[ RadSafe ] U.N. chief urges "global re-think" on nuclear safety

[Brennan, Mike (DOH)]

"Re-thinking" should be a periodic process in any engineering endeavor,
as there is always new technology that possibly can make the process
better.  After a major event like Fukushima, the "lessons learned" list
should be long and acted on quickly.  For example, one of my colleagues
asked, "So, should the back-up generators for ocean-side plants be in
watertight compartments, or up on the hill?" my answer was, "Yes."  

Some of the "Re-thinking" I would recommend is to focus on smaller new
designs, preferably ones that can't melt down (such as pebble bed),
decentralized, so as to not have as many reactors vulnerable to the same
event.  I would recommend a wider, denser, array of radiation monitors
that can be accessed remotely, and can work for a couple of months off
the grid.  I would put anyone in the community who wants to be in a
dosimetry program, once they had passed some required radiation classes
(the price of the dosimeters would be cheap compared to having lots of
informed people in the area).  On a national/international level, I'd
have the biggest generators that could be lifted by helo available to be
sent wherever an emergency happens.  

I believe that nuclear power both must and should be a part of the
future energy picture, but even I agree that some serious re-thinking is
in order.    

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Dixon, John E.
(CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH)
Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 12:04 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] U.N. chief urges "global re-think" on nuclear
safety

Beware of this UN Chief - His expertise is ECONOMICS not SCIENCE.

John

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of
RRGWNYEnviro at aol.com
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 5:10 PM
To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Subject: [ RadSafe ] U.N. chief urges "global re-think" on nuclear
safety

 
 
 
 
 
_http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-nuclear-ban-chernobyl-idUS
TRE7
3I3UQ20110419_ 
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/19/us-nuclear-ban-chernobyl-idUS
TRE73I3UQ20110419) 





KIEV | Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:29pm  EDT 

KIEV (Reuters) - The nuclear disasters at  Chernobyl and Japan's
Fukushima 
have shown the need for a "global re-think" on  nuclear energy, U.N.
General 
Secretary Ban Ki-moon said on  Tuesday. 
Ban said the 1986 disaster in Ukraine and the threat to the Fukushima 
nuclear  plant following an earthquake and tsunami this year
demonstrated that 
"nuclear  accidents respect no borders." 
"How can we ensure the peaceful use of nuclear energy and maximum
safety? 
We  need a global re-think on this fundamental question," he told an 
international  conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev marking 25 years
since the 
world's  worst nuclear accident. 
Ban called for a "top-to-bottom" review of nuclear safety regulations
and  
urged states to apply high standards of safety precautions, allow 
independent  oversight at plants and be more transparent to secure
public  confidence. 
"Nuclear power plants must be built to withstand everything from 
earthquakes  to tsunamis, from fires to floods," he said, with the
Fukushima crisis 
clearly  in mind. 
He called for efforts to strengthen the work of the International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA) and use its capacity for sharing expertise and
know-how 
on  nuclear safety issues. 
Ban endorsed the IAEA's convening of a ministerial conference on nuclear

safety in June to draw lessons from Fukushima. 
In Vienna, a senior IAEA official said there were already intense  
preparations for the conference. "I don't know if you can call that
'global  
re-thinking' but I think there will be a lot of thinking at this June
conference  
so that nuclear energy is safer," Denis Flory told a news conference. 
He said the IAEA was planning to send a team of international experts to

_Japan_ (http://www.reuters.com/places/japan)  on a fact-finding mission
that 
would report back to the conference. The team would also suggest ways to

improve the overall situation at the plant. 
Flory said the aim of the June conference was to strengthen the global  
nuclear safety framework. The IAEA, with 151 member nations, lacks the
power to 
 enforce safety standards it recommends. 
Some diplomats have voiced concerns that countries seeking to start
their  
first nuclear power programs might be loath to sign up to stricter
rules. 
Very truly yours, 
M.Sato
RRG: Ryokan Route Gento (Grand Mali Park)
WNY: West Noga (area) Yokohama
Environment Monitoring
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