Press Releases
WASHINGTON
– Today, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Environment
and Public Works Committee, and Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the
Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, wrote to U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko to request that the
NRC conduct a comprehensive investigation of all nuclear facilities in
the United States to assess their capacity to withstand catastrophic
natural or man-made disasters, in light of the nuclear disaster that
continues to unfold in Japan.
The
Senators asked the NRC to promptly supply the Environment and Public
Works Committee with a full evaluation of the nation's domestic nuclear
reactors, with special and immediate attention given to ones that share
similar characteristics as the failing reactors in Japan, to ensure that
they are as safe and resilient as possible, that worst case scenarios
are examined and addressed and that personnel training and equipment for
emergency responses are in place and up-to-date.
"Public
safety is our top priority, and it is therefore vital that the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission extensively investigate the risks posed to
nuclear facilities in the United States as soon as possible," said
Senators Boxer and Carper. "We believe it is important to assist Japan
to ensure that the nuclear disaster is contained as quickly, safely and
effectively as possible, and we will closely monitor the situation as it
unfolds. We will also continue our oversight efforts, including holding
hearings in the near future, to ensure that the nuclear energy industry
and NRC regulators are adequately prepared to respond to unexpected
disasters, whether they are the result of human or
mechanical malfunctions, acts of nature or terrorist threats."
A copy of the letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission follows:
March 17, 2011
The Honorable Gregory Jaczko
Chairman
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001
Dear Chairman Jaczko:
The
loss of life and physical damage that Japan sustained in last week's
devastating earthquake and subsequent destructive tsunami is
catastrophic and heartbreaking. Our thoughts and prayers, as well as
those of the American people, go out to all citizens of Japan and
especially to the families of the thousands of disaster victims.
As
this tragedy continues to unfold, we encourage the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission and other U.S. agencies to continue to coordinate fully with
the Japanese government to assess the status of public safety in light
of the reactors' failures and to provide all technical assistance
required.
The
earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan are chilling reminders that we
are all vulnerable to unexpected disasters, whether they are an act of
nature or a terrorist attack. While we cannot predict with any
certainty when or where the next major disaster will occur, we know that
adequate preparation and response planning are absolutely vital to
minimize injury, death, and destruction when it does happen.
As
the Committee with oversight responsibilities on nuclear safety, we
believe it is important to assist Japan to ensure that this nuclear
disaster is contained as quickly and effectively as possible. For the
long term, the multiple simultaneous failures of backup coolant systems
at nuclear reactors in Japan are a clear warning that we must step up
efforts to ensure that every precaution is taken to safeguard the
American people from a similar incident at a U.S. nuclear facility.
Therefore,
we call on the NRC to conduct a comprehensive investigation of all
nuclear facilities in the United States to assess their capacity to
withstand catastrophic natural or man-made disasters including scenarios
that may be considered remote like the recent events in Japan. These
domestic nuclear reactors must be fully evaluated to ensure that they
are as safe and resilient as possible, that worst case scenarios are
examined and addressed, and that personnel training and equipment for
emergency responses are in place and up-to-date. Special and immediate
attention should be given to those U.S. nuclear reactors that share
similar characteristics as the failing reactors in Japan, including
similar designs or located near a coastline or seismic fault line.
In
addition to updating the EPW Committee on a regular basis, we also
request that the NRC supply information to the committee as soon as
possible regarding the following issues:
1.Please identify all U.S. nuclear facilities subject to significant seismic activity and/or tsunamis.
2.U.S.
nuclear power plants are designed to be safe based on historical data
of the area's maximum credible threat (including earthquakes and
tsunamis). What extra safety features does the NRC currently require
for facilities that have a credible threat of an earthquake and/or
tsunami? In light of the recent events in Japan, we would also like the
NRC to re-examine the assumptions used to determine the maximum
credible threat and suggest additional options that could provide a
greater margin for safety at plants nationwide that might be subject
to challenges similar to those currently being seen in Japan following
the earthquake and tsunami.
3.Which
U.S. nuclear power plants share similar design features with the
affected Japanese reactor facilities? Do these facilities have design
vulnerabilities that should be addressed to ensure their cooling systems
do not fail when confronted by stresses including those similar to what
we have seen in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami?
4.How
comprehensive is the radiation monitoring system in Japan? Would the
U.S. take a similar monitoring approach if a serious accident were to
occur here? What increased risk is associated with exposure to mixed
oxide fuel?
5.Given
what has happened at the Japanese facilities, please describe how the
NRC currently ensures the safety of spent fuel pools at U.S. facilities
and identify additional steps the NRC could take to better address the
vulnerabilities of spent fuel pools at plants in the U.S.
6.Has
the NRC modeled what could happen if the U.S. had multiple nuclear
accidents simultaneously? If so, how would the NRC respond to such a
disaster?
Safety
is always our number one priority, and therefore it is vital that the
NRC immediately evaluate the risks posed to nuclear reactors in the
United States. We look forward to working with you to ensure that the
nuclear energy industry and NRC regulators are adequately prepared to
prevent accidents and to fully address the risks of serious events in
the future.
Sincerely yours,
Barbara Boxer
Chairman
Committee on Environment and Public Works
Tom Carper
Chairman
Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
