• DOI:10.1063/PT.4.0509
Corpus ID: 126728258

An objective nuclear accident magnitude scale for quantification of severe and catastrophic events

@article{Smythe2011AnON,
  title={An objective nuclear accident magnitude scale for quantification of severe and catastrophic events},
  author={D. Smythe},
  journal={Physics Today},
  year={2011}
}

D. Smythe

Published 2011

Environmental Science

Physics Today

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Deficiencies in the existing International Nuclear Event Scale (INES)[1] have become clear in the light of comparisons between the 1986 Chernobyl and 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accidents.[2–4] First, the scale is essentially a discrete qualitative ranking, not defined beyond event level 7. Second, it was designed as a public relations tool, not an objective scientific scale. Third, its most serious shortcoming is that it conflates magnitude with intensity.