International Nuclear Event Scale - Criticism

Criticism

Deficiencies in the existing INES have emerged through comparisons between the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Firstly, the scale is essentially a discrete qualitative ranking, not defined beyond event level 7. Secondly, it was designed as a public relations tool, not an objective scientific scale. Thirdly, its most serious shortcoming is that it conflates magnitude with intensity. David Smythe has proposed a new quantitative nuclear accident magnitude scale (NAMS).

Nuclear experts say that the "INES emergency scale is very likely to be revisited" given the confusing way in which it was used in the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents.

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