information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
2 Novembre 2012
November 2, 2012
NRA guidelines presume accidents
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T121101003165.htm
Yuki Inamura and Yuki Koike / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
The new nuclear disaster management guidelines adopted by the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday are expected to serve as the foundation for measures to be taken in preparation for a possible nuclear disaster.
The guidelines aim to restore the public's trust in the nation's nuclear authorities, which was lost due to the poor handling of the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, by incorporating lessons learned from the disaster. However, there are still many obstacles ahead.
The new guidelines dispense with the myth of safety--the assumption a nuclear accident would never happen in this country--and assume instead that "a nuclear accident could happen," said NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka.
Tanaka and the other four NRA commissioners tried to make the guidelines easier to understand by minimizing the use of technical jargon and using unambiguous descriptions.
As a 20-kilometer no-entry zone was designated around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the guidelines designate a 30-kilometer-radius zone around each plant as an Urgent Protective Action Planning Zone (UPZ), in which intensive disaster countermeasures will be taken in preparation for a nuclear crisis.
The UPZ zones were created by expanding the former Emergency Planning Zones (EPZ), which covered an eight- to 10-kilometer-radius area around nuclear plants.
The guidelines also designate a five-kilometer-radius Precautionary Action Zone (PAZ), in which all residents would be immediately evacuated after the outbreak of a nuclear crisis but before the release of radioactive materials in order to prevent serious health damage.
UPZ and PAZ are international standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2002 on the basis of nuclear crises such as the Three Mile Island incident in 1979 in the United States.
Measures to be taken in a UPZ, including distribution of iodine pills, staying indoors and evacuation, are aimed at minimizing serious health damage due to radiation.
The former EPZ zones were designated as priority areas for implementing disaster-response measures such as taking refuge indoors and evacuation on the assumption of a possible crisis situation at a nuclear plant.
Japan considered adopting the IAEA standards in 2006 at a working group of the now-defunct Nuclear Safety Commission. However, the idea was turned down by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency--the NRA's predecessor, which said the changes "could give the public the impression that the present countermeasures are inadequate, which could increase anxiety among people."
Tanaka, however, has shown an enthusiastic attitude in fulfilling the NRA's role as an independent body by breaking with the past regulatory administration, which has been criticized as "a prisoner of the nuclear power businesses."
"We've made safety the top priority and will rebuild the public's trust," Tanaka said.
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Many issues left unresolved
Local governments that are compiling for the first time disaster management plans to prepare for a severe nuclear accident have complained the new guidelines alone are ineffective.
On Wednesday, the NRA listed the issues that still require consideration, among which are questions that directly affect the formation of local governments' disaster plans. One example is which radiation level determines the necessity to evacuate residents. Another is what standards should be used to decide on the use of stable iodine pills, which can protect thyroid glands from radiation damage. The NRA aims to resolve these remaining issues by the end of this year.
In particular, the vague evacuation criteria have led to several complaints from concerned local governments. It has yet to be decided who should issue the order to evacuate or seek shelter indoors, or at what stage of a severe nuclear accident the order should be given. One Fukui prefectural government official said, "It's impossible to draw up detailed evacuation plans using the new guidelines." Therefore, these governments are asking the NRA to decide the details of the criteria as soon as possible.
The evacuation issue is more serious for municipalities with larger populations.
In Ibaraki Prefecture, which hosts Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 Power Station, the nuclear plant closest to the Tokyo metropolitan area, five municipalities and about 220,000 people were expected to be affected by a severe nuclear accident under the previous system. Under the new guidelines, the numbers jumped to 14 municipalities and about 930,000 people.
The prefecture's current disaster management plan includes buses as the primary means of evacuation. However, even if all of about 7,000 buses currently in the prefecture were used in the case of a severe nuclear disaster, they would only carry about 240,000 people.
"It's problematic if the NRA only decides on an outline and then leaves the details up to the respective local governments," an official of the Ibaraki prefectural government said.
The NRA is also set to determine the necessity of stable iodine pills. While the central government's involvement in this measure is clear, it has not yet been decided who would issue instructions for taking the pills.
Additionally, other issues still need to be resolved, such as who would be responsible if a person experienced side effects from the pills.
Local governments are asking the NRA to create standards on how to use the pills, including ways of storing them and how to administer them to affected people. They are also seeking the establishment of a system to exempt them from responsibility for side effects.
In regard to the reactivation of suspended nuclear power plants, NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said, "It will be difficult to reactivate suspended nuclear power plants without effective local disaster management plans or the approval of residents."
In order to obtain the approval of local residents, it will be necessary to show sufficient and convincing safety measures in disaster management plans, which should be drawn up based on the new guidelines.
The number of municipalities designated as parts of key zones for disaster-prevention measures increased to 135 in 21 prefectures from the previous 45 municipalities in 15 prefectures. Also, the number of potentially affected people increased sevenfold to about 4.8 million.
As the areas and number of people that could be affected by an accident at a nuclear power plant increase, it likely will become more difficult to obtain residents' approval for reactivating suspended facilities.
Nevertheless, the shortest path to reactivation is the creation of disaster management plans that are in accordance with the new guidelines.