MSc Nuclear Science and Technology / Course details

This unit describes the statutory framework that regulates the nuclear industry and the overriding requirement to demonstrate, through an adequate and appropriate nuclear safety case, that all hazards associated with operations are effectively managed and controlled. It examines the fundamental building blocks of a modern standards safety case and the supporting processes and methodologies used in developing them.

The unit aims to:

Provide the generic core knowledge and understanding of what constitutes a modern standards nuclear safety case, in the context of a whole plant life cycle, i.e. from design though to decommissioning.

ILO 1: Describe, and explain the reasons for, the Statutory Requirement for a nuclear safety case and associated nuclear regulation. yes yes

ILO 2: Describe the Nuclear Safety Case life-cycle and the rationale for such an approach with regard to the concept of ALARP. yes yes

ILO 3: Explain how a Nuclear Safety Case is constructed. yes yes

ILO 4: Employ techniques to identify hazards and assess risks and undertake a functional approach to nuclear safety case development. yes yes

ILO 5: Formulate a deterministic safety justification for a nuclear facility backed up by a short probabilistic safety assessment.

Intellectual skills

1 Use the information acquired from the taught course, or the significant material within the Canvas version of the course (which makes up the Distance Learning version of N07) to undertake nuclear safety assessments and practise skills required to undertake such assessments.

2 Work in groups undertaking directed tutorials to produce key elements of a preliminary nuclear safety case. This forms the basis for understanding the assignment, where similar tasks are performed, but in more detail and in more depth.

3 Undertake a deterministic safety justification (DSJ) backed-up by a probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for a nuclear facility.

4 Use ALARP considerations to help decide whether or not to make safety improvements to a nuclear installation.

5 Make justified assumptions to simplify the analysis of complex nuclear safety issues.

Practical skills

1 Prepare a nuclear safety case using data provided for a hypothetical installation.

2 Use the World Wide Web (WWW) as an up-to-date resource for current

government policy, and safety case methodology (specifically ONR TAGs and the

ONR SAPs).

Transferable skills and personal qualities

1 Work in groups to solve selected problems (taught course only)

2 Use knowledge from the taught component and other sources to produce a

coherent and logical, and modern standards nuclear safety case employing data

provided.

3 Obtain the latest information and statistics from the WWW and other sources to

formulate and consolidate arguments.

4 Utilisation of on-line lectures within the Canvas version of the course: course material (notes, tutorials, and presentations) and interactions with lecturers via the Canvas discussion board and Canvas interactive video facility (Collaborative Ultra) to achieve an understanding of the material and requirements of the assessment.

Post-unit assessment – Prepare key parts of a Safety Report for a model nuclear installation. Weighting 100%. Feedback provided on Canvas following assignment submission and marking by written text (comprising a page or so), and marks, itemised against the marking scheme.

Four tasks: 
Task 1: Describe the requirements for and the purpose,  content and key outputs of the safety case for a nuclear facility; 
Task 2: Perform a Deterministic Safety Assessment; 
Task 3: Perform a simple Probabilistic Safety Assessment; and Task 4: Perform an ALARP assessment.

Assignment will be written and will be based on the subject matter of the unit.

Specific Pre-Course reading detailing information on each section of the course with www links (mostly ONR) and the technical and procedural elements of the facility which forms the basis of the 6 tutorials within the course and the post-course assignment.  Reading list from other www sources.  ONR SAPs, and ONR TAGs specifically the Scope and Content of a Nuclear Safety Case and the ALARP TAG.