Which aspect of nuclear power plants is improved by incorporating passive safety features?

Incorporating passive safety features in nuclear power plants significantly enhances the likelihood of preventing human error. Passive safety systems are designed to operate without active controls or human intervention, relying instead on natural laws such as gravity, convection, and heat transfer. This means that even in the event of a malfunction or emergency, these systems can function automatically to cool the reactor or contain radioactive materials without requiring complex human operations or the activation of mechanical systems.

Because human error is a significant factor in many industrial accidents, the implementation of passive safety features reduces dependence on operator intervention, thereby minimizing risk. This design approach assures that even in unforeseen circumstances, safety systems can engage effectively without the need for immediate decisions from plant personnel, ultimately enhancing the overall safety of the facility.

The other choices involve areas that do not directly correlate with the intent of passive safety features in the same manner. While reducing the risk of terrorist attacks, addressing design flaws, and retracting control rods are important aspects of nuclear safety and operation, they do not showcase the primary advantage of passive safety systems, which is to reduce the chances of incidents arising from human error.