New REactor Designs
With the developing technology and new reactor designs -- such as the High-Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) described on the previous page -- safety has been naturally increased in the nuclear industry. The HTGR is able to automatically shut itself down according to a detection that something is incorrect within the system such as the temperature exceeding a certain limit that was established by those who built the reactor. In continuation, this specific nuclear reactor is designed to take "taking days to reach maximum temperatures (still well below temperatures that could cause fuel degradation), even if normal cooling systems are not functional" ("The High" 2). There are many other safety features implemented in this particular nuclear reactor in addition to the ones described above. Also, there are many other safety features implemented into other nuclear reactor designs other than the HTGR. Some of these features are described to be "passive safety features" as described by Jerry Johnstone (Johnstone 1564).
Passive Safety Features
The general construction of nuclear reactors have also been changed to increase safety to prevent a meltdown. Johnstone wrote in his work that new reactor designs contain “passive” preventative measures meaning that they do not require a worker to manually control the this aspect of the nuclear reactor, decreasing the potential for human or mechanical error. Such measures may utilize “gravity, natural convection, or resistance to high temperatures” (Johnstone 1552). With the implementation of such "passive safety features," nuclear reactors are able to partially shut off completely without any human intervention. This allows a greater safety level if cooling features were to fail or if there was a power outage. Many of the traditional Boiling Water Reactors and Pressurized Water Reactors require water to be pumped through the nuclear core, but this proposes the problem if these pumps were to malfunction. With these new passive safety features, nuclear reactors are able to bypass this potential problem in order to ensure the safety of the workers and the structural integrity of the shell that contains the radioactive material within the reactor. Lastly, Jerry Johnstone wrote in one of his works that one of the largest fears that people have who live near a nuclear reactor is the concern of a nuclear meltdown similar in magnitude to Chernobyl. However, the advancing nuclear technology contains new aspects “will make meltdowns and other catastrophes virtually impossible” (Johnstone 1553).