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Do the regulated always feel overregulated? One day’s delivery brings a directive stipulating that the sidewalks must be widened to permit two wheelchairs to cross paths without bumping. Another says the school cafeteria must be made accessible by elevator. Trees must be trimmed of branches six feet...

Industry/Regulatory/Political U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has recommended requiring engineered filters to the containment vents for Mark I and Mark II boiling water reactors as a post-Fukushima response. A staff paper released this week for the commission’s consideration said an alternative...

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...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards said last week it does not support an agency staff position that would require the 31 U.S. boiling water reactors with Mark I and II containments to install external containment...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NRC staff last week outlined several options it is considering for creating a more integrated regulatory framework, as recommended by the agency’s post-Fukushima task force. The options, discussed at a Nov. 8 public meeting...

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 Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority is investigating whether Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi nuclear plant—the only operating facility in the country—is on an active fault line. The NRA heard last week from a group of experts who have surveyed the fissure. The agency...

Earlier today, the Washington Post published an opinion piece by Phillip Lipscy, Kenji Kushida and and Trevor Incert entitled, " Protecting nuclear plants from nature's worst ." Steve Kerekes, NEI's Director of Media Relations, left the following comment in response at WashingtonPost...

The NRC has issued for public comment draft interim staff guidance for U.S. nuclear energy facility operators to perform certain flooding hazard assessments in response to a request for information the agency issued in March as part of its response to the Fukushima accident. The March request calls for...

Of the 34 nuclear energy facilities in the path of Hurricane Sandy, all responded well and safely to the powerful storm, demonstrating their resilience against severe natural forces. Careful planning and comprehensive preparations days in advance of the storm paid off at all the facilities, ensuring...

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...

Every nuclear energy facility in the country has a detailed plan for responding to an emergency, and emergency operations facilities (EOFs) are an integral part of these plans. Demonstrating their commitment to emergency preparedness, FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Co. (FENOC) built new EOFs for each...

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. Discussion of the cumulative effects of regulation on NRC licensees dominated a panel at last week’s NEI Licensing Forum, with the views of the industry’s commercial nuclear energy and fuel cycle sectors well represented...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The five commissioners heading Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) unanimously agreed last week to formulate new severe accident regulations for nuclear energy facilities, in line with the country’s atomic energy law that parliament amended in June. Accident scenarios...

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 The post-Fukushima response steering committees of the nuclear energy industry and Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviewed accomplishments and work in progress during a joint meeting last week. Nuclear energy industry representatives highlighted completion of inspections...

In Monica Ray’s experience, preparing for the unlikely event of an emergency at Arizona Public Service’s Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station requires coordination and communication. From comparing lessons learned with emergency response teams at other nuclear energy facilities to updating the Arizona...

Pete Dietrich, SCE For most of 2012, the nuclear industry has been keeping a close watch on the situation at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, where continuing issues with the plant's steam generators have kept both units offline. As NEI member company and plant manager Southern California Edison...

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...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The Japanese cabinet has endorsed a government policy panel’s strategy to gradually reduce nuclear as part of the country’s energy mix, while dropping a proposal to end the use of nuclear energy “in the 2030s.” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said days after the strategy was...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The Japanese government’s Energy and Environment Council last week proposed a goal of phasing out nuclear energy “in the 2030s.” The new policy follows recent public surveys that indicate support for ending the country’s reliance on nuclear energy. The panel said the 48...