Friday Update

From NEI’s Safety First web site:

Industry Proposes Integrated Approach on Post-Fukushima Activities

December 2, 2011

Industry/Regulatory/Political

• The industry on Dec. 1 urged the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to consider an integrated and flexible approach toward meeting the NRC’s Fukushima task force recommendations, arguing that this approach would result in faster, more efficient implementation of the most safety-significant recommendations. The industry advocated enhancing the post-9/11 concept of using portable equipment to address loss of all AC power and loss of ultimate heat sink from a variety of natural phenomena. This enhanced mitigation action—called a “diverse and flexible mitigation capability”—could be supplemented by regional response centers that could provide additional hardware and equipment to further extend coping capability should there be a longer-term loss of power or cooling capability.
• Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) today released its interim report on the March 11 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility, based on data and interviews with more than 250 workers since June. The report describes how a larger-than-expected tsunami knocked out all safety systems and led to fuel damage and the release of radiation.

New Products

• A new employee profile on NEI’s Safety First website features Marty Wright, radiation protection senior engineer at the Diablo Canyon nuclear energy facility in California. Wright explains his daily duties, his work with state and federal agencies on monitoring, and initial monitoring results after the Fukushima accident.

Media Highlights

• The Wall Street Journal reports that TEPCO’s latest analysis confirms the March 11 tsunami triggered the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility and that the plant met all earthquake safety standards. However, TEPCO acknowledged that many questions remain unanswered because continuing high radiation levels inside the facility, limiting extended access needed to complete a full assessment of the damage.