nuclear-news

The NRC has no requirement for regular reviews of earthquake and flood safety after nuclear plants go into operation. A once-a-decade evaluation, with upgrades of facilities as needed, was among proposals in an agency task- force report. The commission requested the study to improve safety at the 104 U.S. commercial reactors after an earthquake and tsunami in March triggered meltdowns and radiation leaks at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant in Japan.

The NRC’s staff plans to recommend to the commission tomorrow which proposals to weigh first…..

Industry self-evaluations are “fraught with potential abuse,” Christopher Paine, director of the nuclear program for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group based inNew York, said in an interview. The NRC needs to be involved in a “more clear and rigorous way,” he said…..

Multiple Hazards  The NRC should “move quickly enough” to ensure that plants are protected from multiple hazards, such as the Virginia earthquake and Hurricane Irene, which battered the eastern U.S. less than two weeks later, Jaczko said.

“Any thought that we have eliminated accidents” is “hopefully vanquished from anybody’s mind who works in this industry,” he said…… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/nuclear-plants-need-quake-hazard-review-each-decade-jaczko-says.html