Design and safety of the Sizewell pressurized water reactor

The Central Electricity Generating Board propose to build a pressurized water reactor at Sizewell in Suffolk. The PWR Task Force was set up in June 1981 to provide a communications centre for developing firm design proposals for this reactor. These were to follow the Standardized Nuclear Unit Power Plant System designed by Bechtel for the Westinghouse nuclear steam supply system for reactors built in the United States. Changes were required to the design to accommodate, for example, the use of two turbine generators and to satisfy British safety requirements. Differences exist between the British and American licensing procedures. In the UK the statutory responsibility for the safety of a nuclear power station rests unambiguously with the Generating Boards. In the U.S.A. the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues detailed written instructions, which must be followed precisely. Much of the debate on the safety of nuclear power focuses on the risks of big nuclear accidents. It is necessary to explain to the public what, in a balanced perspective, the risks of accidents actually are. The long-term consequences can be presented in terms of reduction in life expectancy, increased chance of cancer or the equivalent pattern of compulsory cigarette smoking. (author)