Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster

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Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster Page 41

by David Lochbaum


  State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA), 130, 204, 205–6, 211–21, 268, 275, 285n3, 288nn9–10, 289n1

  station blackout. See power outages

  steel: in reactor containment, 5–6, 14, 48, 113, 188; in spent fuel storage, 7, 70, 83; vulnerability in cases of meltdown, 7, 113, 195, 219

  storage of contaminated materials. See disposal and storage of contaminated materials

  Strauss, Lewis L., 39

  “stress tests,” 170–71, 224–25, 229, 230–31, 259

  strontium-90, 127

  Stutzke, Martin, 287n6

  Sugaoka, Kei, 48

  Sullivan, Randy, 216

  Sumatra earthquake, 2004, 47

  Surry Power Station, 213, 214, 215, 216, 218

  Svinicki, Kristine L., 167–68, 172–73, 182, 183, 234, 288

  Sweden, 189, 254

  System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI), 58–59, 63, 118, 207, 275

  Takekuro, Ichiro, 60, 61, 277

  taxation, 40, 178, 204, 226, 230

  television, 1, 10, 12, 33, 54, 55, 59, 62, 85, 91, 97, 171, 180; Edano on, 103; United States, 115–17

  tellurium, 109, 118, 156

  TEPCO. See Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)

  terrorist attacks (hypothetical), 183–84, 209, 211, 214, 241

  terrorist attacks, September 11, 2011. See September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (9/11)

  Thornburgh, Richard, 145, 148

  Three Mile Island nuclear accident, 1979, 14–15, 44–45, 101–2, 140–54, 188, 202; cleanup, 146, 164; industry effect and response, 58, 61, 112, 168, 205; INES rating, 103–4; NRC effect and response, 152, 187, 188, 195, 196, 200, 232, 253. See also Kemeny Commission

  Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, 143

  thyroid gland, 27, 99, 127, 129, 133, 134, 138, 139; potassium iodide and, 273

  tidal waves. See tsunamis

  Tohoku Earthquake, 2011, 1, 3–5, 9, 10, 13, 47, 282n5

  Tokai, 43

  Tokaimura research center, 40; nuclear accident, 1999, 37–38, 103

  Tokyo: earthquake vulnerability, 229; protests, 223, 223; radiation threat to, 77, 78, 79, 89, 90, 124, 133, 134, 138, 139, 140, 256

  Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), 48–54, 61; blamed, 244; blame-placing by, 103, 180, 244; communications, 76–77, 107–8, 264; compensation plan, 165, 289n4; cover-ups and falsification, 48–49; denial of “owning” radiation, 179; disaster response, 12–13, 16–26, 30, 55, 59, 60–61, 85, 86, 88, 100; finances, 165, 178–79, 226–28; Hatamura committee criticism, 226; incestuous practices, 47, 48; media coverage, 107; new management, 227–28, 239; NRC relations, 125, 135, 136, 155, 163; openness to help, 100, 102, 131, 134–35; postmortem arguments, 246–47, 266–67; power outage preparation, 203; pre-disaster retrofitting, 202; press conferences, 67; protests against, 161; public relations, 107–8, 264; radiation readings, 97; recovery plan, 163–66; repowering efforts, 97, 99; self-assessment, 180; shareholders’ meetings, 165–66; siting and construction, 40, 41, 42; tsunami planning, 51–54; water contamination problem, 158, 159–60. See also Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant

  tornadoes, 188, 192, 249, 253

  torus. See wetwell (torus)

  Toshiba, 164, 290n10

  Trapp, Jim, 77, 78–79, 80, 84, 85, 86, 136, 278

  Trautman, Stephen, 88, 278

  travelers, American, 93, 99–100

  tsunami (word), 282n4

  tsunamis, 9–13, 11, 22–23, 229, 247–48; damage from, 53, 63, 159, 250; effect on fishing industry, 156; evacuation after, 57–58; fatalities, 98; Indian Ocean, 47; Minamisoma, Japan, 106–7; planning for, 51–54, 171, 246; search for victims, 181; TEPCO view, 180; U.S. warnings, 34

  turbine buildings, 10, 30, 53, 56, 62, 158, 160, 276

  turbine generators, 5, 8, 48, 56

  Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station, 249

  Ulses, Anthony “Tony,” 69, 77, 78–79, 80, 84, 85, 86, 95, 278

  uniforms, 284–85n2. See also company uniforms

  Union of Concerned Scientists, 94, 106, 193, 201, 206, 283n1, 286n1; lawsuit by, 194

  United States: aid from sought, 77; Atoms for Peace, 39–40; earthquake hazards, 113, 114; generation equipment in Japan, 282n8; western states, 64, 99, 113, 114, 128, 138, 139. See also Alaska; California; nuclear plants, U.S.; Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); Three Mile Island nuclear accident, 1979; White House

  uranium, 7, 37, 171; in fuel pellets, 5, 271

  U.S. Air Force, 97

  U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. See Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)

  U.S. citizens. See Americans

  U.S. Congress, 36, 92, 116, 187, 205, 246, 247; Atomic Energy Act, 187; EPAct, 204–5; hearings, 85, 92, 93–94, 182, 183, 185; Three Mile Island investigation, 149, 193

  U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. See Defense Threat Reduction Agency

  U.S. Department of Defense, 134, 138

  U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 63–64, 68, 133, 134, 137, 139; collaboration, 102, 131, 288n5; Office of Naval Reactors, 68, 88, 89; Radiological Assistance Program, 84, 97; simulations, 99. See also National Nuclear Security Administration; Sandia National Laboratories

  U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 99–100, 114

  U.S. Department of State, 80, 92–93, 139

  U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, 61, 62, 69, 80, 100, 129, 132; contingency planning, 124; fears within, 87, 89, 133; NRC at, 77, 84, 86, 100, 125

  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 80, 114, 126, 129, 132, 138, 139, 284n8

  U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, 78, 79–80

  U.S. Geological Survey, 4, 44, 114, 282n5

  U.S. military, 68, 69, 77, 78, 88, 97, 121, 138, 160

  U.S. Navy, 68, 88, 160

  U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. See Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

  U.S.S.R. See Soviet Union

  U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, 68

  vague language: in guidelines and standards, 48, 187, 190, 191, 194, 224, 290n2; from sources on Fukushima events, 22, 98, 130

  van Loon, Eric, 206, 208

  ventilation, 19–20, 236, 238, 251, 276; filters, 128, 188, 231, 254, 255, 268; government approval, 21–22, 30, 31; NRA measures, 241; planning for, 169, 246; policy recommendations, 197–98; Three Mile Island, 146, 148; Unit 1, 19–20, 22, 24–26, 28–32, 57; Unit 2, 25, 73–74; Unit 3, 65, 66–67, 69. See also exhaust stacks; hardened vents

  video, 12, 16, 54, 61, 95; conferencing, 25, 86

  Virgilio, Martin, 86, 278; event monitoring (days 2–4), 61–62, 63–64, 77; event monitoring (days 5–8), 81, 85, 87, 89, 98–99, 102; event monitoring (days 9–10), 125, 132–33, 134, 138; response to NTTF report, 233

  Virginia nuclear plants. See North Anna Power Station; Surry Power Station

  Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, 245, 282n6, 288n1

  voluntary industry measures, 154, 170, 173, 198, 199–200, 202–3, 235–36, 253; Japan, 51–52, 157, 246–47. See also FLEX program; severe accident management guidelines (SAMGs)

  von Hippel, Frank, 192

  Wagner, Brian, 36

  water, fresh. See freshwater

  water, ocean. See seawater

  water cannons, 90, 96, 97, 121, 122

  water contamination. See radioactive water

  Waxman, Henry, 93

  weather, 128, 207–8, 214, 219, 221, 249. See also hurricanes; tornados; wind

  Weber, Mike, 138, 278

  Weiss, Ellyn, 194

  western states (U.S.). See United States: western states

  Westinghouse Electric, 39, 200, 290n10; AP1000 reactor, 114, 244, 245

  wetwell (torus), 6, 19, 62, 73, 75, 136, 267–68, 276, 284n7; breaches, 77–78, 79, 266; scrubbing in 20, 28, 267; ventilation, 238

  White House, 92, 111, 129–30, 137–39, 140, 205; NRC relations, 61, 89, 129, 130, 132, 133, 137–39, 166, 177; Office of Science and Technology Policy, 133, 267; Three Mile Island involvement, 147, 148. See also Kemeny Commission


  Wiggins, Jim, 124, 133, 278

  Wilson, George, 168

  wind, 55, 58, 77–80, 82, 87, 97, 118, 119, 126, 128, 152, 156, 207; downwind fatalities, 211; Hurricane Andrew, 249; Tokyo and, 77, 78, 79, 89, 90, 133, 134

  World Nuclear Association, 35

  worst-case scenarios, 125, 126, 129–30, 132, 133, 138, 187; in CRAC2, 208, 215, 288n8; defense-in-depth approach to, 248; discussed in closed NRC briefing, 216; ignored in FLEX plan, 238

  xenon-133, 146

  Yokosuka naval base. See U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka

  Yokota Air Base, 97, 98

  Yomiuri Shimbun, 46, 47

  Yoshida, Masao, 21, 243, 277; death, 284n1; insubordination by, 60–61, 86; Kan relations, 25, 31; March 11 management, 10, 20–21, 23–24, 25–26, 30–31, 32, 33, 37; March 12–14 management, 37, 55, 57, 60–61, 65–68, 73, 74, 75, 76, 80–81, 85–86; post-disaster statements, 13, 85

  Yoshizawa, Atsufumi, 243, 277

  zirconium, 5, 6, 7, 88, 145; ignition of, 71, 82, 99, 211

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