Human factors, human reliability and risk assessment in license renewal of a nuclear power plant

This paper describes human factors and human reliability assessments carried out as a part of operating license renewal of a nuclear power plant. The structure and contents of human factors assessments, the source material and the role of probabilistic safety assessment are described. Similar evaluations are recommended as an integral part of periodic safety reviews of regulated industrial facilities. The qualitative part of the human factors review is structured according to an international guide. The assessments are here enhanced with operating experience evaluations, measured by quantitative statistical data obtained from inspections and assessments made by plant safety and quality assurance personnel, by regulatory authorities and by peer reviews. The quantitative assessment is based on the roles and contributions of human errors in the accident risk of the target plant. The assessment uses importance measures quantified in probabilistic risk assessment. The scope and the quality of the risk assessment and the scope and the quality of human reliability assessments are also taken into account. Furthermore, the assessment describes how risk assessment can be used to reduce errors and improve human factors. The results tend to be very plant-specific, and the errors have very different importances in different operating states and for different initiating event categories. The results are useful for planning preventive actions, i.e. for preventing errors by developing and prioritizing human factors improvement activities. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.