Safety assessment of fuel cycle facilities following the lessons learned from the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant

The feedback from the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant is crucial for defining and implementing measures for preventing accidents involving large releases of radioactive material at nuclear installations, including nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Following the lessons learned from this accident, assessment of the safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities is essential to evaluate the robustness of the facilities' protection systems and components against the impact of extreme external events. A methodology to perform this safety assessment is presented, with discussions on possible preventive measures to be applied and mitigatory actions to be taken for further improvement of the robustness of nuclear fuel cycle facilities when subjected to extreme external events. Considerations in the assessment of multi-facility sites and use of a graded approach, commensurate with the facility's potential hazard, in application of the safety assessment methodology are also discussed.