US Nuclear Regulators To Vote On Proposal To Review Japan Crisis, Assess US Safety
March 21 2011 - 12:21PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to vote today
on a proposal that directs nuclear officials to conduct a 90-day
review of events at Japan's Fukushima power plant and to identify
potential new rules for the U.S. nuclear industry.
This 90-day review marks one of the first formal steps taken by
the commission to digest incoming information on the Japanese
nuclear crisis and to determine whether the U.S. needs to adopt new
standards at its own facilities as a result.
In the meantime, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is also
conducting "temporary" inspections of the 104 nuclear reactors in
the U.S. to assess their ability to respond to severe accidents --
namely, to determine whether they can deal with total losses of
power, mitigate problems associated with flooding and deal with
equipment losses due to seismic events.
The commission will also outline goals for a longer-term review
of the Japanese crisis and the safety of the U.S. industry.
The 90-day review, meanwhile, will include an evaluation of the
ability of reactors to respond to station blackouts and severe
accidents. It will also involve a radiological consequent analysis,
said Bill Borchardt, NRC's executive director for operations.
The review "will evaluate all of the currently available
information from the Japanese event and look at it to evaluate our
104 operating reactors' ability to protect against natural
disasters," Borchardt said during a briefing Monday.
The NRC's commissioners are expected to vote on the 90-day
review proposal today. The proposal should be made public shortly
thereafter, an NRC spokesman said.
Within the 30 days of the review, NRC staff will deliver a
"quick look" report to the commissioners that outlines the
condition of the U.S. fleet of nuclear reactors. "The idea is just
to get a quick snapshot," Borchardt said.
Given the time constraints of the 30-day review, Borchardt said
the commission will not collaborate with the nuclear industry on
its initial quick-look report.
Following both the temporary inspections and the 90-day review,
the commission will determine whether it needs to adopt new rules
or standards.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is also evaluating updated
seismic information, from the U.S. Geological Survey, for the
central and eastern United States.
As more information about the Japanese nuclear disaster becomes
available, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a
long-term analysis to identify possible areas of future research
and potential changes to the reactor oversight program. This review
could also lead to new rules.
Borchardt said he did not know when the commission will launch
this long-term review but that it will welcome "substantial
stakeholder involvement" when it does.
-By Tennille Tracy, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6619;
tennille.tracy@dowjones.com