Using the knowledge of accidents in the ‘riskwork’ of experts in nuclear safety
Résumé
Our research explores why and how a very special kind of knowledge – i.e. the recurring lessons learned from past industrial accidents- could be better capitalized and used in the riskwork of public sector experts when assessing industrial risk management practices. After defining the concept of ‘knowledge of accidents’, we provide empirical insights from its use by experts for in-depth organizational diagnosis within a regulatory safety assessment performed by IRSN (the technical support organization of the French nuclear safety authority) on practices of risk (safety and radiation protection) management of nuclear power plants.