Fukushima not out of the realm in U.S.

July 17, 2012 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

The same underlying "man-made" problems that contributed to the Fukushima disaster are in place in the U.S. and require preventative actions beyond the limited steps taken far by the U.S. industry and its regulators, according to five groups commenting on the official report of the Japanese Parliament's Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission.

The groups commenting include the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Georgia WAND, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), and Nuclear Information and Resource Service.

The groups highlighted segments of the Japanese independent commission report showing the following parallels to the situation with nuclear reactors in the U.S.:

"The TEPCO Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident was the result of collusion between the government, the regulators and TEPCO, and the lack of governance by said parties. They effectively betrayed the nation's right to be safe from nuclear accidents. Therefore, we conclude that the accident was clearly 'man-made.'"
"The Commission concludes that there were organizational problems within TEPCO. Had there been a higher level of knowledge, training, and equipment inspection related to severe accidents, and had there been specific instructions given to the on-site workers concerning the state of emergency within the necessary time frame, a more effective accident response would have been possible."
"The Commission concludes that the residents' confusion over the evacuation stemmed from the regulators' negligence and failure over the years to implement adequate measures against a nuclear disaster, as well as a lack of action by previous governments and regulators focused on crisis management."
"The Commission has concluded that the safety of nuclear energy in Japan and the public cannot be assured unless the regulators go through an essential transformation process. The entire organization needs to be transformed, not as a formality but in a substantial way. Japan's regulators need to shed the insular attitude of ignoring international safety standards and transform themselves into a globally trusted entity."

The groups contend that Japan did not learn from Three Mile Island or Chernobyl and the U.S. is no different.

"A powerful nuclear power industry consistently gets its way at a weak and accommodating Nuclear Regulatory Commission. And thus, another nuclear accident also becomes inevitable. One area where Japan flunked the test was emergency evacuation," said Michael Mariotte, Executive Director of Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS).

NIRS has proposed strengthening emergency planning regulations and expanding emergency planning zones, and has filed a petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

"But the industry wants less, not better emergency planning," Mariotte said. "What the NRC does with this petition will go a long way toward defining whether the agency is prepared to take strong steps to protect the public, or whether it will continue to allow nuclear industry interests to rule."

For more:
- see the report
- see this petition