What is a "viable" evacuation plan?

15 Mars 2014

March 15, 2014

Niigata governor: Nuclear evacuation plans impossible without legal changes

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201403150046

By TOSHIHIRO OKUYAMA/ Senior Staff Writer

Niigata Governor Hirohiko Izumida said it is impossible to draw up effective evacuation plans for a nuclear accident unless the central government overhauls related laws and regulations.

Izumida made the remarks in Tokyo on March 12, when he met with Gregory Jaczko, who was chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission when the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami hit the northeastern coast, leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The nuclear crisis prompted the central government to call on municipalities near nuclear power facilities to devise evacuation plans in the event of a serious accident.

“Municipalities cannot come up with viable evacuation plans designed for a nuclear accident or compound disaster that involves an earthquake unless the government overhauls its institutional setup,” Izumida said.

The governor said, for example, that strict radiation dose limits on workers would make it difficult to instruct bus drivers to enter disaster zones and transport residents to safe areas.

“Municipalities cannot make evacuation plans without an agreement on either relaxing the exposure limits on members of the public or creating rescue units,” he said.

Niigata Prefecture is home to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which Tokyo Electric Power Co. is seeking to put back online.

The governor said he does not want to discuss the possible restart of reactors at the plant until the completion of inspections and reviews of the disaster at TEPCO’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

But he suggested that “the creation of a viable evacuation plan” will become a new hurdle to restarting reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant.

Jaczko asked Izumida if municipalities in Niigata Prefecture had compiled evacuation plans for residents living near the nuclear plant.

The governor replied, “Some do have plans, but they will not function in practice.”

Jaczko said that without a sufficient evacuation plan in the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would order a halt to nearby nuclear power plant operations.