meltdown (word), 60, 272
mental health, 111
Meserve, Richard, 226, 289n2
Metropolitan Edison, 142, 147–48
micromanagement, 25, 212
Middletown, Pennsylvania, 146–47
military. See Self-Defense Forces (SDF); U.S. military
milk contamination, 129, 139, 157
Miller, Charles R. “Charlie”, 64, 90, 138, 139, 169, 278
Milne, John, 42–43
Minamisoma, Japan, 106–7
Ministry of Defense, 132
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), 15, 16, 22, 26, 30, 100, 110, 161
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), 15, 16, 58–59, 178
Minnesota, 247–48
Missouri River flooding, 2011, 174, 175, 176
modular reactors, 205, 245–46
Mogi, Kiyoo, 43–44, 277
moment magnitude scale, 281–82n1
Monju nuclear plant, 286n1
Monninger, John, 88, 90–91, 95, 100, 125, 135, 136–37, 278
monopolies, 38, 227
Mullen, Mike, 129–30, 278
Murray, Thomas E., 39
Nagasaki bombing, 1945, 27–28, 39
Nakamura, Koichiro, 59, 277
Namie, Japan, 57–58, 59, 118
National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC), 126, 129, 130, 132, 133–34, 137–38, 139, 268
National Environmental Policy Act, 259
National Geographic, 282n4
National Nuclear Security Administration, 68, 69, 97
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 34
National Seismic Hazards Maps, 44
natural disasters. See earthquakes; floods; tsunamis
natural gas, 205, 228–29
Nature, 38
Naval Reactors. See U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): Office of Naval Reactors
NBC News, 115–17
NEI. See Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)
new media, 106–7
news conferences. See press conferences
news media. See media
New York nuclear plants, 40, 115–16, 190, 198–99, 208, 209, 214, 287n6, 288n2
New York State Power Authority, 198
NHK (television network), 1, 12, 32, 97
Niigata earthquake, 2007, 19, 42, 50, 225
9/11 terrorist attacks. See September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (9/11)
Nine Mile Point nuclear plant, 40
NISA. See Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)
Nishizawa, Toshio, 166, 277
nitrogen, 15, 55, 195, 200, 202
Noda, Yoshihiko, 172, 179, 180, 222–23, 224, 229, 231, 240, 243, 277
North Anna Power Station, 175–76, 249–50
NRC. See Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, 111, 277
nuclear accidents. See design-basis accidents; beyond-design-basis accidents; Chernobyl nuclear accident; Three Mile Island nuclear accident; Tokaimura research center: nuclear accident
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), 15, 16–17, 22, 38, 49, 82, 229, 241; communications, 25, 26, 58, 59–60, 100, 103; encourages use of shills, 46; hearings on earthquake and tsunami hazards, 53–54; INES ranking by, 103; protests against, 222, 224; restart approval, 224, 225, 229; TEPCO relations, 51, 76; U.S. relations, 78, 84, 97, 98, 100
Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Act (Japan). See Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness (Japan)
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), 94, 136, 196, 200, 205, 209; lobbying expenditures, 287n1; NRC relations, 116, 129, 232; predecessor, 189; SOARCA involvement, 212–13; writes own rules, 235, 236, 238, 239
nuclear fission. See fission
nuclear fuel, 5; cooling, 7, 8, 18, 158; damage, 56, 62, 71, 103, 126, 127–28, 145, 158; hydrogen generation, 7, 56, 145; reprocessing, 240; rods, 5, 7, 145; supply, 171. See also fuel assemblies; dry cask storage; meltdown; spent fuel pools
Nuclear Information and Resource Service, 256
nuclear plant defense-in-depth approach. See “defense-in-depth”
nuclear plant inspections, 260, 266; IAEA, 50, 119; Japan, 16, 17, 48, 49, 51, 170, 223; NRC, 152, 173, 175, 199, 218, 235–36, 252, 253, 287nn4–5, 289n2; by plant owners, 191; precluded by high radiation, 180
nuclear plant licensing. See licensing of Japanese nuclear plants; licensing of U.S. nuclear plants
nuclear plant safety reports and rankings, 116, 152
nuclear plants, European, 224. See also Chernobyl nuclear accident, 1986
nuclear plant shutdown, 151, 201, 275; in emergency, 5, 7, 114–15; Hamaoka, 170; Japan-wide, 171–72, 222–24, 240, Three Mile Island, 142, 144. See also cold shutdown; restart of reactors
nuclear plant siting and construction, 40–41, 42, 43, 44, 153
nuclear plants, Japanese. See Fukushima Daini nuclear plant; Hamaoka nuclear plant; Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant; licensing of Japanese nuclear plants; Monju nuclear plant; Ohi nuclear plant
nuclear plants, U.S., 40, 63, 94, 111–15, 166–70, 182–204, 212–13, 287n4; California, 34, 94, 98, 115, 128; Hurricane Andrew survival, 249; Minnesota, 247–48; near disasters, 174–76; New York, 40, 115–16, 198–99, 208, 209, 214, 287n6, 288n2; spent fuel storage, 83, 84. See also Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant; Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station; Oconee Nuclear Station; Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station; Surry Nuclear Power Plant; Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station
nuclear reactor design, 14, 41, 114, 176, 245–46. See also boiling water reactors (BWRs); Fukushima Daiichi design and construction; modular reactors; pressurized water reactors (PWRs)
Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), 240–41
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 12, 15, 35, 173, 182–203, 252–61, 287nn4–6; acquiescence to industry, 236–39; Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 188–90, 286–87n1; Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, 153, 197–98, 214–15, 216, 217, 218; AEOD, 151; auditing, 49; backfit rules, 15, 191–98, 234, 259; citizens’ suggestions to, 101–2; cover-ups and information withholding, 206–8, 213–14, 219–20; CRAC2 study, 207–9, 211, 212, 215, 216, 219, 220, 288nn8–9; disaster monitoring and assistance, 34–37, 54, 61–65, 77–82, 84–96, 98–101, 124–25, 129–30, 131; Fort Calhoun relations, 175; Individual Plant Examination (IPE) program, 191, 196, 199; infighting and dissent, 172–73, 176–77, 194, 196, 217, 218, 232–33; informed by Wall Street Journal, 136; Japan asks for assistance, 99, 131; lawsuit against, 194; McGaffigan role, 209–10, 211, 288n4; MELCOR, 139, 140, 264, 272, 286n3; NARAC relations, 138, 139; Near-Term Task Force (NTTF), 166–70, 172–73, 176–77, 185, 232–34, 237, 252–53, 254, 256, 260; NUREG-1738, 211; Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, 148, 218; Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, 116, 288n5; Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, 129; Office of Research, 212, 217, 285n3; performance-based regulation, 235–39; Protective Measures Team, 62–63, 79, 125; public relations, 64–65, 101–2, 111–16, 148, 209; Regulatory Information Conference (RIC), 204–6, 219–20, 260–61; role in events of U.S. radiation release, 283–84n5; at Senate hearings, 182, 183, 185; Severe Accident Policy Statement, 190, 195, 201; State-of-the-Art-Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA), 130, 204, 205–6, 211–21, 268, 288n9, 289n1; Three Mile Island involvement and follow-up, 145, 147–48, 149, 151, 152, 153; “vulnerability assessment,” 209. See also RASCAL (Radiological Assessment System for Consequence Analysis)
Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC), 15–16, 31, 38, 41, 55, 59, 108–9, 202–3, 225, 229, 241; corruption, 47; receives restart recommendations, 224; rules on stress tests, 229
Nuclear Sufferers Life Support Team, 157
Nuclear Utility Management & Resources Council, 196
NUREG-1738, 211
Obama, Barack, 92, 96, 128–29
Oconee Nuclear Station, 184–85, 184
Ofunato, Japan, 53
Ohi nuclear plant,
224, 229–31
oil reliance, 171, 228–29
oil spills, 102
Okuma, Japan, 16, 24, 40, 178, 243
Omaha Public Power District, 174, 175
Osaka, 230, 231
Ostendorff, William C., 173, 182, 183, 187, 233, 234, 278
overconfidence. See complacency and overconfidence
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, 40, 195
Pacific Ocean, 7, 19, 33, 34, 60, 128, 133, 138, 159; contamination, 155–56, 156. See also seawater
Pacific Plate, 2–3
paperwork, 49, 67–68. See also auditing; falsification of reports
Pardee, Charles “Chip,” 174, 239
passive cooling, 83
“passive” reactor systems, 245–46
Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218–19, 220, 237, 288n6; Exelon plan for, 236–38
Pennsylvania government, 147, 148
Pennsylvania nuclear accident, 1979. See Three Mile Island nuclear accident, 1979
Pennsylvania nuclear plants. See Limerick Nuclear Power Plant; Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating System; Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station
Pietrangelo, Tony, 94–95, 278
plate tectonics, 2–3
plutonium, 171, 240
plutonium-239, 127, 128
portable generators, 25, 69, 169, 173, 214, 217
potassium iodide, 129, 138, 139, 256, 273
power outages, 8, 10, 12–13, 17, 18, 29, 31, 94, 124, 137, 251; computer simulations and hypothetical scenarios, 87–88, 218–19, 220, 246, 268; effect on news transmission, 117; effect on safety devices, 200; effect on SPEEDI, 58; effect on spent fuel pools, 81; planning for, 167, 168, 195–96, 203, 214, 217–18, 236, 237; U.S. plants, 175–76, 185, 249, 282n6
Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, 247–48
pregnant women, 89, 148, 241
President’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island. See Kemeny Commission
press conferences, 26, 59–60, 92, 109; Three Mile Island, 149
press releases: Met Ed, 147; NRC, 64, 80, 114; TEPCO, 18, 22, 23, 103, 107; U.S. Embassy, 88
pressurized water reactors (PWRs), 141, 142, 200, 213, 230, 273, 284n6
Price-Anderson Act, 246
probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), 192–93, 201, 202, 208–9, 213–14, 234, 273, 287n6, 289n1, 289n7; Indian Point, 288n2; mooted by Fukushima, 220–21
Protective Action Guides (PAGs), 80, 274, 283n3
protective clothing, 22, 26, 29, 31, 59, 75, 85, 96, 119, 181; worn by residents, 162
protests, 136, 161, 162, 165–66, 181, 222, 223–24, 223, 231, 240; U.S. (c. 1970s), 146
psychological impact, 111, 207
Public Citizen, 152
public disclosure and participation, 257–58, 259, 260, 286–87n1, 287n3. See also secrecy
public fears, 100, 130, 148, 178, 186, 205, 209, 215, 222; information withholding in view of, 108, 118, 216
public health. See health consequences
public opinion, Japanese, 41–42, 46, 162, 222, 231, 239. See also protests
public relations, 63, 64–65, 101–2; Japanese government, 23, 26, 59, 103, 104, 108–9, 157; TEPCO, 107–8. See also Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC): public relations; press conferences; press releases
radiation detectors, 68, 144–45. See also dosimeters
radiation exposure, 31, 62–63, 78, 120, 129; CRAC2 on, 207; dose limits, 76, 78, 98, 158, 162, 177; physiological effect, 27–28; risk assessment, 192; Unit 3, 158; U.S. guidelines, 284n8. See also health consequences; lethality; protective clothing
radiation levels, 69, 85, 90, 91, 108, 122, 163, 177, 179; aerial, 69, 96, 99; California, 128; citizen monitoring, 109; government advice to public, 104–5, 162; “hot spots,” 118, 119, 140, 159, 160, 178; Iitate, 118, 160; mapping, 98, 124; at plant gate, 26, 32, 82, 107; at sea, 68, 88, 155–56; south of Tokyo, 78; Three Mile Island, 144–45; Unit 2 and environs, 29, 90, 100, 158; Unit 3 and environs, 67, 72–73, 97, 99, 100, 158; Unit 4 and environs, 72, 78, 82; units of measure, 27; U.S. monitoring, 114. See also dosimeters; evacuation of residents; radiation exposure: dose limits
radioactive fallout. See fallout
radiation release, 7, 14, 28, 113, 118, 146, 155–56, 267–68; announced to public, 26; ASME view, 290–91n3; assumptions and forecasts, 41, 88, 140, 190, 205–6, 211, 213, 214, 215, 220; computer modeling, 58, 63, 79, 87, 288n9; design shortcomings, 17, 20, 58; hypothetical, 71, 78, 219; United States, 45, 146, 148, 150, 283–84n5. See also cleanup; public fears; radiation detectors; radiation exposure; source term; ventilation
radiation syndrome, acute. See acute radiation syndrome
radioactive gases, 5, 7, 32, 71, 74, 127–28, 146, 266–67; scrubbing, 20, 267; venting, 4, 28, 169, 254
radioactive isotopes (radionuclides), 126–28, 155–56, 207, 211; released at Three Mile Island, 146. See also cesium-137; iodine-131
radioactive water, 155–56, 158–59, 164
RASCAL (Radiological Assessment System for Consequence Analysis), 63, 79–80, 87, 126, 129, 134, 207, 274
RCIC systems. See reactor core isolation cooling systems (RCIC)
reactor containment, 5–6, 14, 48, 70–71, 128, 209; breach of, 7, 26, 28, 30, 57, 71, 74, 77–79, 87–88, 98, 128, 158, 180, 186, 188, 195, 219; enhancement, 142, 188–89, 245; Three Mile Island, 145–46. See also Mark I containment; Mark II containment; Mark III containment
reactor core isolation cooling systems (RCIC), 8, 12, 218, 274; Unit 2, 17, 18, 24, 26, 62, 73, 265–66; Unit 3, 65, 66, 69, 266; United States, 217
reactor core meltdown. See meltdown
Reactor Safety Study (AEC), 192, 214
Reagan, Ronald, 191
“reasonable assurance of adequate protection.” See “adequate protection”
redundant systems. See backup systems
Regulatory Information Conference (RIC), 204–6, 217, 219–20, 260–61
relocation of residents. See evacuation of residents
rem (unit of radiation), 27, 274
residents’ evacuation. See evacuation of residents
restart of reactors, 46, 151, 224, 225, 227, 228, 229; Hamaoka, 170–71; Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, 228, 239; Monju, 286n1; Noda promises, 172, 223; NRA role, 241; Ohi, 224, 229, 230–31; Three Mile Island, 142
retrofitting. See backfitting
RIC. See Regulatory Information Conference (RIC)
Richter, C. F., 43
Richter scale, 281n1
risk analysis, 191–97, 201, 234, 253, 259. See also probabilistic risk assessment (PRA)
Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, 240
Roberts, Thomas, 197
Ronald Reagan (ship). See U.S.S. Ronald Reagan
Roos, John V., 69, 85, 87, 88–89, 125, 132, 134, 278
Safety Commission. See Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC)
safety reports and rankings. See nuclear plant safety reports and rankings
Sakurai, Katsunobu, 106–7
salt, 100, 131, 134, 135, 137, 286n1
saltwater. See seawater
SAMA. See severe accident mitigation alternatives (SAMA)
SAMGs. See severe accident management guidelines (SAMGs)
sand, 88, 90, 91, 98
sandbagging, 37, 175
Sandia National Laboratories, 134, 264, 265, 286n3; CRAC2 study, 207–9, 211, 212, 215, 216, 219, 220; SOARCA analysis, 217
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, 115, 128
Sanriku Coast, 9–10, 40, 51, 52, 53
Santiago, Patricia, 220
scale. See earthquakes: magnitude scales; instrument scale problems; International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES)
scandals, 46, 48, 50
scenarios. See “best-estimate” scenarios; worst-case scenarios
Schaperow, Jason, 220
schools and schoolchildren, 148, 160, 161, 162
Scidmore, Eliza Ruhamah, 282n4
Science and Technology Agency. See
Japan Science and Technology Agency
Scranton, William, III, 148
seawalls, 10, 53, 231, 246, 250
seawater: emergency use, 10, 33, 57, 60–62, 65, 67, 72, 77, 79, 86, 97–100, 107, 121, 123–24, 131, 137, 206, 265; normal use in cooling, 7, 19, 40–41, 52
secrecy, 40, 51, 151, 152, 179, 184, 212, 215, 219–20, 257; of inspections, 223. See also classified information
Seismic Isolation Building, 4, 9, 37, 75, 80–81, 85–86
seismology, 2–5, 41, 42–44, 51, 63, 114, 229. See also fault lines
Self-Defense Forces (SDF), 21, 22, 96, 97, 98–99, 118, 121, 122, 285n5
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, 94, 182
Sendai, 1, 3, 5
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (9/11), 95, 173, 208–10, 211, 235, 241
severe accident management guidelines (SAMGs), 200, 202, 215, 275, 287n4
severe accident mitigation alternatives (SAMA), 259–60
shareholders’ meetings, 165–66
Sheron, Brian, 64, 134, 217, 278
Shimizu, Masataka, 21, 25, 50–51, 67, 73, 76–77, 107, 277; resignation, 165, 166
Shimokobe, Kazuhiko, 227–28, 277
sievert (unit of radiation), 27, 275
simulated accidents. See computer simulation and modeling; emergency drills
Smith, Aileen Mioko, 110, 277
SOARCA. See “State of the Art Reactor Consequence Analyses” (SOARCA)
soil contamination, 120, 160, 162–63, 178, 214, 254, 256
source term, 126–30, 132, 133, 137–40, 189–90, 206, 214, 216, 288n8; definition, 275
South Korea, 68, 160
Soviet Union, 39. See also Chernobyl nuclear accident, 1986
SPEEDI. See System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI)
Speis, Themis, 197
spent fuel, dry cask storage of. See dry cask storage
spent fuel pools, 7, 70–71, 76, 81, 83–84, 88, 100, 121, 123–24, 131, 132, 139, 158, 159, 163, 174, 256, 275, 289–90n8; instrumentation, 236; in PWRs, 284n6; risks, 210–11; Unit 1, 57, 70, 88, 89, 90, 93, 121–22, 137; Unit 2, 70, 88, 89, 90, 93, 121–22, 137, 267; Unit 3, 70, 78, 88, 89, 90, 91, 93, 99, 122, 137; Unit 4, 69–71, 81, 82, 87–93, 95–96, 121, 123, 133, 136–37, 255; United States, 255
State Department. See U.S. State Department
state governments, 64, 147, 148, 283–84n5
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