The Nuclear Industry has always been one of the worst industries for using acronyms. Here are just some of the most useful Nuclear Acronyms to know if you are planning on being involved in the HPC (Hinkley Point C!) Project:
ALARP As Low As Reasonably Practicable: ALARP is the process by which radiological impacts to workers and the public are kept as low as reasonably practicable (social and economic factors are taken into consideration): ALARP is unique to the UK context. Ensuring that risks are ALARP is a fundamental requirement of UK health and safety legislation.
C&I Control and Instrumentation / Instrumentation and Control: Nuclear Power Plant C&I comprises or contributes to some of all of the following; automatic control of plant, alarms and indications, visualisation of plant parameters, facilities to allow manual plant control, automatic protection systems, engineered safety features.
CWS Cooling Water System: Once-through sea water cooling water systems being adopted for UK sites and commonly used in coastally-sited Nuclear Power Plants
Dose Measurement characterises the exposure of individuals subjected to radiation. The term dose is often mistakenly used instead of dose equivalent.
(a) Absorbed dose: quantity of energy absorbed by matter (living or inert) exposed to radiation. It is expressed in Grays (Gy).
(b) Dose equivalent: in living organisms, an absorbed dose has different effect depending on the type of radiation (alpha, beta and gamma). To take these differences into account, a dose-multiplying factor is used to produce a “dose equivalent”.
(c) Effective dose: sum of weighted dose equivalents deposited on various tissues and organs by internal and external irradiation. The unit of measurement for effective dose is the Sievert (Sv).
(d) Lethal dose: fatal dose of nuclear or chemical origin.
(e) Maximum permissible dose: dose that must not be exceeded for a given period of time.
FEED Front End Engineering Design: is the process by which early design and planning of a project is undertaken.
INES International Nuclear Event Scale: A scale from 1 to 7 introduced by the International Atomic Energy Agency (part of the UN) in 1990 to assess and classify the impact(s) of nuclear accidents, where 1 is an anomaly and 7 is a major accident.
NPP Nuclear Power Plant
NSSS Nuclear steam supply system: That part of an NPP which incorporates the nuclear heat source, the heat transport system and other systems directly connected to the NSSS. Usually referred to as “N-triple S”.
ONR The Office for Nuclear Regulation is responsible for all nuclear sector regulation across the UK.
PWR Pressurised Water Reactor: A reactor whose primary coolant is maintained under such a pressure that no bulk boiling occurs. The reactor uses light water as a moderator and as a coolant. In the UK, Sizewell B is one such reactor operated by EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Limited (formally British Energy).
RCA Radiation Control Area or RCA Reactor Controlled Area
RCC-E Design Rules for Electrical Equipment in the Nuclear Island: French electrical design guide published by Afcen (French Association for Design, Construction and In-Service Inspection Rules for Nuclear Island Components).
SQEP Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person(nel). Those assessed as being competent for their role.
WANO World Association of Nuclear Operators: Formed after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. WANO was formed in May 1989 by nuclear operators world-wide uniting to exchange operating experience in a culture of openness, so members can work together to achieve the highest possible standards of nuclear safety.
Need help with other Nuclear Acronyms?
For more detail on these or any other Nuclear Acronyms, a very useful resource created by Burgess Salmon – a full Glossary of Nuclear terms can be found here.
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