nuclear-news

Japan should have evacuation plans, and evacuation costs paid by nuclear plant operatrors

Post-Fukushima safety standards should include a .. mechanism to deal with a large nuclear accident. For example, the owner of a plant could be required to work with the regulator to come up with a credible evacuation plan for the residents within an 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius of the installation…… The plan should aim for a complete evacuation within 24 hours…. 

It is also important to specify who pays for an evacuation…

 Since power-plant operators have the largest influence on the probability of an accident, those companies should be required to bear this cost.

How Japan Can Avert Nuclear Disaster Bloomberg, By Takeo Hoshi and Anil K Kashyap Jun 7, 2012  On May 5, the Tomari nuclear plant in Hokkaido shut down for routine maintenance, leaving Japan with no operating nuclear-power plants.

There is a confused debate over what to do next. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has called for restarting the reactors at Ohi plant in Fukui, insisting that bringing them online is
imperative for the economy. Although the government may prevail, many Japanese remain skeptical about nuclear safety……
basic approach is the same as the one in place before the Fukushima disaster last year. The idea is to avoid accidents through various
mechanisms that can be effective even after an incident. Strengthening
those mechanisms is important, yet the lesson of Fukushima is that
this safety strategy is fundamentally misguided….  When there is an
incident that is substantially bigger than assumed, an accident will
follow…  Because we can never know the maximum size of disasters
that can befall a nuclear plant, this prevention approach is destined
to fail eventually.
The only fail-safe strategy is prohibitively expensive, so it is time
for a new approach…… Post-Fukushima safety standards should include a .. mechanism to deal with a large nuclear accident. For example, the owner of a plant could be required to work with the regulator to come up with a credible evacuation plan for the residents
within an 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius of the installation.

Thiswould cut across prefectural boundaries, overcoming some of the poor
coordination that characterized the response to the Fukushima
disaster.
Evacuation Plan
The plan should aim for a complete evacuation within 24 hours; if this cannot be achieved, the barriers to its implementation should be identified and a strategy for addressing them announced….  It is
also important to specify who pays for an evacuation because that
knowledge can influence the behavior of people who can affect the
probability of accidents. Since power-plant operators have the largest influence on the probability of an accident, those companies should be required to bear this cost. This would give them additional incentive
to avoid such events. The company would probably try to insure the
costs, and the insurers would bring further pressure to improve
safety.

June 9, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general