NRC perspectives and plans on accident management

Accident management is a key element in the Commission's overall plan for closure of severe accident issues for operating nuclear power plants. Accident management, which includes both preventive and mitigative elements, is viewed as an important means of possibly achieving a substantial reduction in risk from severe accidents and in a very cost-beneficial way. This paper discusses the NRC staff's approach to ensure the development and implementation of accident management programs by all licensees, the authors' present thoughts on the scope and attributes of an effective accident management program, and briefly summarizes short-term and long-term research related efforts in support of accident management