General safety considerations

The proposed policy statement focuses on one matter of special public concern at the present time: nuclear power-plant accidents that may release radioactive materials from the reactor to the environment. Except as noted in the following sentence, it is our intent that nuclear power-plant accident risks from various initiating mechanisms be taken into account to the best of the capability of current evaluation techniques, even where uncertainties (as with earthquakes) may be substantial. The safety goal does not include risks from routine emissions, from the nuclear fuel cycle, from sabotage, or from diversion of nuclear material. The objective of the present proposed policy statement is to develop goals for limiting to an acceptable level the additional potential radiological risk that might be imposed on the public as a result of accidents at nuclear power plants