NEA Response to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Luis Echvarri Director-General OECD Nuclear Energy Agency

IAEA Experts Meeting on Reactor and Spent Fuel Safety in the light of the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP March 19-22, 2012
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Overview

NEA immediately began monitoring the accident and sharing information with its Members NEA Sponsored a Regulators Forum in conjunction with G8/G20 Ministerial Meeting on Nuclear Safety in June 2011 NEA activities to provide direct support to Japan Initiatives of NEA Standing Technical Committees and MDEP Impact on the future of nuclear power development
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NEA Initiatives following Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

NEA Support to Japan

Transfer of NEA Member experience in post-accident management to the Japanese government
October 2011 and February 2012 conferences on decontamination and rehabilitation November 2011 and February 2012 seminars on dialogue with the stakeholders

National safety reviews and stress tests

November 2011 experts meeting, public seminar, and advisory body meeting

Enhancements to the Regulatory Infrastructure

January 2012 experts meeting on regulatory infrastructure changes in Japan

Other specific areas under discussion

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G8 - NEA Ministerial Seminar & Regulators Forum

7-8 June 2011 Regulators Forum in conjunction with G8/G20 Ministerial Meeting Reinforcement of Key elements for nuclear safety: The primary responsibility for nuclear safety is with the operator. The regulatory body must provide assurance that nuclear power stations
are operated in a safe manner and in accordance with regulation. A strong regulatory body possesses technical ability and independence in decision making; works transparently; strives for continuous learning and improvement; and utilises international networks.

Key improvement areas:

High standards and continuous improvement for nuclear safety. Safety culture in both operator and regulator. Implementation of specific lessons learned, i.e. emergency power supply, accident management, emergency response, etc. Stakeholder involvement, especially during crisis communication. Reinforce international cooperation.
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NEA Integrated Response

7 December 2011 Tri-bureau meeting of the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA), the Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH), and the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI)

Enhance cooperation and coordination among involved

committees for efficiency

Improved responsiveness to NEA Members requests Cross-cutting activities identified and prioritised Short term high priority issues to be completed in 1 year Strategic alignment on new work scope of NEA
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NEA Cross-Committee Activities

Building on guidance from the tri-bureau meeting, Cross-Committee activities are being conducted or planned in at least the following areas:

Accident management including human factors and organisational

issues related to the response to the accident

Reassessment of Defence-in-Depth Evaluating the methodologies for defining and assessing initiating
internal and external events, including coupled events, as well as methodologies defining the design basis criteria

Evaluation of operating experience for events that may be precursors

to events that could challenge the safety of nuclear power plants given the insights from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

Crisis Communication with the public, media and other stakeholders

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NEA CNRA Initiatives

In addition to activities related to the cross-committee issues, CNRA is conducting or planning activities in:
Siting considerations and the impact on licensing new reactors National Safety Assessments and Stress Tests Assessing regulatory infrastructure using insights from the accident Re-evaluate the implementation of the defence-in-depth concept Assess the effectiveness of operating experience programmes at identifying potential events similar to Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident (precursor events) Information sharing on Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident related activities between regulatory bodies and international organisations

NEA Initiatives following Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

NEA MDEP Activities

MDEP has acknowledged the lessons being learned from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident are important factors that need to be considered. MDEP Policy Group asked the design working groups (EPR and AP1000) to review the potential impact of Fukushima. During the 2nd MDEP Conference on New Reactor Design Activities in September 2011 lessons being learned from the accident as they apply to new reactor designs were discussed by participants.
Siting considerations Extended losses of the ultimate heat sink and electrical power

In cooperation with the CNRA , MDEP will address the insights and experiences of NEA Members on the lessons learnt from the accident.
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International Nuclear Event Scale (INES)

Following the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident it was acknowledged that INES should be re-evaluated NEA and IAEA are co-sponsoring the re-evaluation and upgrade of INES Guiding principles for communication during an evolving event have been prepared and are being discussed by the INES advisory committee

NEA Initiatives following Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

NEA CSNI Initiatives

In addition to supporting cross-committee activities, CSNI is conducting or planning activities related to:
Accident management and mitigation of consequences for core melt accidents New means to evaluate loss of safety functions Robustness of electrical and cooling systems I&C for severe accident management Fuel degradation in the spent fuel pool Hydrogen generation and management/Containment venting Qualification and response of structures, systems and components Human factors and reliability assessment Source term analysis Modelling capabilities of BWR systems Comparisons of computer models
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NEA Joint Research Projects

In response to the accident, the NEA is assessing the impact of the accident on Joint Research Projects:
Comprehensive review of past safety research
Lessons learned from past research on issues related to the accident Applications to prevent or mitigate the accident

Gap analysis based on research issues from the accident

Discuss possible expansion of existing projects and/or New research and development project proposals

CSNI review of safety research strategy

Insights from the assessment will be used to identify new projects or changes to ongoing NEA Joint Projects in areas that include:
Thermal hydraulics Fuel behaviour Severe accident phenomenology Systems and event databases

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NEA Initiatives following Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

NEA CRPPH Initiatives

In addition to supporting the cross-committee activities, CRPPH is conducting or planning activities in:
Emergency management and recovery
Improvement of off-site emergency preparedness Updating the Short-Term Countermeasures Report Exchange of information and knowledge, and coordination, on national emergency management decisions

Large-scale decontamination
Rehabilitation of living conditions

Occupational and public exposure management for severe accidents

Assessment of radionuclide dispersion Dose forecasting and assessment Collective dose estimates and use Perform a practical review of ICRP Recommendations Radiological Protection criteria for trade goods
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NEA Initiatives following Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

NEA NLC / Legal Affairs Initiatives

March 2012 Nuclear Law Committee (NLC) will provide a forum for discussing liability and compensation insights learned from the accident Japanese insights on the legal framework and actions taken Exchange of information on the lessons learnt Nuclear law information and education programme A number of publications and presentations have been issued on

legal issues relating to the accident Special sessions during the International School of Nuclear Law and the International Nuclear Law Essentials

NEA Initiatives following Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident

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NEA NDC Initiatives

The Nuclear Development Committee (NDC) has maintained an overview of the impact of the accident in Member countries, analysing the impacts on energy policies, lifetime extensions, uranium supply & demand and new build initiatives.
Special sessions in June 2011 and February 2012 NDC meetings to consider impacts and modify the activities to incorporate the outcomes Modified work on long-term operation to estimate the costs of the post-Fukushima upgrades and impact on nuclear competitiveness Will soon issue a revision of Nuclear Energy Today taking into account the accident consequences Worked with the IEA to modify the nuclear roadmap to 2050 and the costs of slowdowns in new build on energy supply and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Proposing to study the costs of nuclear accidents on electricity cost and the societal impact across OECD countries
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Implications for the Future

Societal acceptance relies on transparent & comprehensive information on risks, legal framework, contributions, and comparative costs of nuclear power recognizing:
Safety authorities have determined that existing nuclear power plants are safe to operate according to the very demanding standards in place today Enhancements to further improve safety continue to be identified and implemented Most countries with nuclear power programmes re-affirmed their commitment

For external hazards, defence-in-depth, and deterministic vs. probabilistic safety assessments, approaches may evolve based on:
Better understanding of external hazards and their consequences Broader application of defence-in-depth A more balanced use of deterministic and probabilistic approaches

For radiological protection, emergency and post-accident management, policies are being revisited and may evolve, including areas such as:
Societal impacts beyond radiation hazards Enhancements to crisis (emergency) communications Enhanced offsite capabilities to respond to severe accidents International coordination and cooperation
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NEA Initiatives following Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident