Could an accident similar to what happened at Chernobyl happen at a Progress Energy nuclear plant?
The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, is the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power to cause fatalities from radiation. It was the product of a severely flawed Soviet-era reactor design and human error. Key differences in U.S. reactor design, regulation and emergency preparedness make it highly unlikely that a Chernobyl-type accident could occur in the United States. Among other differences, the Chernobyl plant did not have the massive containment structure common to most nuclear power plants elsewhere in the world. Without this protection, radioactive material escaped into the environment. New reactor designs, including the design Progress Energy has selected in the event it builds a new nuclear plant, have robust safety systems that would make the risk of a Chernobyl-type accident even more remote.
Related Questions
- Could an incident similar to what happened at Three Mile Island happen at a Progress Energy nuclear plant?
- What is the timetable from licensing to operation should Progress Energy decide to build a nuclear plant?
- Could an accident similar to what happened at Chernobyl happen at a Progress Energy nuclear plant?
