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Nuclear safety and security
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<p>Nuclear safety is defined by the <a href="/facts/International_Atomic_Energy_Agency/o84JrwQ7">International Atomic Energy Agency</a> (IAEA) as "The achievement of proper operating conditions, prevention of accidents or mitigation of accident consequences, resulting in protection of workers, the public and the environment from undue <a href="/facts/Ionizing_radiation/vw0d9GaT">radiation hazards</a>". The IAEA defines nuclear security as "The prevention and detection of and response to, theft, sabotage, unauthorized access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving <a href="/facts/Nuclear_material/K4FIY8KE">nuclear materials</a>, other radioactive substances or their associated facilities". </p><p>This covers <a href="/facts/Nuclear_power_plant/IJj5pJUn">nuclear power plants</a> and all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power, industry, and military uses. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Nuclear_power/jzSyvxSn">nuclear power industry</a> has improved the safety and performance of <a href="/facts/Nuclear_reactor/8xqjIbge">reactors</a>, and has proposed new and safer reactor designs. However, a perfect safety cannot be guaranteed. Potential sources of problems include human errors and external events that have a greater impact than anticipated: the designers of reactors at <a href="/facts/Timeline_of_the_Fukushima_nuclear_accidents/AsH995H1">Fukushima</a> in Japan did not anticipate that a tsunami generated by an earthquake would disable the backup systems which were supposed to stabilize the reactor after the earthquake. Catastrophic scenarios involving <a href="/facts/Nuclear_terrorism/b1PUoPdB">terrorist attacks</a>, <a href="/facts/War/MPluTbJ0">war</a>, <a href="/facts/Vulnerability_of_nuclear_plants_to_attack/3VuM7gWr">insider sabotage</a>, and <a href="/facts/Cyberattack/6PSQzq7y">cyberattacks</a> are also conceivable. </p><p><a href="/facts/Nuclear_weapon/QVdBcMdm">Nuclear weapon</a> safety, as well as the safety of <a href="/facts/Military_science/up3hKbIj">military research</a> involving nuclear materials, is generally handled by agencies different from those that oversee civilian safety, for various reasons, including secrecy. There are ongoing concerns about <a href="/facts/Nuclear_terrorism/b1PUoPdB">terrorist groups</a> acquiring nuclear bomb-making material. </p>