Be prepared to use judgement and be flexible

July 16, 2014

Judgement key in serious nuclear accident

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140716_17.html 

Before the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Japanese believed a serious accident would never happen at the country's nuclear plants. A potential loss of power to cool the reactors was inconceivable.

Safety guidelines at the time left responsibility for dealing with accidents up to each individual plant operator.

Under the new guidelines, the Nuclear Regulation Authority requires operators to prepare for severe accidents in advance.

When automatic safeguards are no longer operating, human judgment and quick response becomes key.

Workers may have to operate power and pumping devices manually.

Power utilities have detailed manuals several thousand pages long for plant workers to use in emergencies. They also hold emergency response drills.

Experts say it is essential that the utilities train their workers to respond flexibly to unexpected situations. They say nurturing the judgment capabilities of plant chiefs is even more crucial.

Jul. 16, 2014 - Updated 04:26 UTC