[ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 921, Issue 2

Tue Mar 20 18:58:12 CDT 2012

I think the more significant story is that around chain of command and 
communications:

A colleague visited (some years earlier) a japanese NPP as a member of 
an IAEA delegation, and asked what the decision-making process would be 
in case of an emergency; answer was, refer up to head office in Tokyo 
for direction.  He then asked 'what about if you lose all telecoms in a 
natural disaster like an earthquake?' And they *did not have a protocol 
for defaulting back to local decision-making*. He inferred from this a 
corporate cultural incapacity to devolve responsibility to the local 
level, something that every emergency response organization has drilled 
into it as essential...

Hence the extremely damaging delays in the first few days (not to 
mention of course that logistics was totally stuffed by the earthquake 
and tsunami anyway)...

When finally the desperate decision was made to inject seawater, it was 
apparently made by the local manager in defiance of orders from 
corporate office not to do so..

Repeat: the head office honchos cannot be as aware of all details of the 
local scene as the local managers, and really must defer to them in 
emergency situations.

Mark Sonter

Radiation Advice & Solutions Pty Ltd,   abn 31 891 761 435
Asteroid Enterprises Pty Ltd,   abn 53 008 115 302

116 Pennine Drive, South Maclean, Queensland 4280, Australia

Phone / fax  (07) 3297 7653   Mobile 0412 433 286 or 0447 755598

“Keep everything as simple as possible, but no simpler”  - A Einstein

"There are some ideas so wrong that they could only be believed by an 
intellectual" - G Orwell

On 21/03/2012 3:00 AM, radsafe-request at health.phys.iit.edu wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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>     1. Re: RadSafe Digest, Vol 919, Issue 1 (Thompson, Dewey L)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:35:51 -0500
> From: "Thompson, Dewey L"<DThompson3 at ameren.com>
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 919, Issue 1
> To: "The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing
> 	List"	<radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
> Message-ID:
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>
> Terry
>
> Well.  I agree with proviso.  I certainly have no problem with the concept of "Tsunami = Bad Juju", particularly for nuclear power plants.
>
> On the other hand, I suspect most of us had no clue that many of the supporting systems at the Fukushima installation were not constructed to be within a watertight area, nor that the nuclear regulatory function acted as it did.
>
> We in Radsafe (well, anyone working within the industry as well) certainly have a responsibility to identify safety issues that we perceive, and we have the responsibility to ensure the decision makers have the necessary facts and understanding necessary to make informed decisions.
>
> I wonder if ANYONE on Radsafe could have understood the particular risk issues at Fukushima prior to the accident.
>
> I wonder if there were any people within the Japanese organizations that had perceived these risks and communicated them to their higher ups?  If so, were the voices heard?
>
> THAT may well be the most telling lesson of Fukushima.
>
> Dewey
>
> PS.  Clayton.  Methinks your examples point more to the risks of regulators being too cozy than to the "western perception of regulatory theory".
>
> Dewey
>
> :?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?:?
> DEWEY THOMPSON
> Staff HP
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> E DThompson3 at ameren.com
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Terry
> Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 1:04 PM
> To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] RadSafe Digest, Vol 919, Issue 1
>
> I complete agree that the Fukushima incident was foreseeable. However, RadSafe missed the boat on that one, too. Searching the archives one year ago brought up posts on tsunamis going back as far as 2001. In fact, many were dismissive of the threat.
>
> One can search the archives and find numerous discussions on tsunamis, planes crashing into reactors, waste train crashes, terrorists, etc. How often do we look at these and offer recommendations. How often do we check on what ideas were proposed and see if any were implemented.
>
> Is it our responsibility to do this? I think that a lesson learned from Fukushima is that we are responsible for bringing these concerns forward and making sure that if credible that they are dealt with.
>
> Jeff
>
> Jeff Terry
> Assoc. Professor of Physics
> Life Science Bldg Rm 166
> Illinois Institute of Technology
> 3101 S. Dearborn St.
> Chicago IL 60616
> 630-252-9708
> terryj at iit.edu
>
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> End of RadSafe Digest, Vol 921, Issue 2
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