Why Are U.S. Nuclear Plants Better Prepared for Emergencies Than Fukushima? Here's a Checklist.

Tom Kauffman

The following is a guest post written by NEI's Tom Kauffman. Though Tom works in NEI's media relations shop, he also spent 23 years working at Three Mile Island, seven of those as a licensed reactor operator.

Former NRC Chairman Dale Klein was justified in criticizing an anti-nuclear panel’s comparison of the potential of an accident at nuclear energy facilities in New York and Massachusetts with the 2011 accident at Fukushima Daiichi. “Comparing the accident at Fukushima Daiichi to a hypothetical accident at Indian Point or Pilgrim is intellectually dishonest and resembles the classic fear mongering intended to create unnecessary anxiety," Klein said. "Comparing the US nuclear power plants to those that have not added new safety systems and procedures is simply wrong.”

As the former Chairman points out, the U.S. and Japanese nuclear industries have very different approaches to nuclear safety. The differences developed over several decades and are profound. Below is a comparison of some of the key safety factors.

	U.S.	Japan
REGULATORY STRUCTURE	NRC is a single, transparent, independent federal agency.	Had four agencies with overlapping authorities. Two promoted the industry. An independent safety regulator was formed post-Fukushima.
PLANT OPERATIONS COMMAND & CONTROL	All decisions rest with the on-duty, federally licensed senior reactor operators.	For some key safety-related decisions, plant operators seek the approval of government officials.
REACTOR OPERATOR LICENSING	All reactor operators are individually licensed by the NRC and must fully requalify every two years to maintain their license.	Only shift supervisors are licensed by regulator. Others are certified by company.
CONTROL ROOM SIMULATORS	All reactor operators are required to be trained and tested on a full-scale replica simulator that is identical to their facility’s control room.	Replica simulators are not required.
SAFETY CULTURE	Industrywide safety culture program encourages all workers to be engaged in safety and to freely report safety concerns.	No established safety culture program.
INDUSTRY SELF-POLICING	Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (est.1980) continuously monitors industry safety and presses for continuous improvement.	An entity modeled after INPO is being formed post-Fukushima.
POST 9/11 ACTIONS	Enhanced security and added safety equipment to mitigate effects of extreme events such as large fires, explosions and aircraft impact.	No significant post 9/11 protective actions.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS	Comprehensive, federally mandated emergency response plans require quarterly, full-scale drills and biennial graded drills involving local, state and federal authorities.	Emergency planning well below U.S. standards. No required or graded emergency drill protocols.

For more information on how the U.S. nuclear industry differs from Japan's, watch this video featuring NEI's Tony Pietrangelo.

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What You Won't Hear When Gregory Jaczko, Peter Bradford and Arnie Gundersen Take to the Podium in New York and Boston This Week

Tom Kauffman

The following is a guest post written by NEI's Tom Kauffman. Though Tom works in NEI's media relations shop. He also spent 23 years working at Three Mile Island, seven of those as a licensed reactor operator.

This week in New York and Boston, anti-nuclear activists have scheduled panel discussions designed to scare the public into pressuring politicians into shuttering local nuclear power plants.

The members of the panel are:

• former NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko;
• Peter Bradford, former NRC commissioner; and 
• anti-nuke extremist Arnie Gundersen, an engineer who never lets science or facts get in his way.

So what can you expect to hear from this trio? We figure it's more or less a combination of the three following assertions: 1) The nuclear accident in Japan can happen here. 2) All U.S. nuclear energy facilities are unsafe. 3) All U.S. reactors should be permanently shut down.

On the other hand, there are some facts they are sure to ignore:

• Not one person in Japan was killed due to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. And despite Gundersen's prediction that "about a million cancers," would result from the accident in Japan, the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation determined that no significant radiation related health issues have been found in Japan or elsewhere. 

• During the accident in Japan, Gregory Jaczko's claim that the Unit 4 used fuel pool was empty was later proven false by NRC staff. This mistake, along with his resistance to correct it, likely made things worse for the Japanese. 

• All U.S. nuclear energy facilities are prepared for extreme events. Despite this, not one U.S. nuclear energy facility is subject to earthquakes or tsunamis the magnitude of those that caused the accident in Japan. 

• After more than a half-century (more than 7,500 reactor-years) of operation, including the accident at Three Mile Island, there is no evidence that any member of the public has been harmed by the radiation from any U.S. nuclear energy facility. 

• Gregory Jaczko’s call for a 50-mile evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant during the Japan accident was proven to be unnecessary and put people at risk. 

• The NRC has determined there is no scientific basis for expanding the 10-mile-radius Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) around U.S. nuclear power plants. 

• The U.S. and Japanese nuclear energy industries are profoundly different in their approaches to nuclear safety with the U.S. industry effectively being decades ahead in levels of physical protection, regulatory control, safety culture and security. 

• While Gundersen likes to tout his experience as a "licensed reactor operator," others who have taken a closer look at his background have concluded he's engaged in puffing up his resume. And when he's challenged to show his work, he comes up empty.

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