A Nuclear Safety in 21 Century

In the paper some topics of nuclear safety are discussed, namely - current situation in the world energetics and a potential of nuclear energy for sustainable development of the world, - Nuclear Safety Standards and modern trends in Safety Regulation, - Radiation Protection Standards are rather conservative, are based on disputable approaches and have to be more pragmatic, - necessity to overcome the syndromes of awful consequences of nuclear accidents at nuclear plants, - residual risks of nuclear accidents have to be covered by clear compulsory insurance actions. It is shown, that now it is worthwhile to consider efficiency of existing methods of nuclear safety regulation. It is possible, that an idea of guaranteed safety [1] could become a new approach to nuclear safety. It is based on practically total elimination of severe accidents and insurance of residual risks of nuclear accidents. The realization of such idea necessitates the consideration of all spectrum of initiating events, human errors and man-made actions, more realistically predicting consequences of accidents and the probable economical detriments. It will be a benefit for gaining public support to nuclear power. 1. CURRENT SITUATION IN THE WORLD ENERGETICS In the 21 century the mankind faces with the whole package of complex sociopolitical, economic and environmental problems. The basic problems are created by expected rapid growth of the population and of energy demands. Others are connected with environmental contamination by products of the industrial activity, close exhausting of cheap power resources, threats of significant climatic changes, the further stratification of the population of the Earth in the poor and the rich. Last circumstance causes anxiety in the countries, fraught with serious social conflicts. The restless public atmosphere, growth of natural and technogenic accidents as a result of fast and non-uniform industrial development of regions complicate a search for ways of sustainable progress of a society. The majority of nuclear scientists believe, that the solution of power problems of the world and sustainable development of mankind are possible only on ways of the further extension of nuclear energy uses. It is understandable that in XXI century the nuclear energy will play the important role.