Low Level Event and Near Miss Process for Nuclear Power Plants: Best Practices

The IAEA programme on the operational safety of nuclear power plants gives priority to the development and promotion of the proper use of IAEA safety standards through the provision of assistance to Member States in the application of safety standards, the performance of safety review missions and the conduct of training activities based on safety standards. A number of IAEA safety standards and nuclear safety publications discuss the processes that need to be put into place for the feedback and analysis of operating experience (OE) at nuclear power plants. These include: Fundamental Safety Principles (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SF-1), Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Commissioning and Operation (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSR-2/2), Application of the Management System for Facilities and Activities (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GS-G-3.1) and A System for the Feedback of Experience from Events in Nuclear Installations (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. NS-G-2.11). Additionally, several IAEA TECDOCs cover many aspects of the establishment, conduct and continuous improvement of an OE programme at nuclear power plants, including the consideration of low level events (LLEs) and near misses (NMs). Although these IAEA safety standards and nuclear safety publications have been in existence for several years, 70 per cent of the IAEA Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) missions carried out at nuclear power plants between 2006 and 2010 identified weaknesses in the reporting and analysis process for LLEs and NMs. In fact, this has been one of the recurring issues most often identified in the area of OE during these missions. These weaknesses have been further confirmed by most of the IAEA Peer Review of the Operational Safety Performance Experience (PROSPER) missions that have been conducted to date. Finally, the IAEA International Nuclear Safety Group, in their report entitled Improving the International System for Operating Experience Feedback (INSAG-23), also determined that learning opportunities from LLEs and NMs are not fully realized. IAEA Member States have called for guidance on practices for the reporting and analysis of LLEs and NMs. The current publication has been developed to provide insights into leading practices for managers seeking to develop a new - or to improve an existing - LLE and NM process, with the goal of improving safety, production and cost performance.