Thoughts and Some Evidence on Nuclear Power Plants

For some reason the average person resists the idea of nuclear power in the US. When hurricanes or other disasters cause power outages in the SE United States, electrical linemen from areas unharmed by storms converge on the afflicted area to help restore power.
Unfortunately, a disaster hitting a nuclear power station is different. All power stations were built through a “low bidder” contracting system. This means not all plants are alike in design, construction, or safety standards.

In fact, when thorough job analyses were performed at the Salt River project in Arizona, more than 2500 different jobs were identified. At a different plant, using different construction methods and a different reactor design, another job analysis found great differences in the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to operate the plant.

In other words, THERE WAS NO REQUIRED STANDARDIZATION BETWEEN NUCLEAR SITES!

In France, all nuclear power standards are set by the state. This means that emergency personnel need only the same training throughout the country to maintain the plants.
In America, separate training for all jobs is required when a different power plant design is used. The waste in money is appalling, but in the event of a disaster, only those personnel trained on a specific type of nuclear power plant are useful.
Dr LG Gamble