NE 175 - METHODS OF RISK ANALYSIS (3 units)

Methodological approaches for the quantification of technological risk and risk based decision-making. Probabilistic safety assessment, human health risks, environmental and ecological risk analysis. (Fall) Peterson

Catalog Description

• 175.Methodological approaches for the quantification of technological
  risk and risk based decision-making. Probabilistic safety assessment,
  human health risks, environmental and ecological risk analysis.

Course Prerequisite(s)

• Upper-division standing

Prerequisite knowledge and/or skills

• The course provides a general introduction to risk
  assessment, risk management and risk communication. Lower-division
  math, physics and chemistry, and an introduction to probability
  and statistics.

Textbook(s) and/or other required material

• A course reader is available prior to each offering

Course objectives and outcomes

Course objectives: It is the instructor's
intention to...

• Introduce students to the meaning of risk, its
  mathematical formulations and how it is used to manage the societal
  impacts, including risk, cost and benefit, of modern technologies.
• Introduce students to the construction and quantification
  of fault and event trees.
• Introduce students to methods of consequence analysis,
  including multi-pathway exposure assessment.

vIntroduce students to the use of decision trees,
influence diagrams, multi-attribute decision theory and their application
to risk based decision-making.

• Introduce students to the principles of risk
  communication and risk perception.

  Course outcomes: Students must be able
  to...

• Construct and quantify fault and event trees for
  nuclear and other engineered systems including structures, systems
  and components.
• Quantify consequences of release scenarios, including
  multimedia exposure for toxic and radioactive materials in the
  biosphere.
• Apply risk based decision methods to nuclear and
  other engineered systems for the determination of cost/benefit
  and risk/benefit considerations.
• Communicate the results of risk analyses to multi-stakeholders

Topics covered

• Definitions and measures of risk
• Probabilistic safety assessment, fault and event
  trees, consequence analysis, risk integration
• Environmental and public health risk assessment,
  source terms, environmental fate and transport, exposure assessment,
  health risk assessment
• Ecological risk assessment
• Risk based regulations, risk informed decision
  making
• Risk management, decision trees, influence diagrams,
  multi-attribute decision theory
• Uncertainty and variability in risk assessment
  and risk management
• Case studies: nuclear systems, environmental systems
  and chemical systems

Class schedule

• This is a lecture course and meets two times a
  week for 2-hour lectures (with a 10-minute break after the first
  hour).

Contribution of course to meeting the professional
component

• This course helps the student to identify the
  costs, risks and benefits of nuclear and other engineered technical
  systems. Student can quantify the impacts of the technologies
  they are developing. Introduces students to risk-based regulation
  that is becoming the hallmark for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  and other government agencies such as the US EPA.

Relationship of course to undergraduate degree
program objectives

• This course contributes to the NE program objectives
  by providing education in a fundamental area (probabilistic risk
  assessment) important for a career in nuclear engineering. It
  does not provide students with direct design experience, but includes
  substantial discussion and illustration of design issues. The
  central theme of safety analysis also generates discussion of
  environmental and contemporary issues for nuclear energy.

Assessment of student progress toward course
objectives

• Homework every other week: 10%
• Midterm exam: 30%
• Final Exam: 60%