Scale. There are several reasons why public has not confidence, I'll
>write two concerning this subject:
>a) Regulatory Authority in many situations tries to minimize the situation;
>b) Spokesperson also in many situations explains by means of abstract
words.
>
>Lamentable that there is not an International Radiological
>Event Scale. Last year I did such proposal to IAEA. This takes time and
>IAEA's priority.
>
>Jose Julio Rozental
>joseroze@netvision.net.il
>Israel
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Cristian S. Nicolau <cnicolau@NBNET.NB.CA>
>To: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
>Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 11:38 PM
>Subject: Incident/Accident
>
>
>Some years ago, in Romania we had those two terms very well defined:
>Accident=event which affects the persons of the public
>Incident=event which does not affect the public
>I do not know if the new law is using the same terminology but this is a
>good way of using the two words, when describing radiological events. I
>always assumed this was coming from the IAEA recommendations.
>
>Regards,
>Cristian S. Nicolau
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>----- Original Message -----
>From: Cristian S. Nicolau <cnicolau@NBNET.NB.CA>
>To: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
>Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 11:38 PM
>Subject: Incident/Accident
>
>
>Some years ago, in Romania we had those two terms very well defined:
>Accident=event which affects the persons of the public
>Incident=event which does not affect the public
>I do not know if the new law is using the same terminology but this is a
>good way of using the two words, when describing radiological events. I
>always assumed this was coming from the IAEA recommendations.
>
>Regards,
>Cristian S. Nicolau
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>
>
>
>
>
>
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