Nuclear safety and radioprotection. General considerations

Since the beginning of the development of nuclear energy for power generation purpose, the possibility of accident occurrence has been taken into consideration and some particular dispositions have been adopted to confine radioactivity inside the nuclear plant and to control and limit its effects on the surrounding population. These are the objectives of the nuclear safety and of the radioprotection. This article is an introduction to a series of articles which will detail the different nuclear safety and radioprotection related topics: organization of public and regulatory authorities, safety principles and practices, lessons learnt from the history, evolutions considered in the design of future reactors, transportation of nuclear materials, management of radioactive wastes, organization during accidental situation, radioprotection and radioecology. (J.S.)