Agent-Centred Nuclear Safety Principles for Small Modular Reactors

Abstract Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are among the new designs that promise more compact nuclear power plants (NPPs) with scalable generation capacity and shorter construction time, while retaining emission-free electricity in exchange for small amounts of manageable radioactive waste per kWh of generated electricity. Their size and modular design contribute to the growing popularity of SMRs. However, these features also present risk scenarios that do not apply to large, conventional NPPs, such as when a buyer and SMR manufacturer are located in different nations with different regulations and standardisations. Such potential new scenarios require explicit ethical considerations. Unfortunately, such considerations are absent from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety principles, particularly for SMRs. Existing nuclear safety principles are too broad to keep up with potential new scenarios introduced by the novel features of SMRs. Meanwhile, existing approaches in nuclear energy ethics are focused on specific nuclear-related issues across reactors, such as radioactive waste management and nuclear fuel processing. Drawing on Hermansson and Hansson’s agent-centred ethical Risk Assessment (eRA), this paper aims to enhance the IAEA’s nuclear safety principles in order to clarify the distribution of responsibilities for nuclear actors, especially in SMR cases. We articulate what we call the agent-centred presupposition in eRA and apply it to nuclear safety principles using the case of SMRs. We then propose a critique of this approach and suggest further conceptual analysis, which could be suitable for considering SMRs or new reactor designs more generally.