The Lessons to be Learned from Incidents and Accidents

The paper emphasises the important role that learning the lesson from accidents and incidents play in the cyclical process of improving operational safety and security of sources and emergency response arrangements. It reviews events that have provided “awakenings” and the initiatives that have stemmed from them particularly in respect of orphan sources, source security and emergency preparedness. It is noted that whilst terrorist driven issues are receiving well merited attention, conventionally failures in safety and security of radiation sources still regularly occur, sometimes with severe consequences. The paper reviews mechanisms for capturing the lessons to be learned, some common causes of accidents, with examples tracked through the life cycle of sources.