Whether lessons have been learned seems questionable

April 12, 2013

Editorial: Radiation monitoring system must protect residents near nuke plants

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20130411p2a00m0na019000c.html

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has drawn up a plan to once again revise the guidelines for countermeasures against nuclear disasters, which calls for a radiation monitoring system in case of an emergency. Under the draft, the monitoring system would be beefed up, but some parts of it are short on specifics. Moreover, the NRA has postponed debate on some important matters. As such, serious questions remain as to whether the new guidelines would be effective enough to protect residents from accidents at atomic power stations.

Priority zones for nuclear disaster prevention measures would be expanded from 8-10 kilometers from nuclear plants to 30 kilometers and the areas where radiation monitoring posts are supposed to be established would also be enlarged under a review of the guidelines in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Prefectural governments that host nuclear plants are supposed to use national government grants to set up monitoring posts in each 10-kilometer-square area in 16 directions from nuclear plants within the priority zones.

In case of an emergency, experts say it is desirable to use portable radiation counters in addition to monitoring posts to gauge radiation levels at about two-kilometer intervals. A study team of the NRA considered requiring local bodies to be prepared for such a monitoring system, but stopped short of incorporating such a stepped up system in the plan to revise the guidelines.

Concern remains about measures to protect monitoring posts from multiple disasters. Following the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, 23 of 24 monitoring posts that the Fukushima Prefectural Government installed in areas around the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant were unable to send data because their devices were swept away by tsunami and communication lines were cut off because of the earthquake. To prevent such trouble, it is necessary to lay backup communication lines and beef up emergency power sources. However, the standards for monitoring posts do not require such measures. Instead, the specifications of radiation monitoring posts are left up to each local government.

Furthermore, plumes of radioactive substances can be brought by winds to areas far from nuclear plants, as was the case with the Fukushima Prefecture village of Iitate. However, the NRA did not incorporate countermeasures against such plumes and instead postponed debate on the matter.

Some local bodies hosting atomic power stations are reportedly late in installing radiation monitoring posts because of a budget shortfall. Under such circumstances, one cannot help but wonder whether the national and local governments have sufficiently learned lessons from the nuclear accident and utilized them for their nuclear disaster countermeasures. The NRA is asking local governments hosting atomic power plants about whether they have installed monitoring posts. The authorities should instruct local bodies to improve any flaws in their monitoring posts, including their specifications.

Under the latest plan to revise the guidelines, the national government would set up a monitoring center if a nuclear accident were to occur, and gather, analyze and announce relevant data in an integrated fashion. The plan should be appreciated in that it would clarify the division of roles between the national governments, local bodies and nuclear plant operators and their responsibility. However, such a division of roles would be meaningless if radiation monitoring posts were not functioning properly.

Local bodies would distribute iodine tablets to residents of areas within five kilometers from atomic power plants to prevent thyroid glands from being exposed to radiation in case of nuclear accidents after holding briefing sessions on how to take such drugs as well as their side-effects. Such briefing sessions are necessary to relieve local residents' concerns. The NRA should also continue to consider distributing iodine tablets to those living outside the five-kilometer zones.

The NRA simultaneously released the draft of new standards for regulating nuclear plants that will come into force in July this year. However, no discussions should be held on reactivation of idled nuclear reactors unless effective nuclear disaster prevention measures are devised.