Suchergebnisse

This paper surveys trends and conclusions in federally sponsored studies of nuclear reactor safety and their implications for nuclear regulation. The paper finds that recent studies do not rule out the possibility of light water reactor accidents equal to or even larger in size than the 1986 Chernobyl accident. The probability of such an event–involving both core melt and prompt containment failure–is quite small, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) estimated probability of core melt is significantly higher. The paper reviews the NRC's use of these findings through a probabilistic cost‐benefit framework, and it concludes that a greater and focused NRC commitment to risk reduction is justified.

The transfer of tactical aviation technology into automobiles is creating information display requirements that are likely to be met by use of the head-up display (HUD). These developments are based largely on conclusions that the HUD-related safety issues raised in the aviation HUD literature can be dismissed and that the benefits of using HUDs are certain. Such conclusions either neglect relevant research or are supported by a very small amount of evidence, much of which is either irrelevant or generated within a flawed methodological paradigm. This critical review covers the issues of (a) HUD focal distance and its effect on the perception of outside objects and (b) the effects of HUD imagery on visual attention. The issues of focal distance, cognitive capture, and the inherent connection between the two may have a greater impact on safety in the automotive context than they do in aviation.

The regulatory activity of government is now pervasive, acting like a tax and pushing up costs. Public choice analysis shows that producer and other groups try to capture regulatory control to minimise its impact. Deregulatory trends in the US have been accompanied by the growth of environmental and health and safety regulation both in the US and in the UK and Europe.