Design Flaw Fueled Nuclear Disaster
by Norihiko Shirouzu and Chester Dawson, Wall Street Journal -- July 1, 2011
TOKYO -- Some senior engineers at Tokyo Electric Power Co. knew for years that five of its nuclear reactors in Fukushima prefecture had a potentially dangerous design flaw, but the company didn't fully upgrade them, dooming them to failure when the earthquake hit, a Wall Street Journal examination of the disaster shows.
[...]
Lesson One: Some Nuclear Plants have "dangerous design flaws" -- despite what we always been told to the contrary.
[ ... "flaws" ... yeah right, that's a good word for it.]
NRC ISSUES SUMMARY OF RECENT U.S. NUCLEAR PLANT INSPECTIONS (pdf)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- No. 11-088
May 20, 2011 [Press Release]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has summarized its inspectors’ recent examination of the nation’s 104 operating nuclear power plants’ abilities to deal with power losses or damage to large areas of a reactor site following extreme events.
The inspections reaffirm that every plant has the capability, including the use of so-called “B5b” strategies (developed in response to NRC Orders after 9/11 to maintain reactor safety following large explosions or fires) to effectively cool down reactor cores and spent fuel pools following such events.
Out of 65 operating reactor sites, 12 had issues with one or more of the requirements during the inspections; many of these discrepancies deal with training. Three of the 12 sites have already resolved their issues and the remaining sites are actively working to resolve theirs.
Lesson Two: U.S. Nuclear Plants have passed "disaster-readiness" -- most of them anyways. Only 18.4% of U.S. Nuclear Plants did not pass inspection, according to the NRC's recent report.
[... Only 1 out of 5 chance of something going terribly wrong here folks ... No problem ... move along now ...]
Nuke Plant Inspections Find Flaws in Disaster Readiness
by John Sullivan, Special to ProPublica -- June 29, 2011
Agency officials unveiled the results in May, stating in a news release that "out of 65 operating reactor sites, 12 had issues with one or more of the requirements during the inspections."
But ProPublica's examination of the reports found that 60 plant sites had deficiencies [out of 65] that ranged from broken machinery, missing equipment and poor training to things like blocked drains or a lack of preventive maintenance.
[...]
The NRC reported fewer problems at the plants than ProPublica because it only counted those in which a plant had a problem demonstrating how its emergency preparedness plan would work.
[...]
The Fukushima accident has focused the NRC's attention on the risk that a natural disaster or attack could knock out a plant's safety systems for an extended period and lead to a radiation release.
Although all plants are designed to withstand natural disasters, U.S. nuclear facilities are aging. Recent studies have shown that earthquake risks are now higher than they were predicted when some plants were built, although the NRC says reactors can still withstand the highest expected quake. Now historic flooding on the Missouri River is testing design limits at two Nebraska plants.
[...]
[Thomas Kauffman, a spokesman for Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)] said U.S. nuclear plants have survived hurricanes, tornadoes and extended power outages without damage to their reactors, but the industry is looking hard at Fukushima nevertheless. "We want to take the lessons learned and make sure they are applied across the industry," he said.
Lesson Three: Even U.S. Nuclear Industry spokesmen admit they have 'Lessons to Learn' from Fukushima. And that those Lessons still need to be applied, across the Nuclear Industry's fleet of aging Water Boiling monuments.
Well all-right then. Long as they have Learned something. From the worst Nuclear Power Disaster in history.
You know what they say,
''Once you stop learning, you start dying."
--
Albert Einstein