Nuclear safety and radiation protection - General

The discovery of radioactivity at the end of the 19th century quickly led to numerous applications, mainly in medicine. It soon became clear that using radioactivity without precautions could have harmful effects on health: immediate and systematic effects for large doses, non-systematic long-term effects for smaller doses. This realization led, in the 1920s, to the establishment of the first rules for protection against the effects of radiation: the beginning of what is now known as radiation protection.

The problem took on a new dimension with the military, and later industrial, use of nuclear energy. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs alerted public opinion in all countries to the scale of the destructive effects of nuclear devices and their short- and long-term consequences for populations.

The development of nuclear power for electricity generation took place in a context where it was very important to ensure that risks were well controlled. From the outset, the possibility of accidents was taken into account, and special provisions were adopted to deal with them. Gradually, the need for a specific discipline emerged: plant safety. This discipline is integrated by designers and operators into the design and operation of facilities. State organizations also have the legal and technical competence to ensure the safety of nuclear activities.

The main risk posed by nuclear facilities is related to the radioactive materials present in the plant. Even in the event of an accident, these materials must be prevented from leaving the facility in significant quantities, polluting the environment for a long time and irradiating the local population. Hence the importance of the devices and methods used to keep radioactivity "locked up" or, in common technical terms, to confine it.

Safety, to ensure proper containment of radioactivity, and radiation protection, to control and limit its effects, are normally associated under this heading, although the techniques used in these two fields are often very different. The following articles detail the various aspects.