Busy Day on the Nuclear Front

Gregory Jaczko, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/File

The NRC released a 96 page report today on how the Commission is looking at nuclear plant safety following the Fukushima disaster; it begins with this dedication:

"This report is dedicated to the people of Japan and especially to those who have responded heroically to the nuclear accident at Fukushima. It is the fervent hope of the Near-Term Task Force that their hardships and losses may never be repeated.

Throughout its tenure, the Near-Term Task Force has been inspired by the strength and resilience of the Japanese people in the face of the inconceivable losses of family and property inflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of 2011 and exacerbated by the ongoing radioactive releases from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. The heroes of Fukushima shouldered the emotional impacts of the devastation around them and labored on in the dark, through the rubble, with increasing levels of radiation and contamination. They undertook great efforts to obtain power and cooling to prevent the unthinkable from occurring. The outcome—no fatalities and the expectation of no significant radiological health effects—is a tribute to their efforts, their valor, and their resolve. It is our strong desire and our goal to take the necessary steps to assure that the result of our labors will help prevent the need for a repetition of theirs."

What the Japanese people have been through these past four months is almost unfathomable, and the really sad thing is that even at this writing it is not over yet. I hope all will heed the last line of this dedication, "It is our strong desire and our goal to take the necessary steps to assure that the result of our labors will help prevent the need for a repetition of theirs."

Here is the outline of the Summary of Overarching Recommendations as presented in the report, I urge you to take time to read the complete report which can be downloaded at this link: http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1118/ML111861807.pdf

6. SUMMARY OF OVERARCHING RECOMMENDATIONS

This section presents the Task Force’s recommendations for improving the safety of both
operating and new nuclear reactors. It also addresses recommended improvements in
the NRC programs for the oversight of reactor safety. The recommendations are based on
the Task Force’s evaluations of the relevant issues identified from the Fukushima accident.
Appendix A of this report proposes an implementation strategy and offers further details on
these recommendations.

The Task Force makes the following overarching recommendations, as stated in the
preceding sections of this report:

Clarifying the Regulatory Framework

 
1. The Task Force recommends establishing a logical, systematic, and coherent regulatory
framework for adequate protection that appropriately balances defense-in-depth and
risk considerations. (Section 3)

Ensuring Protection

 
2. The Task Force recommends that the NRC require licensees to reevaluate and upgrade
as necessary the design-basis seismic and flooding protection of SSCs for each
operating reactor. (Section 4.1.1)

3. The Task Force recommends, as part of the longer term review, that the NRC evaluate
potential enhancements to the capability to prevent or mitigate seismically induced fires
and floods. (Section 4.1.2)

Enhancing Mitigation

 
4. The Task Force recommends that the NRC strengthen SBO mitigation capability at all
operating and new reactors for design-basis and beyond-design-basis external events.
(Section 4.2.1)

5. The Task Force recommends requiring reliable hardened vent designs in BWR facilities
with Mark I and Mark II containments. (Section 4.2.2)

6. The Task Force recommends, as part of the longer term review, that the NRC identify
insights about hydrogen control and mitigation inside containment or in other buildings
as additional information is revealed through further study of the Fukushima Dai-ichi
accident. (Section 4.2.3)

7. The Task Force recommends enhancing spent fuel pool makeup capability and
instrumentation for the spent fuel pool. (Section 4.2.4)

8. The Task Force recommends strengthening and integrating onsite emergency response
capabilities such as EOPs, SAMGs, and EDMGs. (Section 4.2.5)

Strengthening Emergency Preparedness

 
9. The Task Force recommends that the NRC require that facility emergency plans address
prolonged SBO and multiunit events. (Section 4.3.1)

10. The Task Force recommends, as part of the longer term review, that the NRC pursue
additional EP topics related to multiunit events and prolonged SBO. (Section 4.3.1)

11. The Task Force recommends, as part of the longer term review, that the NRC should
pursue EP topics related to decisionmaking, radiation monitoring, and public education.
(Section 4.3.2)

Improving the Efficiency of NRC Programs

 
12. The Task Force recommends that the NRC strengthen regulatory oversight of licensee
safety performance (i.e., the ROP) by focusing more attention on defense-in-depth
requirements consistent with the recommended defense-in-depth framework. (Section 5.1)

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"The Task Force concludes that revising [regulations to] expand the coping capability to include cooling the spent fuel, preventing a loss-of-coolant accident, and preventing containment failure would be a significant benefit," the report says.

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Also today the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a full committee hearing on three bills that are currently under consideration. Follow this link for complete agenda and viewing of the archive committee hearing U.S.Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Meeting July 13, 2011

The Nuclear Information and Resource Service is urging citizens to contact their senators and tell them that Senate Bill 512, Senate Bill 1067 and Senate Bill 937 are not acceptable.