Risk Estimation of a Typical Uranium Metal Production Plant

Risk quantification requires estimation of accident frequency and associated consequences. HAZOP analysis is carried out to identify various hazards associated with the plant operation. The principal hazards associated with handling and storage of uranium compounds and different chemicals in solid, solution and vapour forms are radioactivity, chemical and industrial hazard and fire hazard. Probabilistic safety assessment is carried out for quantification of accident occurrence frequency. Starting from the identification of initiating events, event progression is modelled to determine the accident scenarios that may lead to undesirable state in the plant using event tree approach. Fault tree approach is used to model safety systems employed for mitigation of accident scenarios and estimation of failure probability on demand. Human error probability for various human actions involved for accident mitigation is determined using IAEA guidelines. This paper discusses the hazards associated, event progressions, accident frequency and risk estimation of the plant. Insights obtained from the study are also discussed in the paper.