Japanese Nuclear Accident

And U.S. Response

March 23, 2011
 Nuclear Energy in Japan

 54 operating nuclear
reactors (49 gigawatts)
 Two nuclear plants
under construction
 Tokyo Electric Power
Co. produces 27% of
Japan’s electricity
 12,000 MW of nuclear
energy capacity shut
down
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Before the Accident

Units 5, 6

Unit 1
Unit 2

Unit 3
Unit 4
At the time of the earthquake
Reactors 1, 2 and 3 operating

Reactors 4, 5 and 6 shutdown for

maintenance, inspection, refueling
 Status of Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Plant
 Unit 1 Hydrogen explosion, fuel damage, seawater cooling
the reactor vessel, status of spent fuel pool unclear
 Unit 2 Fuel damage, seawater cooling the reactor vessel,
cooling water restored to spent fuel pool
 Unit 3 Hydrogen explosion, fuel damage, seawater cooling
the reactor vessel, water sprayed into spent fuel pool
 Unit 4 Reactor core offloaded, fire and possible hydrogen
explosion, damage to spent fuel in fuel pool
 Units 5 and 6 Stable with power and cooling water
circulation restored
 Boiling Water Reactor Design
Boiling Water Reactor Design
At Fukushima Daiichi

Secondary Containment
Area of Explosion
at Fukushima Daiichi Spent Fuel Pool
Units 1 and 3
Steel Containment Vessel Reactor Vessel

Primary Containment
Seawater Is Being Pumped
Into Reactor Vessels at
Units 1, 2 and 3

Suppression Pool (Torus)

U.S. Nuclear Plants Are Safe
“Our nuclear power plants have
undergone exhaustive study, and have
been declared safe for any number of
extreme contingencies. ”
President Barack Obama
March 17, 2011

“All the plants in the United States are

designed to deal with a wide range of
natural disasters, whether it’s
earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, other
seismic events. We require all of them
to deal with those.”

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko

March 17, 2011
 Radiological Safety in the U.S.
“Radiation
“Radiation monitors
monitors confirm
confirm that
that “At
“At this
this time,
time, CDC
CDC does
does
no
no radiation
radiation levels
levels of
of concern
concern not
not recommend
recommend that that
have
have reached
reached the
the united
united states”
states” people
people inin the
the United
United States
States
Joint
Joint EPA/DOE
EPA/DOE statement,
statement, take
take KI
KI or
or iodine
iodine
March
March 18,
18, 2011
2011 supplements
supplements in in response
response
to
to the
the nuclear
nuclear power
power plant
plant
explosions
explosions in in Japan”
Japan”
“Given
“Given the
the thousands
thousands of of miles
miles between
between Center
Center forfor Disease
Disease
the
the two
two countries,
countries, Hawaii,
Hawaii, Alaska,
Alaska, the
the Control
Control website,
website,
U.S.
U.S. Territories
Territories and
and the
the U.S.
U.S. West
West Coast
Coast March
March 21,21, 2011
2011
are
are not
not expected
expected to to experience
experience any
any
harmful
harmful levels
levels of
of radioactivity.”
radioactivity.”
NRC
NRC press
press release,
release, March
March 13,
13, 2011
2011
 Emergency Planning for U.S.
Nuclear Energy Facilities

 10-mile emergency planning zone (evacuation or sheltering);

50-mile monitoring zone for environment and food.
 Radiation monitoring by plant site, Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) and state and local personnel from the
site and surrounding areas
 Decisions on public precautionary measures made by state or
local authorities based on recommendations from plant
operator and NRC
 Emergency plan exercises in coordination with state, local,
and federal officials, evaluated by the NRC and FEMA
 Protection of Plant Workers

 All plants have extensive radiation detection and

monitoring capabilities
 Protecting workers is the highest priority
 Procedures in place to govern work practices and
limit radiation exposure
 Workers receive extensive training on radiation
safety and emergency responsibilities
 U.S. Nuclear Power Plants
Prepared for Extreme Events

 Maximum credible earthquakes and floods

 Loss of off-site power and on-site power
 Hydrogen generation as a result of fuel damage
during loss-of-coolant accidents
 Post 9/11: aircraft impact, loss of large areas of the
plant
 Industry preparation, training, etc. exceed NRC
requirements
 U.S. industry has long history of continuous learning
 U.S. Industry Taking Steps to Ensure
Safety at Nuclear Power Plants
 Nuclear energy industry will take short-term and long-
term actions
 Short-term: Verify readiness to manage extreme
events
 Long-term:
– Careful analysis of Japanese accident and how reactors,
systems, structures, components, fuel and operators
performed
– Incorporate lessons learned into U.S. reactor designs and
operating practices
 Short-Term Industry
Actions to Ensure Safety
 Verify each plant's capability to manage major
challenges, such as aircraft impacts, loss of large
areas of plant due to natural events, fires or
explosions
 Verify each plant's capability to manage loss of off-
site power
 Verify capability to mitigate flooding and the impact of
floods on systems inside and outside the plant
 Perform walk-downs and inspection of important
equipment needed to respond to extreme events
 Reaction in United States

 NRC will conduct comprehensive review of all U.S.

nuclear power plants to ensure safety
 Measured response from political and policy
community
– Focused on learning, applying lessons
 Likely increased attention to U.S. used fuel
management policy
– Centralized interim storage a strategic priority
 Little visible impact on new nuclear plant
development
 Information Sources
 Nuclear Energy Institute (www.nei.org)
 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (www.nrc.gov)
 U.S. Department of Energy (www.energy.gov)
 International Atomic Energy Agency (www.iaea.org)
 American Nuclear Society (www.ans.org)
 Health Physics Society (www.hps.org)
 Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
(http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/)
 Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (www.jaif.or.jp/english/)
 Tokyo Electric Power Company
(http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html)