Nuclear power a leader in safety

Monday, 17 January 2011

American oil and gas companies should bring in a self-regulation regime akin to that in nuclear power if they are to prevent safety lapses like the Deepwater Horizon blowout, said a Presidential report. 

 

Drilling for oil in deep water carries inherent risks that need to be managed properly by government through regulation and by operators through proper practices and safety culture. Both of these need to be seriously strengthened and supplemented by a peer-led safety organisation for the oil and gas industry, said last week's Presidential report, Deep Water, The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling.

 

Dispersant is sprayed on surface oil in the days after the Deepwater Horizon accident (Image: US Coast Guard / Stephen Lehmann)

 

While some oil companies, notably Exxon and Shell, have transformed their own safety culture after serious accidents, the American industry as a whole lags behind international safety standards and has not properly managed risk or been prepared for containment and response. The report to President Barack Obama lists several potentially dangerous industries that have transformed levels of safety through peer organisations, including the chemical and aviation industries as well as the nuclear navy and nuclear power. Public and government acceptance based on strong safety record is an essential component of the business model of each.

 

But it is the nuclear power example that is expanded at length as a lesson for oil. Central to this is the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), set up after a similar investigation into the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 to share operating experience and safety knowledge among US nuclear companies.

 

INPO was supplemented by an international version - the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) - after the 1986 Chernobyl accident, and together the sister organisations have played a major part in today's safe and efficient use of nuclear energy.

 

"During the past 30 years, the nuclear   industry has improved plant efficiency,   significantly reduced the number of   automatic emergency reactor shutdowns per   year, and reduced collective radiation   accident rates by a factor of six compared to   the 1980s. The industry has achieved these   milestones, in part, through INPO's role in   promoting a strong nuclear safety culture   and presenting performance objectives and   criteria to help the industry strive for and   surpass safety goals."       Deep Water, The Gulf Oil Disaster    and the Future of Offshore Drilling

 

Describing the direct similarities between nuclear and oil operators, with respect to a potential INPO for oil, the report noted: "INPO was formed because doing so was in industry's self-interest. As the Deepwater Horizon disaster made unambiguously clear, the entire industry's reputation, and perhaps its viability, ultimately turn on its lowest-performing members."

 

A second parallel is the industry's absolute reliance on government permission to operate, while third is the fact that a government body could never rival private industry for depth of expertise and operational knowledge. In that respect strong fundamental government regulation is supplemented by in-depth self-policing.

 

There remain, however, differences that would complicate the transferral of the INPO model. Nuclear power reactors operate on only 66 sites in the USA under the ownership of only 26 utilities, but the oil industry counts many more projects and players than this. In addition, there is far greater variation of technology and opertating environment than the equivalents in the nuclear industry - and this raises executive concerns about the security of proprietary techniques.

 

Nevertheless the report concludes that, "the basic, successful principles upon which the INPO model is premised can serve as the touchstones for the oil and gas industry in establishing its own."
 
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News