Ex-NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko: No More Nuclear Power for Japan Unless Japan Is Willing to Have Another Accident

I do not believe anyone in Japan, regardless of whether he/she is pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear, wants to have another nuclear accident. But according to the former chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Japan then has to abandon nuclear power.

From Wall Street Journal's Fukushima Watch (3/12/2014):

Fukushima Watch: Is Japan Ready for Another Nuclear Accident?

Is Japan ready for another nuclear accident? That is a question the country must answer before returning to large-scale reliance on nuclear power, according to a former senior U.S. nuclear energy regulatory official.

“This has to be remembered — that there are certain accidents that are not preventable,” said Gregory Jaczko, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “The question Japan has to ask itself is: Is the country willing to have another accident? And if the answer is no, then the answer has to be no more nuclear power,” he said Tuesday in an interview with JRT.

Mr. Jaczko made the remarks as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party debates whether to approve a new energy plan that defines nuclear power as an important “base load” electricity source that should almost always run at full capacity. During a ceremony Tuesday to commemorate the third anniversary of the March 2011 disaster that triggered the Fukushima crisis, LDP lawmaker an lower house speaker Bunmei Ibuki said “it seems as if we have reaped the benefits of electricity … while letting the people of Fukushima bear the cost.”

Reaffirming a commitment to nuclear power was one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign promises in the national election he won in late 2012. But during parliamentary deliberations Monday, Mr. Abe himself called for a reduction on dependence on nuclear power “as much as possible.” Nevertheless, he stressed the importance of nuclear power and called for the restart of reactors idled since the Fukushima accident.

Public opinion polls have consistently shown high approval for Mr. Abe’s leadership and strong opposition to nuclear power at the same time.

In the March 2011 disaster, an earthquake caused large tsunami waves that knocked out all backup power at the Fukushima plant, paralyzing cooling systems and eventually causing three of six reactors to melt down.

Investigations later showed the plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.9501.TO -2.51% had underestimated the potential size of a tsunami and the chances of losing all power, ignoring studies recommending stronger safety systems.

Mr. Jaczko said it was true Tepco had failed to sufficiently prepare for the disaster. “But at the end of the day, Tepco didn’t create the earthquake, Mother Nature did that,” he said.

Japan’s new, stricter regulations meant to prevent another big accident like Fukushima took effect in July 2013. Since then, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has been reviewing the safety of several reactors that power companies want to restart. The NRA is expected to identify one or two reactors that are nearly ready to restart when its board meets Thursday.

That nuclear power plant looks to be Sendai Nuclear Power Plant located in Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Kyushu. The operator, Kyushu Electric Power Company, is likely to face power shortage this summer, and there is little opposition in the city of Satsumasendai, where the power plant is located.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority's review of the nuclear power plants based on the new regulatory standard that NRA crafted in haste is mostly about hardware - plants, reactors, equipment, backup batteries, etc.. I don't believe NRA has even adequately investigated what went wrong on the "software" side of the Fukushima nuclear accident - how well or how badly politicians, regulators, scientists, TEPCO communicated with each other in the crucial first few weeks of the accident, for example. Or why the teleconference system at the Prime Minister's Official Residence was never turned on. Or why no one was able to tell then-PM Kan to shut up and listen to the experts.

They didn't communicate well at all, but the NRA commissioners - four scientists and one former diplomat - seem to think they can do much better and there is no need to learn from the mistakes from people like Dr. Haruki Madarame, who has publicly demanded that NRA call him and hear him out. Dr. Madarame is rather upset that the NRA commissioners don't think it necessary to learn from the mistakes he made as he was in the middle of the initial chaos after the start of the nuclear accident.

So, not for the reason that Dr. Jaczko cites - if Japan don't want another nuclear accident - but for the reason that practically nothing has been learned on the "software" mistakes from the Fukushima nuclear accident, I agree with Dr. Jaczko that Japan should stay away from nuclear power generation.

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Former US NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko: "All 104 nuclear power reactors now in operation in the United States have a safety problem that cannot be fixed"

From New York Times (4/8/2013), right after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission effectively shelved the idea of filtered vent:

Ex-Regulator Says Reactors Are Flawed

WASHINGTON — All 104 nuclear power reactors now in operation in the United States have a safety problem that cannot be fixed and they should be replaced with newer technology, the former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Monday. Shutting them all down at once is not practical, he said, but he supports phasing them out rather than trying to extend their lives.

The position of the former chairman, Gregory B. Jaczko, is not unusual in that various anti-nuclear groups take the same stance. But it is highly unusual for a former head of the nuclear commission to so bluntly criticize an industry whose safety he was previously in charge of ensuring.

Asked why he did not make these points when he was chairman, Dr. Jaczko said in an interview after his remarks, “I didn’t really come to it until recently.”

“I was just thinking about the issues more, and watching as the industry and the regulators and the whole nuclear safety community continues to try to figure out how to address these very, very difficult problems,” which were made more evident by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, he said. “Continuing to put Band-Aid on Band-Aid is not going to fix the problem.”

Dr. Jaczko made his remarks at the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington in a session about the Fukushima accident. Dr. Jaczko said that many American reactors that had received permission from the nuclear commission to operate for 20 years beyond their initial 40-year licenses probably would not last that long. He also rejected as unfeasible changes proposed by the commission that would allow reactor owners to apply for a second 20-year extension, meaning that some reactors would run for a total of 80 years.

Dr. Jaczko cited a well-known characteristic of nuclear reactor fuel to continue to generate copious amounts of heat after a chain reaction is shut down. That “decay heat” is what led to the Fukushima meltdowns. The solution, he said, was probably smaller reactors in which the heat could not push the temperature to the fuel’s melting point.

The nuclear industry disagreed with Dr. Jaczko’s assessment. “U.S. nuclear energy facilities are operating safely,” said Marvin S. Fertel, the president and chief executive of the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry’s trade association. “That was the case prior to Greg Jaczko’s tenure as Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman. It was the case during his tenure as N.R.C. chairman, as acknowledged by the N.R.C.’s special Fukushima response task force and evidenced by a multitude of safety and performance indicators. It is still the case today.”

Dr. Jaczko resigned as chairman last summer after months of conflict with his four colleagues on the commission. He often voted in the minority on various safety questions, advocated more vigorous safety improvements, and was regarded with deep suspicion by the nuclear industry. A former aide to the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, he was appointed at Mr. Reid’s instigation and was instrumental in slowing progress on a proposed nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles from Las Vegas.

Dr. Jaczko visited Fukushima last summer. Maybe it was that visit that influenced him. If you haven't seen the NHK documentary of that visit, see my post from December 30, 2012. In the documentary, he seemed to be genuinely touched by the devastation in Namie-machi, and by the people's lives destroyed by the nuclear accident.

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#Radioactive Japan: Former NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko Visits Fukushima, Meets Evacuees

I haven't watched the entire program myself, but will do so tomorrow, before NHK finds the video and takes it down.

NHK BS-1 documentary "原発の“安全”を問い直す 米ＮＲＣ前委員長 福島への旅 (NRC former chairman's trip to Fukushima - to re-examine the safety of nuclear power plants)", first aired on December 22, 2012. The program is in Japanese, but you can hear Jaczko's comments in English, and you can catch the interpreter.

Jaczko visited Japan in August this year, soon after he resigned from the NRC.

原発の“安全”を問い直す ～米ＮＲＣ前委員長 福島... by tvpickup

While walking in Namie-machi with a former resident in Tyvek suits and mask, Jaczko says,

I see many different people with views about nuclear power. Some people try and say that really because no one was killed from radiation or appears to have received lethal doses of radiation that there's... such hype. But I think it is certainly very difficult to walk around here and see the livelihood that's just no longer there.

The town is frozen at March 11, 2011.

At the end of the program, Jaczko says,

"In the end, everyone has to keep in mind that the safety of the public is the number one responsibility, whether you are a power plant owner, whether you're a worker at the power plant, or a local or state or national government official, everyone has to recognize that safety of the people is the most important issue."

Well, it wasn't, in case of Japan. What came first and foremost was to tell people it was safe, and kept repeating it like a mantra.

Jaczko certainly does not come across as arrogant, bullying chairman that he was accused of being, by his colleagues.

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NRC's Jaczko: "right now I intend to continue to serve out my term"

??? Didn't he just announce his resignation?

From The Hill (5/23/2012):

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko acknowledged Wednesday that it could be a while before he steps down as head of the agency, despite announcing plans to resign this week.

And he declined to outright dismiss the possibility that he could be re-nominated to a second term as chairman if his successor is not confirmed by next year.

“Right now my focus is on nuclear safety and I have been privileged and honored to serve in this position, and right now I intend to continue to serve out my term,” Jaczko said at a press conference in Charlotte, N.C., the chairman’s first public appearance since announcing his plan to step down.

“If by that time, a successor has not been found, then I’ll deal with those issues at that time.”

The comments came a day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested that Jaczko could be re-nominated if his successor is not confirmed by June 30, 2013, when the chairman’s first term ends.

“We hope to have a replacement before that. But if we don’t, Greg will be there for the duration,” Reid told reporters in the Capitol Tuesday. “And if something doesn't work out, he can always be re-nominated.”

Pressed by reporters Wednesday for clarification of his remarks, Jaczko added: “I announced my resignation contingent on a successor being nominated and confirmed. And until that time I intend to continue to serve as chairman.”

Asked if he intends to serve out his term, Jaczko said, “It depends on the process whether a successor is nominated and confirmed. So if that happens before the end of my term, then I would leave at that time.”

The White House has said President Obama hopes to nominate Jaczko’s replacement “soon.” But Reid’s comments Tuesday cast doubt on how quickly the nomination will move through the Senate.

The Senate is also grappling with the re-nomination of Republican NRC Commissioner Kristine Svinicki, who faces opposition from Reid and other top Democrats.

Reid has been a vocal defender of Jaczko, his former aide, amid allegations that he bullied NRC staff.

Republicans have added the allegations to the long list of reasons they dislike Jaczko’s leadership on the commission. Other reasons include Jaczko’s decision to close out a review of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and the chairman’s opposition to recent approvals of new nuclear reactors.

Jaczko again defended his tenure at the NRC Wednesday and denied that his resignation had anything to do with a pending inspector general report examining his leadership on the panel.

“Any inspector general report had nothing to do with this decision,” he said.

The chairman repeated the assertion that he made his decision in order to give the president and the Senate time to name a successor.

“The timing I thought was appropriate for the president and the Senate to find a replacement for me,” he said.

Jaczko declined to offer suggestions for his replacement.

“I’m not involved in the process of identifying a replacement,” he said.

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NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko to Resign as Obama Nominates Successor

Washington Post hints at Jacko having lost support from Senator Harry Reid.

From Washington Post (5/21/2012):

Nuclear Regulatory Commission chief Jaczko resigns

The nation’s chief of nuclear safety announced his resignation Monday after a turbulent three-year tenure that included allegations of bullying and misogyny in the workplace and of providing potentially false testimony at a congressional hearing last year.

The departure of Gregory B. Jaczko, an advocate of tough safety standards at nuclear reactor sites during eight years on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, caps almost a year of concerns about his leadership of the NRC, which he has chaired since 2009.

It also signals that he had lost the support of his former boss, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), a fierce opponent of efforts to store nuclear waste at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, a key concern of the nuclear agency. In a statement Monday, Reid thanked Jaczko for his service, noting his leadership of the agency in the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami and partial meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

“I am confident whomever replaces Chairman Jaczko will share his commitment to protecting the safety of the American people over the interests of a single industry,” Reid said.

Several congressional aides had said that Jaczko would resign only if Reid signaled that he could no longer give him political support. Aides reached Monday confirmed that diminishing support for Jaczko on Capitol Hill was a factor, but they also cited Jaczko’s desire to move on amid the allegations.

The White House can now nominate a replacement who could be paired with a Republican NRC member who requires confirmation for a new term as commissioner.

While Jaczko’s own flaws might have been a key factor behind his resignation, some supporters said he also fell victim to the nuclear power industry and its allies in Congress who were happy to seize upon a reason to question his leadership. A voice for tighter safety standards, Jaczko frequently found himself voting as the sole dissenter in key commission votes.

Jaczko’s tenure included the awarding of the first new nuclear construction permit in three decades and the U.S. response to the Japanese tsunami and nuclear reactor crisis.

“This is the right time to pass along the public safety torch to a new chairman who will keep a strong focus on carrying out the vital mission of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” Jaczko said.

(Full article at the link)

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NRC's Jaczko Gives Blessings to "Cold Shutdown State" and "Completion of Step 2" at #Fukushima I Nuke Plant, Says "Tremendous Milestone"

As reported in NHK Japanese (12/20/2011):

日本を訪れているアメリカ原子力規制委員会のヤツコ委員長は、福島第一原子力発電所を事故後初めて視察したあと、都内で記者会見し、日本政府が「冷温停止状態」になったと発表したことについて、適切な判断だと評価したうえで、再発防止に向けて今回の事故を巡る国際的な情報の共有が重要だとの考えを示しました。

Chairman Jaczko of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission visited Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant for the first time since the accident started, and gave a press conference afterwards in Tokyo. He said the announcement of "a cold shutdown state" by the Japanese government was a proper decision and that it would be important to share the information regarding the accident with the international communities to prevent similar accidents from happening again.

アメリカの原子力発電所の規制・監督を担う原子力規制委員会のトップを務めるヤツコ委員長は、１９日、事故後初めて福島第一原発を視察し、２０日午後、都内のアメリカ大使館で記者会見しました。

Chairman Jaczko of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission visited Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on December 19 for the fist time since the accident started, and held a press conference in the afternoon of December 20 at the US Embassy in Tokyo.

この中でヤツコ委員長は、福島第一原発では、事故後、不測の事態に備えた様々な対策が取られたと指摘したうえで、「原子炉内の温度は十分に下がった」と述べ、日本政府が「冷温停止状態」になり、事故の収束に向けた工程表の「ステップ２」の完了を宣言したことを適切な判断だと評価しました。

In the press conference, Chairman Jaczko pointed out to the various countermeasures against contingencies have been installed at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant after the accident, and said "The temperatures inside the reactors have gone down enough", indicating the declaration by the Japanese government of "a cold shutdown state" and the completion of the "Step 2" of the roadmap toward the restoration from the accident was a proper decision.

また、ヤツコ委員長は、原発の安全対策を巡る日米の協力関係について、「今回の事故によって、両国の協力関係はさらに強固なものになった」と指摘したうえで、「事故の情報共有をどのように進めていくか、国際社会が大きな関心を寄せている」と述べ、今回の事故を巡る国際的な情報の共有が重要だとの考えを示しました。

He then referred to the Japan-US cooperation regarding the safety countermeasures for nuclear power plants, and said "Because of the [Fukushima] accident, our relationship has gotten stronger". He also said "The international communities are very interested in how the accident information will be shared", indicating the importance of international information sharing of the accident.

And here's one from Bloomberg (12/20/2011):

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said he’s satisfied with Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501)’s efforts to end the crisis at the wrecked Fukushima atomic plant.

The melted fuel in the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant has cooled enough to prevent any further releases of radiation beyond the station, Jaczko told reporters today in Tokyo after a visit to the station.

He spoke four days after Japanese officials declared that the reactors, which were damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, have been brought to a state known as cold shutdown. Some nuclear scientists disputed that the term accurately described conditions at the plant. Jaczko called the declaration a “tremendous milestone.”

“I feel very comfortable that they have completed really the requirements that are necessary to move on to the next stage,” he said. “There’s really no energy left in the reactor to have an off-site release of radiation.”

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Huffington Post: " NRC 'Coup' Leader, Bill Magwood, Consulted For Fukushima Parent Company"

That's TEPCO. This is interesting.

Bio of Bill Magwood at the NRC site is here.

From Huffington Post (12/12/2011):

WASHINGTON -- Bill Magwood, the man at the center of an effort to overthrow the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and his most likely successor if the move is successful, served as a consultant for Tepco, the Japanese company that owns the Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to information provided by Magwood as part of his nomination and confirmation process, which was obtained by The Huffington Post.

On Friday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) released a letter signed by Magwood and three other commissioners attacking the panel's chairman, Gregory Jaczko, setting off a firestorm in the energy industry. Issa and the four commissioners framed the dispute as personal and managerial, but emails released by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) show a political and ideological battle underway over post-Fukushima safety standards.

Issa and Markey appeared opposite one another on MSNBC on Monday, continuing to debate whether the issue is one of personality or the politics of nuclear safety. Magwood's previously unreported relationship to Japan's nuclear industry, via the firm he founded and ran, Advanced Energy Strategies, sheds new light on that debate.

...

When Magwood was nominated by President Obama in 2009 to become a commissioner, nearly a hundred environmental groups, along with the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), urged his defeat in the Senate, arguing that he was too close to the industry to be tasked with regulating it.

He was confirmed in March 2010 by unanimous consent.

Since joining the body, Magwood has coordinated with the two Republicans and the other Democrat on the panel to delay and water down new safety reforms pushed by Jaczko, according to the emails made public by Markey. Following the Fukushima disaster, Jaczko has made a major effort to increase safety standards, an effort that is being closely watched by international regulators and nuclear companies across the globe.

Magwood's recent client list makes up a who's who of Japanese power and nuclear companies, and included CLSA Japan Equities Division, the Federation of Electrical Power Companies in Japan (FEPC), IBT Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, RW Beck, Sumitomo Corporation and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which was roundly criticized for its response to the crisis.

(Full article at the link.)

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NRC's Commissioners Have "Grave Concerns" With Chairman Jaczko

Four commissioners of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent a letter to the White House accusing Chairman Greg Jaczko of bulling and intimidating staff and experts. There are 5 commissioners including Jaczko.

The US the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will have a hearing on December 14. The 4 commissioners expressing "grave concerns" with Jaczko are Commissioners George Apostolakis, William Magwood IV, William Ostendorff and Kristine Svinicki. It looks like a political infighting, as usual, and the issue is over the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, in particular.

I don't know much about this chairman, but he sure made the right decision in advising American citizens living in Japan to move out of 80-kilometer radius from the nuke plant.

The chairman is still expected in Japan on December 18 for the joyful occasion of declaration of "cold shutdown" at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant by the totally corrupt and inept Japanese national government.

I don't know what these commissioners are complaining about. Chairman Jaczko has said there is no need to tighten any regulation in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster because it was a five-sigma event. Nuclear power plants are safe, and radiation is good for you.

From Businessweek/Bloomberg (12/11/2011):

Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko is causing “serious damage” to the agency and is “creating a chilled work environment,” his four commission colleagues said.

Jaczko has bullied career staff and attempted to intimidate an independent panel of technical advisers, the other NRC commissioners said in an Oct. 13 letter to White House Chief of Staff William Daley, released yesterday by Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“In a long series of very troubling actions taken by Chairman Jaczko, he has undermined the ability of the commission to function,” Commissioners George Apostolakis, William Magwood IV, William Ostendorff and Kristine Svinicki said in the letter that described their “grave concerns.”

Jaczko responded that the commission's majority has “loosened the agency's safety standards” over his opposition. The exchanges bring into the open tensions and conflict within the agency that is responsible for regulating the 104 commercial reactors in the U.S. and is considering applications for a new generation of power plants.

The NRC commissioners are scheduled to testify before the committee, led by California Republican Darrell Issa, about the rifts on Dec. 14.

“There is no chilled work environment around me,” Jaczko said in a Dec. 7 letter to Daley. “I have never attempted to intimidate” the technical advisory panel, and “I do not ignore the will of the commission on policy matters,” he said.

Loosened Standards

“Unfortunately, all too often, when faced with tough policy calls,” the commission majority “established policies that have loosened the agency's safety standards,” he said.

Jaczko wasn't open with colleagues about his intent to stop work on a proposed waste site at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, according to a June report from the NRC's inspector general.

Republicans have accused Jaczko of stopping work on the Yucca project for political reasons, which he has denied. President Barack Obama has moved to halt the project. Jaczko is a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who led opposition to the Yucca site.

Jaczko's opponents are waging a “politically motivated witch hunt against a man with a proven track record of ensuring that nuclear power is produced as safely and responsibly as possible,” Adam Jentleson, a Reid spokesman, said in an e- mailed statement.

Japan Response

A report released yesterday by Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts blamed the four commissioners for trying to impede Jaczko's response to Japan's nuclear crisis in March.

They “conspired, with each other and with senior NRC staff, to delay the release of and alter” an agency task-force study on the crisis, according to the 22-page report. It is based on documents submitted by the commissioners in response to an October request from Markey, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.

Jaczko, a former congressional science fellow for Markey, has urged the NRC to move quickly in implementing the task- force's recommendations to improve safety at U.S. reactors after an earthquake and tsunami caused radiation leaks and meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant.

Markey's report found e-mails and other documents with “high levels of suspicion and hostility directed” at Jaczko. At other times, e-mails showed Jaczko's colleagues “assumed ill intent on the part of the chairman” and tried to “undermine his efforts or refuse his requests.”

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NRC's Greg Jaczko To Visit Fukushima In Time For Declaration of Successful "Completion" of Step 2

of the TEPCO/Japanese government roadmap. Chairman Jaczko will be there to give blessings to the declaration of "cold shutdown" of the broken reactors at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

The farce continues.

From NHK News (12/8/2011):

国と東京電力が福島第一原子力発電所について、今月中旬にも原子炉の温度が安定して１００度以下となる「冷温停止」状態を実現したと発表するのに合わせて、アメリカの原子力規制委員会のヤツコ委員長が日本を訪問し、事故後初めて、福島第一原発を視察する方向で調整していることが明らかになりました。

It has been disclosed that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Gregory Jaczko may visit Japan and tour Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant for the first time since the accident in mid December, when the Japanese government and TEPCO are scheduled to announce the achievement of "cold shutdown" whereby the temperatures of the reactors remain steadily below 100 degrees Celsius.

関係者によりますと、ヤツコ委員長は、日本政府と東京電力が今月中旬にも福島第一原子力発電所の冷温停止状態を実現したと発表し、事故収束に向けた工程表の「ステップ２」を終了するのに合わせて、１８日ごろから日本を訪問する方向で調整しているということです。

According to the sources, Chairman Jaczko is scheduled to visit Japan from December 18, around the time the Japanese government and TEPCO are set to announce that the "cold shutdown" has been achieved at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and that "Step 2" of the roadmap toward winding down the accident has been achieved.

訪日中には、福島第一原発を事故後初めて視察し、現状を確認したり、担当者から話を聞いたりするほか、日本政府の高官らと会談することにしています。アメリカ原子力規制委員会は東日本大震災発生後、常時、支援に当たる専門家チームを派遣してきましたが、「ステップ２」以降の課題として、原子炉内の状況をさらに正確に把握する方法や、残された燃料をどのように安全に取り出すのかなどについて日本側の方針を聞き、アメリカとしてさらに何らかの支援ができないか話し合う予定です。

During the visit, Chairman Jaczko will visit the plant for the first time since the accident to survey the current condition and speak with the plant people. He will also meet with high ranking officials of the government. The US NRC sent a team of experts to provide constant support after the March 11 disaster, and the chairman will discuss with the Japanese officials about the tasks beyond "Step 2", which includes more accurate assessment of the condition inside the reactor and the safe removal of remaining fuel, and see if the US could help Japan in some way.

また、原子力規制委員会は事故直後の状況について、より詳細な情報が知りたいとしており、日本側に対し、さらなる情報の開示を求めるものとみられます。

It is said that the NRC wants to have more detailed information on the condition right after the accident started, and is likely ask Japan for more information disclosure.

Even after Fukushima, Chairman Jaczko seems to think there's no need to change anything in the US, as the event like Fukushima will be so rare.

I guess he hasn't heard of the chaos theory or a black swan event. Nor was he aware that a black swan event, or a fat-tail event, or five sigma event, did happen in 2008, bringing down the global financial system. Another five sigma is looming in Europe.

Or simply an old adage, "When it rains it pours."

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