Lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear accident for improving safety and security of U.S. nuclear plants

394 Pages·2014·20.09 MB·English

Committee on Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for
Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants
Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board
Division on Earth and Life Studies
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Govern-
ing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the
councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer-
ing, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for
the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropri-
ate balance.
This study was supported by Contract/Grant No. NRC-HQ-12-G-03-0002 between
the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this pub-
lication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-27253-7
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-27253-X
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2014954121
Cover images: (Front) Satellite image of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power
Station taken on March 14, 2011, while the accident was still in progress. The
Unit 1 reactor building (lower-left corner of image) was damaged by a hydrogen
explosion at 15:36 (3:36 P.M.) Japan Standard Time on March 12. The Unit 3
reactor building (building with steam plume near center of image) was damaged by
a hydrogen explosion at 11:01 the day the image was recorded. The Unit 4 reactor
building, which is still intact in this image, would be damaged by a hydrogen explo-
sion at 06:14 the next day (March 15). (Back) Satellite image of the harbor-front of
the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station showing extensive damage from the
tsunami. Also shown is a seismogram of the Great East Japan Earthquake recorded
at the Oshika K-Net Station (MYG011) in Miyagi Prefecture. Satellite image cour-
tesy of DigitalGlobe©2014.
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COMMITTEE ON LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE
FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR ACCIDENT FOR IMPROVING
SAFETY AND SECURITY OF U.S. NUCLEAR PLANTS
NORMAN P. NEUREITER, Chair, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
B. JOHN GARRICK, Vice Chair, Independent Consultant, Laguna Beach,
California
ROBERT A. BARI, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York
PERCY M. BEARD, JR., Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (retired),
Atlanta, Georgia
JAN BEYEA, Consulting in the Public Interest, Lambertville, New Jersey
M. QUINN BREWSTER, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
MICHAEL L. CORRADINI, University of Wisconsin–Madison
RICHARD S. DENNING, The Ohio State University, Columbus1
VIJAY K. DHIR, University of California, Los Angeles
MICHAEL W. GOLAY, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge
BARBARA L. HAMRICK, University of California, Irvine Medical
Center
SHELLEY A. HEARNE, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health, Baltimore, Maryland, and Big Cities Health Coalition,
National Association of County and City Health Officials,
Washington, D.C.
PAUL A. LOCKE, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,
Baltimore, Maryland
JAMES E. MATHESON, SmartOrg, Menlo Park, California
NAJMEDIN MESHKATI, University of Southern California, Los
Angeles2
THOMAS G. MOSER, Osprey Global Solutions, Wilmington, North
Carolina
ARTHUR T. MOTTA, Pennsylvania State University, University Park
JOHN A. ORCUTT, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of
California at San Diego, La Jolla
EMILIE M. ROTH, Roth Cognitive Engineering, Menlo Park, California
JOSEPH E. SHEPHERD, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
ELIZABETH Q. TEN EYCK, ETE Consulting, Inc., Great Falls, Virginia
MARK H. THIEMENS, University of California, San Diego3
FRANK N. VON HIPPEL, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
1 Separated from committee on November 21, 2012.
2 Resigned from committee on June 12, 2013.
3 Resigned from committee on July 26, 2012.
v
LORING A. WYLLIE, JR., Degenkolb Engineers, San Francisco,
California
Technical Advisor
NAJMEDIN MESHKATI, University of Southern California, Los
Angeles4
Staff
KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Study Director
OURANIA KOSTI, Senior Program Officer
DANIEL POMEROY, Postdoctoral Fellow (December 10, 2012, to
September 1, 2013)
DARLENE GROS, Senior Program Assistant
4 Effective July 10, 2013.
vi
NUCLEAR AND RADIATION STUDIES BOARD
ROBERT C. DYNES, Chair, University of California, San Diego
BARBARA J. MCNEIL, Vice Chair, Harvard Medical School, Boston,
Massachusetts
JOHN S. APPLEGATE, Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington
DAVID J. BRENNER, Columbia University, New York
MARGARET S. Y. CHU, M.S. Chu & Associates, LLC, Albuquerque,
New Mexico
MICHAEL L. CORRADINI, University of Wisconsin–Madison
TISSA H. ILLANGASEKARE, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
CAROL M. JANTZEN, Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken,
South Carolina
ANNIE B. KERSTING, Glen T. Seaborg Institute, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, Livermore, California
MARTHA S. LINET, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
FRED A. METTLER, JR., New Mexico VA Health Care System,
Albuquerque
NANCY JO NICHOLAS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos,
New Mexico
LAWRENCE T. PAPAY, PQR, LLC, La Jolla, California1
DANIEL O. STRAM, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
RICHARD J. VETTER, Mayo Clinic (retired), Rochester, Minnesota
SERGEY V. YUDINTSEV, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Staff
KEVIN D. CROWLEY, Director
JENNIFER HEIMBERG, Senior Program Officer
OURANIA KOSTI, Senior Program Officer
TONI GREENLEAF, Administrative and Financial Associate
LAURA D. LLANOS, Administrative and Financial Associate
DARLENE GROS, Senior Program Assistant
ERIN WINGO, Senior Program Assistant
1 Deceased on July 28, 2014.
vii

Acknowledgments
The successful completion of this study would not have been possible
without the cooperation and assistance of a very large number of orga-
nizations and individuals. The committee would especially like to thank the
following organizations and individuals for providing logistical support,
advice, and assistance during this study:
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which sponsored the study and
provided information on the agency’s post-Fukushima activities and actions.
The committee would especially like to thank former Executive Director
of Operations Bill Borchardt and staff in the Japan Lessons-Learned Divi-
sion, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation: David Skeen, Rob Taylor, Bill
Reckley, and Kevin Witt. Mr. Witt served ably as the agency’s liaison to
the committee and was effective in responding to the committee’s many
requests for information.
U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, which assisted the committee with logistical
arrangements for its meeting in Japan: former Ambassador John Roos and
embassy staff Jeffrey Miller and Jen Ladlein.
Government of Japan for its full cooperation with the National Acad-
emy of Sciences (NAS) on this study and for providing technical and logisti-
cal assistance:
• Japanese Embassy in the United States: Ambassador Kenichiro
Sasae, former Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki, embassy staff members Takashi
Toyota and Akira Tsugita, and former staff member Seiichi Shimasaki.
ix
x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Embassy staff responded effectively to the committee’s many requests for
information and logistical support.
• Atomic Energy Commission of Japan: former Chairman Shunsuke
Kondo.
• Japan Atomic Energy Agency: former President Atsuzuki Suzuki.
• Japan Science and Technology Agency: Center for Research and
Development Strategy (CRDS) Director General Hiroyuki Yoshikawa;
CRDS Deputy Director General Tateo Arimoto; Principal Fellow Kenkichi
Hirose; and Washington, D.C. representative Takashi Ohama.
• Nuclear Regulation Authority: Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa and
staff member Masahiro Aoki.
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (Tokyo) for cosponsor-
ing and supporting the committee’s meeting at the institute’s facilities in
Tokyo: President Takashi Shiraishi and faculty members Tateo Arimoto,
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, and Atsushi Sunami.
Science Council of Japan for assisting with the identification of techni-
cal experts for the committee’s meeting in Tokyo: President Takashi Onishi
and Vice President Fumiko Kasuga.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for its full cooperation
and support for this study, particularly for providing technical informa-
tion about the company’s response to the earthquake and tsunami at the
Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear plants; for arranging and
hosting tours of those plants; and for participating in the committee’s meet-
ing in Tokyo: Chief Nuclear Officer and Executive Vice President Zengo
Aizawa, General Manager of International Relations and Strategy Group
Akira Kawano; Fukushima Daiichi Superintendent Takeshi Takahashi;
Fukushima Daini Superintendent Naohiro Masuda; TEPCO’s Washington,
D.C., representative Kenji Tateiwa; and the many other TEPCO staff listed
in Appendix B. Mr. Tateiwa served effectively as a liaison between TEPCO
and NAS staff.
Tohoku Electric Power Company for arranging and hosting the tour
of the Onagawa nuclear plant and participating in the committee’s Tokyo
meeting: Managing Director Shigeru lnoue; Onagawa Superintendent Shun
Tsubata; Deputy Superintendent lsao Kato; staff members Masayoshi Abe
and Satoshi Otokita; Washington, D.C., representative Hiroya Shimanuki;
and the other Tohoku staff listed in Appendix B.
Nuclear Energy Institute for providing information about the U.S.
nuclear industry’s response to the Fukushima Daiichi accident to improve
safety of nuclear plants in the United States: President and Chief Execu-
tive Officer Marvin Fertel; Executive Director (Fukushima Response) Jim
Scarola; Vice President of Nuclear Operations Joe Pollock; and Senior
Technical Advisor Steven Kraft. Mr. Kraft provided lead support for the