Nuclear safety regulation in the post-Fukushima era

Journal Article · Thu May 25 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aal4890· OSTI ID:1454789

Lyman, Edwin ^[1]; Schoeppner, Michael ^[2]; von Hippel, Frank ^[2]

---

1. Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC (United States)
2. 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: AAAS
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION