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NRC Emails Reveal Confusion In Aftermath of Fukushima

Posted by Unknown on from the doe-suggests-nuking-it-from-orbit dept.

mdsolar writes "The Washington Post is reporting on the NRC response to the Fukushima disaster. Aspects include an abusive relationship with Steven Chu, a secret database on fuel pool fires that was not shared, and a Washington Two Step on Vermont Yankee. Pretty sordid." The NRC website has a bunch of documents relating to their response and attempts to consult the Japanese government (it might take a few months to work through). On a related note, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists ran a retrospect on the nuclear situation in 2011.

4 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. They should have worked out... by forkfail · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... every single possible scenario that they could imagine long ago, and then kept looking for more scenarios.

    But - just like they cut corners to reduce construction costs, they really didn't have all their contingency ducks lined up.

    You'd think that this would be one area where sanity at least had a place at the table with business and profit, but I guess not.

    --
    Check your premises.
  2. Abusive by mdsolar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The commissioners are abusive and dysfunctional with each other. Little wonder the whole organization can't get along with any other part of the government.

  3. News flash: It's what we pay them to do by mdsolar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We do expect the NRC to know what to do in case of a meltdown. Evidently they take the money but don't do the job.

    1. Re:News flash: It's what we pay them to do by skyraker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's BS. The NRC's job is to ensure operators are operating plants safely. When you are at a meltdown situation, you are already beyond that point. The NRC will do its best to advise, but stations themselves have many contigency plans in place should they reach this point. Three Mile Island was the event that prompted that to happen, and we haven't had a meltdown here since. Chernobyl was a big ball of s**t that only proved the US had better procedures, precautions, and design than the Russians. Fukishima, while a problem, generated confusion primarily because TEPSCO didn't want to tarnish its reputation by revealing how bad it was.