Actors at Large-Scale Accidents: Lessons from the Bravo and Three Mile Island Accidents

This paper explores organizational issues raised via a comparison of the Bravo oil blowout in the North Sea and the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania. The organizations involved, their interconnections and interests in each accident are compared. Six actor types are used as a classification system for framing the comparison. The underlying issues bearing on allocation of effort to pre-accident planning are also noted. Finally, a framework from this effort is used for guiding the planning of operations for future accidents.