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Re: Security at U.S. Nuclear Labs Called Unacceptable
Bill,
I agree, in terms, with your point on item 1 bellow
Instead, the usual response on Radsafe seems to be:
1. It's a media conspiracy.
I am really surprise with such emphasis expressed by many Radsafe
colleagues. In my point of view the majority of the media are not against
nuclear, however all of them always are in favor of news.
Now, I would like to make some comments about your topic "The Radsafe
response SHOULD be: What went wrong? What's the root cause? What's the
most appropriate corrective action?"
In this also I agree with your point of view, however going a little
further, I would like to add more questions in your topic, restricted only
to what, as you wrote, but also to include why and how. In fact the
attention should be to the 7 basic questions:
1) What are the pending safety performance or safety culture problems?
2) How important? (Significance to safety, reliability, etc)
3) Why did it happen? (fail) (Direct causes)
4) Why were they not prevented? (Root causes)
5) How to eliminate the safety performance or safety culture problems?
(Repairs)
6) How to prevent their recurrence? (Remedies)
7) What corrective actions should be implemented (Action Plan)
I had the opportunity to visit several times Sandia Nat. Lab. (as lecturer
of several Sandia and IAEA International training course on Physical
Protection of Nuclear Installations) by 1980, and I were impressed (at that
time). Included I have worked, as IAEA Consultant, with other 9 Consultant
from different counties, in the revision of the Draft reflecting an approach
of the US on "Design of Physical Protection of Nuclear Power Plants",
prepared by SNL. The revision was ready by May 1981, with particular
reference to Light Water Reactor Plants and restricted distribution to
Member States. At that time, really were extensively discussed reactor
vulnerabilities and the possible consequences of adversary success and the
System Performance Analysis. Really was impressive the SNL document.
Jose Julio Rozental
joseroze@netvision.net.il
Israel
----- Original Message -----
From: William V Lipton <liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM>
To: Gary Isenhower <garyi@BCM.TMC.EDU>
Cc: <sandyfl@EARTHLINK.NET>; <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>;
<powernet@hps1.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 8:08 PM
Subject: Re: Security at U.S. Nuclear Labs Called Unacceptable
The Radsafe response SHOULD be: What went wrong? What's the root cause?
What's the
most appropriate corrective action?
Instead, the usual response on Radsafe seems to be:
1. It's a media conspiracy.
2. A little radiation is probably good for you. (The only reason people
think it's
bad for you is a media conspiracy.)
3. [Fill in the blank] kills more people.
4. All of the above.
I'm beginning to think that we should change our name from "Radsafe" to
"Kneejerk."
We blame everyone and everything but ourselves.
The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
It's not about dose, it's about trust.
Curies forever.
Bill Lipton
liptonw@dteenergy.com
Gary Isenhower wrote:
> William V Lipton wrote:
> >
> > They are successful because the seem to take away our capacity for
critical
> > self-evaluation. We seem to have a circle the wagons, shoot the
messenger
> > attitude. We thus too often fail to find and correct our own problems
before our
> > critics find them for us.
>
> Respectfully, I think this is wrong and exactly the opposite of what
> usually happens. As radiation professionals, our capacity for critical
> self-evaluation is so hyperdeveloped that we faithfully stop doing
> usefull work and spend millions or billions in testing to show some
> wacko group that:
> no, spent fuel isn't teleporting across miles of barren desset and
> appearing in your hairspray, and
> no, those isotopes aren't evaporating thru the casket and we
aren't
> parking the trucks in your residential neighborhood, and
> no, none of the health physicists are aliens masqarading as
scientists
> in order to distribute deadly doses of 5 rad or so, thereby wiping out
> humanity and leaving the earth ripe for colonization (actually, this has
> not been conclusively studied - more funds are needed)
>
> In fact, we are the best friend Chicken Little ever had. We don't go
> dashing off in fear, but we do break out our best Falling-Sky
> particulate detectors to prove that the blue stuff isn't coming down
> anytime soon. Even so, 9 times out of 10 poor Chicken Little just
> doesn't believe us.
> _______________________________________________
>
> Gary Isenhower
> 713-798-8353
> garyi@bcm.tmc.edu
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