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If anything set the table for the American nuclear industry’s response to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi, it was the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. After that event, all essential infrastructure and its security was put on the menu for a rethink. For all kinds of power plants, an important...

Some facts UCS left out. If you were concerned with the safety of America's nuclear energy facilities, I could understand why this blog post from Matt Wald at NY Times Green might cause you a bit of pause. In it, David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists makes the claim that industry and...

Earlier today, the Nuclear Energy Institute released a five-minute video explaining the comprehensive and tailored response strategy that it is implementing across the industry to enhance nuclear plant safety in the face of extreme natural events. To produce the high-definition video, NEI acquired first...

Earlier today, the Nuclear Energy Institute released a five-minute video explaining the comprehensive and tailored response strategy that it is implementing across the industry to enhance nuclear plant safety in the face of extreme natural events. To produce the high-definition video , NEI acquired first...

2012 may fade away and 2013 arrive with undo chipperness, but It’s all a continuum. Last year’s narratives will continue into the new year, a few cameo players from 2012 will gain additional prominence in 2013 – I’m thinking small reactors here – and, to paraphrase the tagline of an old horror comic...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority last week began examining a fissure beneath Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga nuclear energy facility in Fukui prefecture to determine whether it is associated with a nearby active fault. NRA officials investigated samples of rock strata...

Plant Update Tokyo Electric Power Co. has released English translations of its Management Policy Toward Restoration of the Fukushima Daiichi site and environs as well as a 71-item Intensive Reform Implementation Action Plan for executing the policy. The plan includes building an international reactor...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Japan’s nuclear utilities and vendors have created a new group called the Japan Nuclear Safety Institute (JANSI), which the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said is modeled on the U.S. Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the World Association of Nuclear...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s new two-year business plan, released last week, projects that costs for decontaminating the area around Fukushima Daiichi and paying damages to evacuated residents will double from the $62.5 billion estimate from April. The company also expects...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NRC staff told the agency’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards last week it believes that installing external containment vent filters on some reactors could be beneficial. The industry, however, said that filtering...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The operators of U.S. nuclear energy facilities last week approved a contract to develop two regional response centers that will store emergency equipment for rapid delivery in case of an extreme event at any nuclear plant. “The regional response centers will further increase...

Equipment-sharing program at Memphis, Phoenix locations augments industry protocol to pool safety equipment in event of emergencies WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 25, 2012—The nuclear energy industry is adding another layer of safety and public protection by developing regional centers for critical equipment...

Industry/Regulatory/Political AREVA has announced a contract to provide all 23 of Japan’s pressurized water reactors with passive autocatalytic recombiners, which will help prevent hydrogen from building up in emergency situations. The company said it will install more than 100 of the devices, which...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NRC Commissioner William Ostendorff told attendees at NEI’s Licensing Forum this week that the nuclear energy industry needs to communicate how the FLEX strategy would work to bolster public safety. FLEX, the industry’s...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NEI has reiterated its position that the key to minimizing radioactive releases during an accident is to avoid core damage. In a letter to the NRC, NEI is also urging the agency to consolidate several issues it is analyzing...

Industry/Regulatory/Political A new study by the Electric Power Research Institute that examines options for minimizing the release of radioactive materials in a severe nuclear accident says that a combination of strategies would be much more effective than depending on any single measure. In particular...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. A new study by the Electric Power Research Institute that examines options for minimizing the release of radioactive materials in a severe nuclear accident says that a combination of strategies would be more effective than...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The NRC has released Interim Staff Guidance on three post-Fukushima orders the agency issued in March on safety enhancements at the nation’s nuclear energy facilities. “The NRC guidance issued last week meets the intent...

Below is a summary of actions by the U.S. nuclear energy industry in response to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi. These actions include proactive initiatives taken by the industry and a tailored, comprehensive industry response to new regulatory requirements. Analyzing and Capturing Lessons Learned...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NRC Commissioner George Apostolakis had questions about the nuclear energy industry’s FLEX strategy at a briefing on the progress made to implement the highest-priority recommendations of the agency’s post-Fukushima task...

Industry/Regulatory/Political An independent review of lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear plants in the aftermath of last year’s earthquake and tsunami, conducted by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations at the request of Tokyo Electric Power Co., says that reactor operators...

Top safety experts at all U.S.nuclear energy facilities are implementing FLEX, a strategy developed to address the main safety challenges atFukushima, and planning for events that are more severe than those for which their facilities were designed. PSEG Nuclear’s Jamie Mallon is one such expert. With...

Nuclear energy facilities have different designs and each filtration option, or combination of options highlighted in the graphic below, is a possible way to achieve the goal of preventing the release of potentially harmful materials in the event of an accident. After numerous other safety measures have...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NEI and NRC representatives told a National Academy of Sciences panel that the industry is making steady progress in implementing lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident. The NAS is conducting a technical study of the...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs a clear safety imperative for drafting options for a new regulatory framework, as recommended by the agency’s post-Fukushima task force, industry said this week. The schedule for this...