The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1

The purpose of this report is to update findings of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group's Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident (INSAG-1), published in September 1986, in the light of further information that has been revealed since that meeting. INSAG stands by the general conclusions of INSAG-1 about the accident's causes and their implications for the safety of the Chernobyl type light water cooled graphite moderated RBMK reactors. However, the new information, which derives from studies made in the then USSR on the physical origins of the accident, has led INSAG to shift the emphasis of its conclusions from the actions of the operating staff to faulty design of the reactor's control rods and safety systems. Deficiencies in the regulation and management of safety matters throughout the Soviet nuclear power industry have also been revealed and are discussed. Two detailed Soviet reports on the causes and circumstances of the Chernobyl accident, translated into English by the IAEA, and a statement of measures that have been taken to enhance the safety of RBMK reactors are included.