identified for the seven technologies considered. Catastrophic events (i.e., events of low occurrence probability, but high impact per event) are included in the unquantified category because of the inherent difficulty in predicting occurrence rate and impact level. Furthermore, averaging expected catastrophic impacts over plant lifetime does not indicate the full significance of these potential events. Table 1 does not attempt to rank the unquantified issues, although, for example, potential radiation release from fission is expected to be greater than that from fusion. A further perspective on the significance of relative technology risks is provided by Fig. 4, which indicates the range of annual occupational risks for 2000-2020 scenarios of energy production with and without the SPS system. A nearly constant total electrical energy capacity is assumed in this period for the scenarios (Table 2). Because of high construction and manufacture and low operation and maintenance impacts, the SPS scenario has higher initial, but lower final occupational health and safety risks, as compared to the scenario without SPS. The quantified public risks, in particular those from coal, would favor the SPS scenario with reduced conventional generation. However, the unquantified risks to the public in Table 1 restrict the delineation of definitive conclusions related to total scenario risks. References 1. Samsa, M., Cost and Performance Review, SPS Program Review, Lincoln, NB, April 22-25, 1980. 2. An Assessment of National Consequences of Increased Coal Utilization, TID-29425, Feb. 1979. Table 1. Potentially Major Unquantified Issues Identified Table 2. Energy Scenario Baseload Capacities (GWe)
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