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Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster

Page 39

by David Lochbaum


  Department of State. See U.S. Department of State

  design-basis, 169, 173, 184, 270

  design-basis accidents, 13, 14, 115, 144, 153, 187, 188

  Diablo Canyon Power Station, 34, 98, 115, 128

  diesel generators, 8, 10, 53, 167, 168, 169, 214, 250, 271; confidence in, 12, 168, 282n6; malfunction/inoperability, 10, 22, 250–51, 282n6; U.S. emergency use, 175–76, 249

  diesel pumps, 19, 66, 95, 169, 214

  direct current. See DC power

  dirt, 91, 160, 162. See also soil contamination

  disasters. See earthquakes; floods; tsunamis

  disease, 27–28. See also cancer

  disposal and storage of contaminated materials, 163, 164, 243

  DNA damage, 27, 28

  Dominion, 176

  Donald, Kirkland, 68, 89, 278

  Dorman, Daniel, 54, 87, 99, 278

  dose rates. See radiation levels

  dosimeters, 22, 59, 85, 270

  drills, emergency. See emergency exercises

  drone use, 69, 97

  dry cask storage, 83–4, 211, 256, 270

  drywell, 5–6, 55, 270–71; breach of, 26, 28, 57, 264; Unit 1, 25, 26, 28, 57; Unit 2, 74, 267; Unit 3, 69

  Duke Energy, 185

  Dyer, Jim, 139

  Earthquake Countermeasures Act (Japan). See Large-Scale Earthquake Countermeasures Act (Japan)

  earthquakes, 1–5, 9–10, 41, 47–48, 51, 94, 95, 246; aftershocks, 29, 30, 73, 85; assumptions about, 53, 213, 214; consequences foreseen, 211, 217–18, 245; early-warning systems/detection, 1, 3–4, 114–15; effect on pipes, seals, etc., 159; forecasting, 42–43, 44, 52, 229; Franken joke about, 247; magnitude scales, 281–82n1; Niigata, 2007, 19, 42, 50, 225; planning for, 63, 169, 170–71, 201; Sanriku, 1896, 9–10, 52, 54; shutdown after, 5, 114–15; spent fuel pools and, 71; United States, 113, 114, 175–76, 249–50, 253, 287n6. See also Jogan earthquake; Tohoku Earthquake, 2011

  economic costs. See bailouts; cleanup costs

  The Economist, 178–79, 227

  Edano, Yukio, 23, 26, 59, 96, 103, 104, 104, 108, 109, 165, 277; downplays food contamination, 157; as minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, 179, 226–27, 231, 240; on-camera dress, 285n1,

  Education Ministry. See Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

  elections, 15, 240, 243

  electrical cables, 13, 19, 24, 57, 124, 158, 248

  electrical grid incompatibility, 282–83n8

  electrical outages. See power outages

  electricity use and supply (electrical grid), 38, 171–72, 205, 224, 227, 228–29; rates, 179, 227, 289n3. See also electrical grid incompatibility

  Electric Power Research Institute, 102

  emergency backup systems. See backup systems

  emergency cooling, 8, 13, 14, 33, 49, 69, 72, 93, 131, 167, 251, 290n9; “feed and bleed,” 158, 163, 271; FLEX plan, 173, 174, 254, 256; in new reactor designs, 244, 245; policy recommendations, 168–69; Unit 1, 17, 19, 25, 33, 60–61, 122; Unit 2, 17, 97, 122; Unit 3, 65, 66, 122; U.S. involvement/proposals, 98, 100, 101, 189, 197, 199, 255–56; vulnerability, 180. See also emergency core cooling systems; fire engines, pumps, etc.; seawater: emergency use

  emergency core cooling systems, 8, 17, 187, 241, 271; Browns Ferry, 248; failure/loss of, 18, 49. See also high-pressure coolant injection system (HPCI); reactor core isolation cooling systems (RCIC)

  emergency evacuation. See evacuation of Americans; evacuation of residents; evacuation of workers

  emergency exercises, 25, 62, 78, 142, 152, 287n4

  emergency generators. See backup generators

  emergency planning zone, 129, 140, 215–16, 221, 256, 271

  emergency procedures manuals. See manuals

  emergency systems. See backup systems

  emergency workers, 22, 85, 93, 106, 181, 243; vulnerability, 94, 158, 284n8

  energy consumption. See electricity use and supply

  Energy Department. See U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

  energy policy, Japanese, 47, 108, 165, 171–72, 222–23, 227, 231, 239–40

  Energy Policy Act (EPAct), 204–5

  Environmental Protection Agency. See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

  equipment, backup. See backup systems

  equipment upgrades. See retrofitting

  European Union, 224. See also Finland; France; Germany; Sweden

  evacuation of Americans, 84–85, 87, 88–89, 92, 108, 129, 132, 134, 138–39

  evacuation of residents, 16, 24, 30, 31, 37, 57–59, 77, 117–20, 117, 160–61, 241–43, 285n2; Chernobyl, 46; compensation for, 165, 178–79, 207, 226, 289n4; computer modeling, 80, 87, 207, 215–16; housing and services, 117, 157, 160, 178; long-term status, 230; simulations/ exercises, 152; statistics, 45; Three Mile Island, 141, 148–49. See also evacuation zones

  evacuation of workers, 12, 76

  evacuation zones, 77, 108, 117, 120, 140, 159, 241, 256; initial expansion of, 30; maps, 119, 242; media steers clear of, 105–6; NRC recommendations, 80, 87, 90, 92–93, 99, 139–40; radiation levels, 178; Three Mile Island, 148; U.S. regulations, 190

  Exelon Corporation, 61, 102, 135, 174, 236–39

  exhaust stacks, 4, 32, 57, 67, 266

  explosions: Chernobyl, 46; effect on pipes, seals, etc., 159; Unit 1, 32, 54, 55–57, 56, 61–62, 71, 93, 122; Unit 2, 74–75, 78, 98; Unit 3, 72, 72, 81, 118, 265; Unit 4, 75–76, 75, 80–82, 88, 91. See also hydrogen explosions

  exposure to radiation. See radiation exposure

  failure, common-mode. See common-mode failure

  fallout, 99, 114, 118, 156, 159. See also cleanup

  falsification of reports, 46, 48–49, 50

  farmers and farming, 119, 120, 157

  fatalities: cattle, 120; Chernobyl, 27, 90; CRAC2 projections, 207, 208, 209, 215; after earthquake/tsunami, 9, 10, 43, 118, 181; Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, 39; “latent” (from cancer, etc.), 28, 84, 190, 192, 207, 208, 211, 213, 216, 219, 220, 256; NUREG-1738 projections, 211; risk assessment, 192; Tokaimura, 37

  fault lines, 41, 42, 44, 50, 52, 170, 229

  fears, public. See public fears

  Federal Emergency Management Agency, 152

  Fertel, Marvin, 232

  filters and filtering, 17, 28, 267; in cleanup, 164; ventilation, 20, 128, 188, 231, 241, 254–55, 268; of water, 60, 289n8; water used for, 28, 74

  Finland, 189

  fire engines, pumps, etc., 19, 77, 100, 124, 131, 202, 265; damage to, 72; inadequacy, 29, 30, 97; Unit 1, 19, 30, 33, 57, 62, 65; Unit 2, 73, 74; Unit 3, 66, 69, 96, 97, 121, 122; Unit 4, 136; U.S., 97

  fires, 50, 71, 87, 91, 211; Browns Ferry, 248, 250; possibility/threat of, 167, 173, 217, 248; protection from, 239; Unit 3, 99; Unit 4, 81–82, 133

  fishing industry, 156

  fission, 5, 7, 46, 269–70

  fission products, 7, 57, 66, 70, 109, 126–27, 187, 189, 267

  FitzPatrick nuclear plant. See James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant

  FLEX program, 173–74, 236–39, 254–55, 256, 259, 271, 290n2

  flooding, 167, 169, 238; assumptions about, 214, 217–18, 238; in computer models, 219; after dam failures, 183, 184, 248; Fukushima, 10, 13, 124, 137, 141, 159; United States, 174, 175, 176, 249

  floodwalls, 185. See also seawalls

  Florida, 249

  food contamination, 127, 129, 139, 156, 157, 178, 207

  foreign relations, Japanese, 125, 131, 160

  Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generation Station, 174, 175, 176, 249, 250

  France, 102, 125, 164, 245, 247

  Franken, Al, 247, 290n1

  freshwater, 286n2; emergency use, 30, 33, 57, 67, 135, 137; normal use, 60, 131

  fuel assemblies, 5, 48, 57, 70, 83, 84, 266, 271

  Fukui Prefecture, 224, 230

  Fukushima Daiichi design and construction, 5–6, 7, 8, 51, 52, 53–54. See also Seismic Isolation Building; Mark I containment; spent fuel pools

  Fukushima
Daini nuclear plant, 18, 40, 282n7

  Fukushima Prefecture, 10, 16, 24, 40, 52, 105, 156, 157, 178, 181, 253; contamination levels, 163; schools, 160, 161, 162

  Futaba, Japan, 16, 24, 40, 118

  gamma rays, 127

  gas, natural. See natural gas

  gases. See hydrogen; nitrogen; radioactive gases

  gauges, 19, 23–24, 65, 74, 81, 150; calibration insufficiency, 263–64; jury-rigged, 55; lacking, 144

  GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, 87, 135, 290; ESBWR, 114, 245

  General Electric Corporation (GE), 5, 14, 39, 40, 87, 244, 245, 290n10; collaboration, 102, 132; employees, 48. See also Mark I containment; Mark II containment; Mark III containment. See also GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

  General Public Utilities Corporation, 148

  generators. See backup generators; diesel generators; portable generators; turbine generators

  Germany, 124, 282n8

  golf courses, 179

  Goto, Masashi, 225

  government bailouts. See bailouts

  Great Tohoku Earthquake. See Tohoku Earthquake, 2011

  ground motion, 1, 3, 44, 50, 114–15, 175

  Grobe, Jack, 77–78, 84–85, 278

  Hachiro, Yoshio, 179

  half-life, 127

  Hamaoka nuclear plant, 41–42, 44, 170, 229

  hardened vents, 63, 203, 268, 272, 283n4; incorporated at Fukushima, 169, 202; NRC views and actions, 197, 198–99, 235, 254

  Hardies, Robert, 54

  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 141, 146, 147, 148

  Hashimoto, Toru, 230, 231, 277

  Hatamura, Yotaro, 108, 226, 277

  hazmat suits. See protective clothing

  Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion, 44, 52

  health consequences, 27–28, 108, 127, 158, 219; mental health, 111; NRC views, 205, 211, 213, 216, 219; projected by CRAC2, 206, 207. See also cancer

  Hearn, Lafcadio, 282n4

  heat sink, 7, 236, 272

  Hein, Laura E., 38

  helicopters, 1, 21, 30; mitigation from, 83, 90, 95, 96–97, 99, 121, 123–24, 136, 137; radiation on, 68

  Hendrie, Joseph, 145, 187

  high-pressure coolant injection system (HPCI), 65–66, 69, 264, 265, 272

  Hirose, Naomi, 228, 277

  Hiroshima bombing, 1945, 27–28, 49

  Hitachi-GE partnership. See GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

  Holahan, Trish, 129, 130–31

  Homeland Security Department. See U.S. Department of Homeland Security

  homes, contamination of. See contaminated homes

  Hosono, Goshi, 177–78, 277

  HPCI. See high-pressure coolant injection system (HPCI)

  Hudson Riverkeeper, 209

  human error, 94, 133–34, 140, 142–43, 225; Futaba, 118; Sandia view, 217; Three Mile Island, 45, 142–43, 149–50, 188

  human life, monetary value, 193

  hurricanes, 94, 249, 253

  hydrogen, 7, 28, 57, 66, 74, 91, 145, 188, 200, 264, 265, 287n5

  hydrogen explosions, 14–15, 56, 61–62, 71, 75–76, 80–82, 91, 122, 219, 266; attempts to explain, 264; positive side effects, 84, 266; prevention, 15, 55, 195, 200, 202; Three Mile Island, 141, 145, 188, 195

  IAEA. See International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

  IDCOR. See Industrial Degraded Core Rulemaking program (IDCOR)

  Iitate, Japan, 118–20, 160, 267

  imported fuel reliance, 171, 228–29

  Indian Ocean earthquake, 2004, 44, 47

  Indian Point Energy Center, 115–16, 208, 209, 214, 287n6, 288n2

  Individual Plant Examination (IPE) program, 191, 199

  Industry Degraded Core Rulemaking program (IDCOR), 189–90, 196, 205

  industry measures, voluntary. See voluntary industry measures

  “inerting,” 15, 55, 195, 200, 202

  INES. See International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES)

  information sharing, 35, 62, 69, 87, 96, 151, 155. See also public disclosure and participation

  information withholding, 58, 107, 108, 109, 118, 151–52, 216. See also classified information; cover-ups; secrecy

  Ino, Hiromitsu, 225

  inspections. See nuclear plant inspections

  Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), 61, 102, 131, 151–52

  instrument scale problems, 144–45, 158, 263–64

  insubordination, 60–61, 86

  International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 22, 50, 105, 119, 224–25, 228, 268

  International Commission on Radiological Protection, 161

  International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), 22, 103–4, 109–10, 272

  Internet, 12, 35, 106–7, 109, 110

  Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations, 108, 226

  iodine, 62, 118, 125, 140, 146, 155, 157, 256. See also potassium iodide

  iodine-131, 71, 126–27, 133, 146, 267–68, 288n9; in California, 128; in milk, 157; in seawater, 156; Unit 2, 159, 267; Unit 3, 158; Unit 4, 133

  IPE program. See Individual Plant Examination (IPE) program

  irradiated fuel. See spent nuclear fuel

  Ishibashi, Katsuhiko, 41, 42, 48, 277

  isolation condensers, 8, 13, 17, 18, 22, 25, 264, 282n3

  Jaczko, Gregory: adherence to script, 114; at congressional hearings, 92, 182, 183; event monitoring (days 2–4), 54, 61, 62–64, 77; event monitoring (days 5–8), 79, 84–85, 89–90, 92, 93–94, 95, 96, 113, 114; event monitoring (days 9–10), 130–31, 138; management style and resignation, 176–77, 233; mandate for recovery, 166; at odds with fellow commissioners and NRC staff, 172–73, 176–77, 212, 232–33, 245, 288n1; on worst-case scenarios, 130

  James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant, 198–99

  Japan Atomic Energy Commission. See Atomic Energy Commission of Japan

  Japan Defense Ministry. See Ministry of Defense

  Japan Education Ministry. See Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

  Japanese Diet Independent Investigation Commission, 244–45

  Japanese Embassy, Washington, DC, 131

  Japanese energy policy. See energy policy, Japanese

  Japanese foreign relations. See foreign relations, Japanese

  Japanese nuclear plant licensing. See licensing of Japanese nuclear plants

  Japanese nuclear plants. See Fukushima Daini nuclear plant; Hamaoka nuclear plant; Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant; Monju nuclear plant; Ohi nuclear plant

  Japan Meteorological Agency, 1, 3, 4, 15, 281n1

  Japan Ministry of Defense. See Ministry of Defense

  Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). See Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

  Japan Ministry of Education. See Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

  Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, 16

  Japan Nuclear Safety Commission. See Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC)

  Japan Science and Technology Agency, 37, 38

  Japan Self-Defense Forces. See Self-Defense Forces (SDF)

  Japan Society of Civil Engineers, 52

  Japan Times, 171

  JCO Company, 37

  Jocassee Dam, 184, 185

  Jogan earthquake, 9–10, 52, 54

  Justification for Continued Operation, 185

  Kaieda, Banri, 26, 30, 277

  Kammerer, Annie, 115, 116, 278

  Kan, Naoto, 15, 225, 277; calls for nuclear phaseout, 171–72; disaster response, 17, 22–26, 23, 30–31, 37, 55, 59–61; during earthquake, 1, 15; information withheld from, 58; NSC relations, 109; orders to residents, 30, 76; post-disaster, 23, 26, 170–72, 224, 240, 285n5; Shimizu relations, 67, 76–77, 243; U.S. relations, 95, 96

  Kansai Electric Power Company, 230

  Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, 18, 19, 42, 49, 50, 225, 228, 239, 283n2

  Katsumata, Tsunehisa, 21, 50, 226, 277

  Keidanren, 240

  Ke
meny, John G., 150

  Kemeny Commission, 147, 149, 150, 186

  Kennedy, Robert F., Jr., 209

  Kobe earthquake, 1995, 3, 44, 47

  Kosako, Toshiso, 162, 277

  krypton-85, 146

  Kurion, 164

  Kyoto Protocol, 289n5

  land contamination. See soil contamination

  Large-Scale Earthquake Countermeasures Act (Japan), 42, 43

  lawsuits, 41–42, 179, 194

  liability protection, 246

  licensing of Japanese nuclear plants, 42, 44

  licensing of U.S. nuclear plants, 111, 113–14, 170, 175, 184, 205; amendments, 198, 287n3; Fort Calhoun, 175; renewal, 259; Vogtle, 245, 288n1

  Limerick Nuclear Power Plant, 214

  linear no-threshold hypothesis (LNT), 216

  lobbying, 36, 94, 287n1, 290n10

  Lochbaum, David, 201, 283n1

  Luxat, David, 264

  Lyman, Edwin, 94, 95, 288n3

  Macfarlane, Allison, 176, 177, 278

  Madarame, Haruki, 31, 41–42, 47, 55, 59, 60, 109, 225, 277

  Magwood, William, 182, 183, 278

  manual operations, 20, 25, 28–29, 31, 66, 201, 251, 284n7

  manuals, 20, 251

  maps, 2, 45, 98, 119, 126, 242

  Markey, Edward, 206, 208, 212, 214

  Mark I boiling water reactor, 40, 204

  Mark I containment, 5–6, 6, 15, 63, 70–71, 87–88, 186, 195–200, 244, 289n7; dilemmas, 195; at Peach Bottom, 213, 237; retrofitting, 202, 235, 254; ventilation, 19–20, 169, 235, 268

  Mark II containment, 15, 70–71, 169, 200; retrofitting, 202, 235, 254, 268; ventilation, 235, 268

  Mark III containment, 200, 287n5

  McDermott, Brian, 64, 79

  McGaffigan, Edward, 209–10, 210, 211, 217

  media, 26, 34, 35, 58, 106, 112; antinuclear views, 171; Japan, 1, 46, 47, 58, 59, 67, 105–7, 110, 111, 171, 229, 241; McGaffigan view of, 210; NRC reliance on, 54, 61, 84, 85, 136; United States, 64, 85, 111–16, 119, 146–48, 180–81, 214, 286n1; on contamination, 178. See also press conferences; press releases; television

  Mehta, Zubin, 100

  MELCOR, 139, 140, 264, 272, 286n3

  meltdown, 7, 12, 78, 79, 82, 89, 179–80, 264, 290n9; assumptions about, 130, 132, 187–88; design anticipating, 188, 245; fears of, 136; government belated acknowledgment of, 109–10; not considered in planning, 71, 239; NRC analysis, 195–96; NRC public relations view, 113; prevention, 20, 153, 197, 218; radionuclide release during, 127–28; terrorist-caused (hypothetical), 209, 211; Three Mile Island, 45, 141, 145, 147; Unit 1, 22, 24, 30, 55, 59–60, 62, 64; Unit 2, 78; Unit 3, 66; Unit 4, 82

 

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