Nuclear safetyMaintaining Nuclear Safety and Security During the COVID-19 Crisis
Every major industry on earth is struggling to adapt in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes nuclear facilities and nuclear-powered vessels, which count among the critical infrastructure of dozens of nations now struggling with the pandemic, representing more than half the world’s population. Meanwhile, ISIS has already announced its intent to exploit the pandemic while a number of other violent extremist organizations are also taking pains to exploit the crisis. Without implementing extraordinary measures to maintain safety and security, nuclear installations risk compounding the crisis with a large-scale radiation release.
Every major industry on earth is struggling to adapt in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes nuclear facilities and nuclear-powered vessels, which count among the critical infrastructure of dozens of nations now struggling with the pandemic, representing more than half the world’s population. Meanwhile, ISIS has already announced its intent to exploit the pandemic while a number of other violent extremist organizations are also taking pains to exploit the crisis. Without implementing extraordinary measures to maintain safety and security, nuclear installations risk compounding the crisis with a large-scale radiation release.
How are nuclear organizations coping with the COVID-19 crisis and what strategies seem to be among the best practices to ensure the safety and security of their operations? Responses have varied around the world, and we are still in the early days of the crisis, but already some lessons may be inferred. Moreover, nuclear power plants are only one realm of nuclear activity, which also includes fuel and waste production and disposal, as well as weapons establishments.
The possibility that a pandemic might threaten the continuity of nuclear power operations is long known. Based on his industry experience, Roger Howsley, executive director of the World Institute for Nuclear Security, observes that “[E]pidemics are usually covered in emergency planning arrangements, but probably nothing on this scale.” Indeed, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) held a workshop on “Sustaining Safe Nuclear Operations in an Influenza Pandemic” in April 2006, which apparently prompted the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) to submit a draft pandemic contingency plan. (Unfortunately, according to Edwin Lyman, “Although the NRC and NEI continued to discuss these issues more than a decade ago, there they had disagreements that were never resolved.”). Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, also maintains that it, “always had contingency plans for any kind of emergency situations, including those related to the health of our employees.” Rosatom did not disclose details of this plan, but, judging by its recent actions, the plan could include regular health check-ups of nuclear power plant (NPP) personnel, arranging for as many employees as possible to work remotely and consistently disinfecting facilities.
