Nuclear Energy and Safety: International and National Isomorphic Pressures

Nuclear safety has often been an accident driven topic as the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters show. In addition to accidents, severe economic and environmental challenges related to the construction of new nuclear power units and management of ageing plants and new technology, not to mention decommissioning of existing older units keep nuclear energy and safety among the relevant topics. Furthermore, the recent upgrading of safety requirements at the national and international level and harmonization attempts of nuclear safety regulation by the Western European Nuclear Regulators’ Association, raise questions about the cultural features of nuclear safety regulation.   

The aim of the paper is to explore how nuclear safety (that is an important component of human and environmental health) has been dealt with in the international and national level in Finland and the UK after Fukushima and what kinds of factors constrain learning. The data consists of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Safety Standards, Western European Nuclear Regulators’ Association’s reports and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s reports,  the national final reports of the Stress tests of Finland and the UK, national nuclear energy act and safety guides.  The method of analysis is content analysis.

The conceptual frame draws on the isomorphic pressures, which refer to the phenomenon by which organisations become structurally or strategically homogeneous. Isomorphic pressures, stemming from national institutional patterns or professionalisation of certain sector may play a role in the nuclear sector, since they affect the what, how and who of safety-related action. Isomorphism is important to the extent that it may strengthen and spread effective understandings of, and approaches to, safety, but it may also engender inability to detect specific needs and requirements or it may lead to contrasting understandings and approaches among bodies involved in nuclear safety that are exposed to different isomorphic pressures.