Nuclear safety regulation in the post-Fukushima era
- Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC (United States)
- Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
The March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident prompted regulators around the world to take a hard look at their requirements for protecting nuclear plants against severe accidents. In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ordered a “top-to-bottom” review of its regulations, and ultimately approved a number of safety upgrades. It rejected other risk-reduction measures, however, using a screening process that did not adequately account for impacts of large-scale land contamination events. Among rejected options was a measure to end dense packing of 90 spent fuel pools, which we consider critical for avoiding a potential catastrophe much greater than Fukushima. Unless the NRC improves its approach to assessing risks and benefits of safety improvements—by using more realistic parameters in its quantitative assessments and also taking into account societal impacts—the United States will remain needlessly vulnerable to such disasters.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE NA Office of Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development (NA-22)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NA0002534
- OSTI ID:
- 1454789
- Journal Information:
- Science, Vol. 356, Issue 6340; ISSN 0036-8075
- Publisher:
- AAASCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
Economic Losses From a Fire in a Dense-Packed U.S. Spent Fuel Pool
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journal | May 2017 |
The safety goals of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
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journal | April 1987 |
Insights into the Societal Risk of Nuclear Power Plant Accidents: Societal Risk of Nuclear Power Plant Accidents
|
journal | February 2016 |
Reducing the Danger from Fires in Spent Fuel Pools
|
journal | September 2016 |
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