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The Nuclear Energy Institute Discusses Domestic Nuclear-Energy Issues, in Light of the Current Situation in Japan
-- Last updated on Tuesday, May 10th; 11 statements are currently available --
-- How Will You Use This Story? --
Statement #1 (43 seconds) -- NEI President and Chief Executive Officer Marvin Fertel; recorded on Tuesday, May 10th, at "Nuclear Energy Assembly 2011"
"THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE ITEMS [THAT ARE] IDENTIFIED IN THE INDUSTRY'S INITIAL 30-DAY REVIEW CAN BE ENHANCEMENTS TO EXISTING PROGRAMS OR PROCEDURES. THEY INCLUDE: REQUIRING CLARIFICATION OF WORKERS' RESPONSIBILITIES--AND IMPROVING TRAINING-OPPORTUNITIES; ENHANCING AND DIVERSIFYING [BOTH] STORAGE AND PLACEMENT OF EQUIPMENT; ENHANCING THE CAPABILITY FOR MULTI-REACTOR SITES TO RESPOND TO EVENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY--AT ALL OF THE SITE'S REACTORS; AND IMPROVED COORDINATION OF [BOTH] FIRST-RESPONDERS AND VENDORS. AS IS OUR NATURE AND PRACTICE, WE WILL INCORPORATE THESE LESSONS [THAT HAVE BEEN] LEARNED, ACROSS THE INDUSTRY--AS THE FIRST STEP IN A SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM REVIEW OF ENHANCEMENTS THAT MAY BE MADE AT OUR FACILITIES, IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE EVENTS IN JAPAN."
"WE BELIEVE [THAT] THE AMERICAN NUCLEAR-POWER PLANTS ARE WELL-PREPARED--AND COULD WITHSTAND SIGNIFICANT NATURAL-FORCES, HERE IN THIS COUNTRY. WE'LL BE EVEN-BETTER-PREPARED, AS WE ADDRESS THE LESSONS [THAT HAVE BEEN] LEARNED FROM JAPAN. BUT TODAY, THE PUBLIC WANTS TO KNOW THAT OUR INDUSTRY-APPROACH TO [BOTH] SAFETY AND PREPAREDNESS EMBRACES A SIMPLE CONCEPT: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED--AND PLAN FOR IT, WITH MULTI-LAYERED SAFETY-FEATURES. WE'RE GOING TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR LEARNING THE LESSONS FROM FUKUSHIMA--AND FOR APPLYING THEM HERE ACCORDINGLY. I KNOW THAT WE CAN MEET THAT STANDARD."
"U-S NUCLEAR-POWER PLANTS ARE SAFE. WE KNOW [THAT] WE OPERATE IN AN UNFORGIVING ENVIRONMENT, WHERE THE PENALTIES FOR MISTAKES ARE HIGH--AND WHERE CREDIBILITY AND PUBLIC-CONFIDENCE, ONCE LOST, ARE DIFFICULT TO RECOVER. ALL OF THE SAFETY-RELATED METRICS [THAT ARE] TRACKED BY INDUSTRY AND THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DEMONSTRATE HIGH LEVELS OF EXCELLENCE: FORCED-OUTAGE RATES, UNPLANNED SAFETY-SYSTEM ACTUATIONS, WORKER RADIATION-EXPOSURES, EVENTS WITH SAFETY-IMPLICATIONS, AND LOST-TIME ACCIDENT-RATES HAVE ALL TRENDED DOWN--YEAR OVER YEAR--FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS."
"WHETHER IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI, FLOOD, HURRICANE, TORNADO, EQUIPMENT-FAILURE, OPERATOR-ERROR, [OR] MANUFACTURING-DEFECT--ALL THOSE AREAS ARE EXHAUSTIVELY REVIEWED, BY THE N-R-C [NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION], BEFORE YOU CAN GET A LICENSE. AND, IF YOU DID GET SOME RARE COMBINATION OF THOSE THAT PUTS YOU IN A STATION-BLACKOUT--OR ANY OTHER CONCERN WHERE YOU CAN'T GET COOLING TO THE CORE--THAT'S WHY WE PREPARE THE WAY [THAT] WE DO AT OUR PLANTS. WE'RE READY FOR THOSE KINDS OF MEASURES."
"THE PRESIDENT GOT IT RIGHT, ON MARCH 17TH: AGAIN, THESE DESIGNS HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTIVELY REVIEWED. BUT, IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US--AS AN INDUSTRY--AND THE N-R-C [NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION]--AS A REGULATOR--AND THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, AND OPERATORS ALL OVER THE WORLD, TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE LESSONS LEARNED TO COME OUT OF FUKUSHIMA--AND [TO] APPLY THEM."
"THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ESTABLISHED A 10-MILE EMERGENCY-PLANNING ZONE, AROUND EACH OF THE STATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. THOSE EMERGENCY-PLANS ARE DRILLED EVERY TWO YEARS, WITH STATE- AND LOCAL-OFFICIALS, UNDER THE OVERSIGHT OF THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION--AND THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY. STATE- AND LOCAL-OFFICIALS WOULD ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO SAMPLE PRODUCTS WITHIN THE 50-MILE RADIUS--TO ENSURE THAT OUR FOOD-SUPPLY IS NOT CONTAMINATED, AND TO PROTECT PUBLIC-HEALTH AND -SAFETY."
"THIS WEEK, THE CHIEF NUCLEAR-OFFICERS REPRESENTING ALL 104 UNITS IN THE U-S CONFERRED--AND AGREED TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS, AT THEIR SITES. THERE'S FOUR: NUMBER-ONE, VERIFY EACH COMPANY'S CAPABILITY TO MITIGATE CONDITIONS THAT RESULT FROM SEVERE ACCIDENTS--INCLUDING THE LOSS OF SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL- AND SAFETY-SYSTEMS, DUE TO NATURAL EVENTS, FIRES, AIRCRAFT-IMPACT, AND EXPLOSIONS. TWO, VERIFY THAT THE CAPABILITIES THAT MITIGATE A TOTAL LOSS OF ELECTRIC-POWER TO A NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT IS [SIC] PROPER AND FUNCTIONAL. THREE, VERIFY THE CAPABILITY THAT MITIGATES FLOODING, AND THE IMPACT OF FLOODS ON SYSTEMS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE PLANT--WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON ENSURING THAT MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT ARE PROPERLY LOCATED, TO PROTECT THEM FROM FLOODS. AND, FOUR, TO PERFORM 'WALKDOWNS' AND INSPECTIONS OF IMPORTANT EQUIPMENT [THAT'S] NEEDED TO SUCCESSFULLY RESPOND TO FIRE- AND FLOOD-EVENTS."
"WE HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE THAT THE SEISMIC STANDARDS THAT ARE USED TO CONSTRUCT OUR PLANTS ARE VERY ROBUST. EVERY NEW U-S NUCLEAR-POWER PLANT IS DESIGNED AND LICENSED WITH AN IN-DEPTH, SEISMIC ANALYSIS--AND IS CONSTRUCTED TO WITHSTAND THE MAXIMUM PROJECTED EARTHQUAKES THAT OCCUR IN ITS AREA, AND TO BE ABLE TO SAFELY SHUT DOWN, IN THAT EVENT."
"ANY PLANT BUILT ANYWHERE WILL HAVE TO BE DESIGNED AND LICENSED TO THE NATURAL DISASTERS [SIC]--BE IT EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI, HURRICANE, TORNADO, ET CETERA--FOR WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED. THAT WILL NOT CHANGE. CERTAINLY, WE'LL LOOK AT THOSE ATTRIBUTES, IN LIGHT OF WHAT WE'RE LEARNING FROM THE EVENT IN JAPAN."
"A HALLMARK OF OUR INDUSTRY IS INCORPORATING OPERATING-EXPERIENCE--WHETHER IT'S AT DOMESTIC PLANTS OR INTERNATIONAL PLANTS--AND TO USE THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THAT OPERATING-EXPERIENCE, TO MAKE OUR OPERATIONS MORE SAFE AND RELIABLE. WE WILL DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING, WHEN WE FULLY UNDERSTAND THIS EVENT. AS WE LEARN THESE LESSONS, WE'LL REVIEW OUR OWN STRUCTURES HERE--OUR REGULATORY PROCESS, OUR OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES, OUR DESIGNS--AND APPLY THOSE LESSONS LEARNED, AS APPROPRIATE. SO, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT OUR ROLE IS HERE, GOING FORWARD, WITH RESPECT TO THE EVENTS IN JAPAN."
"A HALLMARK OF OUR INDUSTRY IS THAT--WHILE IT'S GONNA TAKE A LONG TIME TO UNDERSTAND THE FUKUSHIMA-EVENTS--WE WILL LEARN FROM THEM; WE WILL GET THAT OPERATING-EXPERIENCE; WE WILL APPLY IT, AND TRY TO MAKE OUR UNITS EVEN SAFER THAN THEY ARE TODAY."
