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Fukushima

Page 40

by David Lochbaum


  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, 1
6, 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

  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

 

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