Managing new technology projects: Some considerations on risk assessment in the case of NPP critical infrastructures

The recent devastating accident at Fukushima nuclear facilities brought into experts´ attention new elements related to the issue of increased safety of the critical infrastructures. The aim of this paper is to approach the NPP (nuclear power plant) critical infrastructures, their lifecycle, risk analysis and management in terms of projects, project lifecycle, and project risk analysis and management. Based on the similarity identified between the NPP lifecycle and project lifecycle, it is suggested that project management principles may be applied in case of NPP projects - in addition to all specific methods for safety and risk analysis that were developed for NPPs. The managers of the NPP critical infrastructure projects must consider several risk dimensions - in addition to the nuclear safety-related risk. This paper underlines the importance of considering the cause-effect relationships between external/risk factors themselves.