Emergency Response Capabilities-Past and Present

This paper focusses on emergency response capabilities at nuclear plants with the TMI-2 accident in perspective. The major thesis is that accident prevention by plant operators is the keystone, and the development of the Safety Parameter Display Systems (SPDS) is an essential operator´s aid for thinking-through, and formulating strategies for preventing serious accidents from occuring. Human limits for processing information under stress is matched to the SPDS capability for displaying key plant safety variables in a concise, readily understandable manner. The industry response and general experience with the SPDS is reviewed. It is suggested that the SPDS, together with the development of intelligent routines, will play a major role in future improvements in emergency response capability.