U.S. Nuclear Plants Get the Iraq Treatment By MATTHEW L. WALD

The International Atomic Energy Agency, perhaps best known to Americans for inspecting nuclear sites in Iraq, has spent the last two weeks in the United States. Rather than Tuwaitha, the notorious facility south of Baghdad, it has been passing time in Peach Bottom, Pa., and Lower Alloways Creek, N.J. And in general, it liked what it saw, said Jukka Laaksonen, director general of Finland’s nuclear safety authority and the head of the delegation.
The inspections in Iraq between the two wars that coalition forces fought there were intended to sniff out any illicit weapons activities. In the United States, the agency embarked on a “peer review” at the invitation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The delegation of 14 experts from around the world, three observers and three agency staff members was invited to size up how well the American authorities monitor civilian power plants, including plant operations, and how the agency communicates internally.
Mr. Laaksonen said he was particularly impressed that each American reactor had its own “probabilistic risk assessment,” an analytical tool meant to predict the sequence of errors or equipment failures that could lead to an accident and to pinpoint vulnerabilities. More at:
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/u-s-nuclear-plants-get-the-iraq-treatment/?partner=rss#preview