On June 1, 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a preliminary summary of their recent fact finding mission to several key sites in Japan. As a result of an agreement reached between the government of Japan and the IAEA, "a preliminary mission to find facts and identify initial lessons to be learned from the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi" was undertaken. While the complete report will not be released until the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety later this month, the preliminary summary was issued "to provide immediate feedback to the Government of Japan."
Among the key points in the report was praise for the Japanese response the nuclear crisis that followed the March 11 tsunami. The Japanese government were described as being "extremely open" to sharing information and answering questions "to assist the world in learning lessons to improve nuclear safety." Furthermore, their "response to protect the public...has been impressive and extremely well organized" as far as the IAEA team was concerned.
Not only was the government itself noteworthy, the actions of the various staff contributing to the resolution of the crisis have been "exemplary." This has "resulted in the best approach to securing safety given the exceptional circumstances."
In addition to commending the Japanese response, the IAEA noted several weaknesses that allowed the nuclear crisis to reach its current pitch. First of all, "the tsunami hazard...was underestimated," leading to the recommendation that precautions against all natural hazards should be periodically updated based on any new information.
Not only should natural hazards in general be considered, but defence measures against "extreme external events" should be designed to meet IAEA Safety Standards as well. These sorts of events should not simply be considered in isolation either. Instead, "severe long term combinations of external events should be adequately covered in...emergency arrangements."
This final point, on the combination of events that would put stress on nuclear facilities, is particularly pertinent in the present case in Japan. It was the combination of a magnitude 9 earthquake, a series of large tsunami waves, "the highest being 38.9 meters," and the inadequacy of defences at TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi facility that led to current crisis.
So dire is the situation in Japan that the IAEA has "provisionally determined [this disaster] to be of the highest rating on the International Nuclear Event Scale." In other words, the situation surrounding the Fukushima is as serious as it could possibly be.
Mark Guzylak-Shergold - Mark Guzylak-Shergold writes to clarify his thoughts and with any luck the thoughts of others.
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