Reactor Accidents: Nuclear Safety and the Role of Institutional Failure

In this book seven of the most significant accidents in the history of nuclear power are examined in detail, identifying root causes and looking for common features. In the cases analysed it is shown that the root causes of these accidents were not design flaws or the mistakes of individual operators, however much these may have affected the accident sequence. The root causes were rather deep-seated failings in the institutions involved in the operation of the nuclear plant - failings which allowed the adoption of flawed designs, the provision of inadequate operator support and guidance and a dangerous overconfidence in the technology.