Edition

How US Plants Could Handle a Fukushima-Type Event

IN THIS ISSUE: How US plants could handle Fukushima event, U.S., Europeans blocked anew at UN, Iran prepares for nuclear work in bunker, Japan must ditch nuclear power, senators to Clinton: don't sign Turkish missile defense agreement, France's $2.2B missile defense investment.

Published on July 14, 2011
 

Nuclear Safety Review: How US Plants Could Handle a Fukushima-Type Event

Mark Clayton | Christian Science Monitor

Los Alamos

A major post-Fukushima review of US nuclear power facilities is calling for sweeping changes to shore up safety, including ensuring that nuclear operators can handle multiple reactor emergencies at a single site.

But a Fukushima-type accident "is unlikely to occur in the United States," and continued nuclear plant activities "do not pose an imminent risk" to public safety, concluded the 90-day task force convened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Still, the task force offered a dozen major recommendations, one of which involves clarifying the NRC's own regulations. Full Article   



Follow the Nuclear Policy Program
RSS News Feed Twitter
Footer information begins here

More from Proliferation News


 
 
Bill Varner | Bloomberg News
The U.S. and its European allies at the United Nations are facing the same opposition to punishing Syria's secret construction of a nuclear facility that has blocked their efforts to condemn government repression of protesters. The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency voted on June 9 to report Syria's violation of non- proliferation accords to the UN Security Council.     Full Article

 
 
Fredrik Dahl | Reuters
Iran is preparing to install centrifuges for higher-grade uranium enrichment in an underground bunker, diplomatic sources say, a development that is likely to add to Western worries about Tehran's atomic aims. Preparatory work is under way at the Fordow facility, tucked deep inside a mountain to protect it against any attacks, and machines used to refine uranium could soon be moved to the site near the clerical city of Qom, the sources said.     Full Article

Natsuko Fukue | Japan Times
Japan should gradually become a society that does not have to rely on atomic power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday amid the continuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. "I think that's the direction our country should head toward," Kan told a televised news conference. But he did not specify a timetable, saying it is too early to outline specifics. Kan also denied that he is planning to call a snap election over energy issues, amid strong speculation that he may dissolve the Lower House this summer to try to break the political stalemate.     Full Article

Josh Rogin | The Cable
When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gets to Istanbul on Friday, senators and their staffs will be watching closely to see if she moves the ball forward on an agreement to station U.S. missile defense radar there, an agreement many Republicans oppose. "We write with concern over recent reports that the administration may be nearing completion of a bilateral agreement with the Turkish Government to base a U.S. AN/TPY-2 (X-Band) radar in Turkey," wrote Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) in a July 12 letter to Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.     Full Article

Peter B. de Selding | Space News
A French parliamentary committee endorsed a missile defense program July 12 centered on space-based warning and interception as a way to protect France primarily from being outdistanced by the United States in missile technology, and secondarily from potential missile attack. The French Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and the Armed Forces said that while the actual risk of a ballistic missile strike against the French mainland is remote, a missile defense effort undertaken by the NATO alliance without substantial French participation would present a clear danger for the nation's industrial base.     Full Article

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.