Status and Perspective of China’s Nuclear Safety Philosophy and Requirements in the Post-Fukushima Era

The significant impact brought by a severe nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Japan in March 2011 has made global regulators to review the requirements against severe accidents. In China, comprehensive safety inspection and external hazard safety margin assessment on NPPs were carried out, regulatory requirements on improvement measures for NPPs based on the inspection were given, the nuclear safety 5-year plan was made and executed, and the safety requirements on the new NPP design were drafted. The Nuclear Safety Law came into effect in 2018. The “Code on the Safety of Nuclear Power Plant Design” (HAF102) was revised in 2016, and relevant safety guides were developed. In this article, improvement actions and requirements about NPP safety in China over the past 10 years were reviewed, and the nuclear safety philosophy and requirements including practical elimination, classification of accident conditions, and defense in depth portable equipment were elaborated. In summary, some suggestions of NPP safety in China in the future were provided.

Best practices in the field of specific risk evaluation of pyrotechnic entertainment articles subject to legal and illegal market surveillance

The field of pyrotechnic articles is very popular and developed, and as a result, the influx of pyrotechnic articles on the market is abundant. However, it should be noted that in addition to compliant products, which meet the applicable essential safety requirements covered by Directive no. 2013/29 / EU, there are also products on the market that can present a significant level of danger when used, handled, transported or stored. Market surveillance authorities frequently find non-compliant products such as pyrotechnic articles offered to the public, some on the legal market, others traded illegally. The establishment of presumptive risks related to pyrotechnic articles can be achieved by applying documented and accredited procedures at national and European level by specialized laboratories, one of these being found within INSEMEX. Technical-scientific expertise activity aims to verify the level of security for products considered suspicious. We have an international collaboration with European authorities, and at the national level, requests for products such as pyrotechnic articles are sent for expertise by the police, the prosecutor’s office or the courts. It was found that most products considered “suspicious” had serious deficiencies that could lead to major risks, and those traded illegally lead to considerable economic losses.

Occupational risk management of equipment intended for charging electric vehicles

Implementing the objectives set at the European and national level to minimize dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate the impact of transport on the environment by introducing fiscal facilities has led to an increase in the market for electric vehicles. This increase requires the development and expansion of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The transition from the supply of classic fuel vehicles to the electric ones led to the elimination of some risks and the appearance of new risks for the charging stations’ maintenance staff and the users. The study presents research on the identification of technical and safety requirements specific to a category of work equipment used to charge electric vehicles - charging stations. The technical and safety requirements applicable to electric vehicle charging stations have the role of providing the criteria underlying the management of the necessary risk management of both manufacturers and users and entities that ensure the maintenance of this equipment to adopt highly technical solutions.

Construction and safety aspects for the arrangement of mobile explosive deposits

The execution of the blasting works involves the management of the problem of storage of explosive materials. This aspect is easier to solve in the case of mines activities with long exploitation time and where storage capacities are arranged, according to the legislation that provides constructive and safety criteria depending on the type and quantity of explosive materials stored. In the case of isolated blasting works, those for road construction, building demolition, underwater or forestry, etc., storage facilities must be arranged for shorter periods of time and smaller capacity, but which must comply with security, environmental and risk requirements, such as high-capacity deposits with long duration of activity. Considering that for the execution of such blasting works, the national legislation provides the possibility of arranging temporary explosive depots, of small capacity, but without specifying the constructive details and the necessary safety requirements to be observed, mentioning only that they must be executed on the basis of a specialized project. This paper presents a series of tests conducted by INSEMEX, in order to establish recommendations regarding the constructive and safety requirements that must be observed when designing and building mobile explosive depots.

Method versatility in RNA extraction-free PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva samples

Early in the pandemic, a simple, open-source, RNA extraction-free RT-qPCR protocol for SARS-CoV-2 detection in saliva was developed and made widely available. This simplified approach (SalivaDirect) requires only sample treatment with proteinase K prior to PCR testing. However, feedback from clinical laboratories highlighted a need for a flexible workflow that can be seamlessly integrated into their current health and safety requirements for the receiving and handling of potentially infectious samples. To address these varying needs, we explored additional pre-PCR workflows. We built upon the original SalivaDirect workflow to include an initial incubation step (95°C for 30 minutes, 95°C for 5 minutes or 65°C for 15 minutes) with or without addition of proteinase K. The limit of detection for the workflows tested did not significantly differ from that of the original SalivaDirect workflow. When tested on de-identified saliva samples from confirmed COVID-19 individuals, these workflows also produced comparable virus detection and assay sensitivities, as determined by RT-qPCR analysis. Exclusion of proteinase K did not negatively affect the sensitivity of the assay. The addition of multiple heat pretreatment options to the SalivaDirect protocol increases the accessibility of this cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 test as it gives diagnostic laboratories the flexibility to implement the workflow which best suits their safety protocols.