RICKOVER, EXCELLENCE, AND CRITICALITY SAFETY PROGRAMS

In a 1983 analysis of the accident at Three Mile Island, Admiral Hyman Rickover, father of the nuclear navy, laid our seven criteria for com petence in managing nuclear programs: (1) a rising standard of adequac y, (2) technical self-sufficiency, (3) ability to face facts, (4) resp ect for radiation, (5) recognition of the importance of training, (6) a concept of total responsibility, and (7) the capacity to learn from experience. These principles remain valid and relevant for today's nuc lear industry in general and are applied here to criticality safety pr ograms in particular.