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Re: Criticality accident
Yes, I agree with you:
"A major accident resulting in a radioactive leak has happened. We apologize
from the
bottom of our hearts,''
JCO President Koji Kitani, bowing deeply at a news conference in Tokyo.
"A nation that has built a reputation for quality in high-tech manufacturing
should not have such workmanship errors"
Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi
It is important to keep in mind that the applicability and value of a good
practice are not only dependent on the specific underlying culture of the
organization and country concerned, but also the degree of a strong analysis
on Safety Culture and lessons learned, for this reason, we can't close the
pages of the last nuclear and radiological accidents, with significant
failure in good practice. In Tokaimura there were a chain of fails, we can't
just blame this accident on workers, however also Regulatory Authority,
Licensee (Organization), Radiation Safety Officer, Radiation Protection
Officer.
Jose Julio Rozental
joseroze@netvision.net.il
Israel
----- Original Message -----
From: William V Lipton <liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM>
To: Paul lavely <lavelyp@UCLINK4.BERKELEY.EDU>
Cc: BERNARD L COHEN <blc+@PITT.EDU>; <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 7:54 PM
Subject: Re: Criticality accident
Unfortunately, this accident was not the result of a single instance of
violating
procedures, but was the culmination of long standing practices; see:
<http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Documents/Tokaimura/iaea-toac.pdf>
For example:
1. The licensing conditions for the facility stipulated a mass limit of 2.4
kg
of 16-20% enriched U in the conversion facility. When the accident was
initiated, they had poured 16 kg of this material into the precipitation
tank.
2. The procedure modification that allowed the workers to bypass the buffer
column had been in place since November 1996, and had been implemented
several
times before the accident occurred. It had never received approval from the
regulatory authorities.
The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
It's not about dose, it's about trust.
Curies forever.
Bill Lipton
liptonw@dteenergy.com
Paul lavely wrote:
> The last accident was very
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