Press Release-11-052, NRC Informs U.S. Nuclear Power Plants on Japan Earthquakes Effects
| ML110800151 | |
| Person / Time | |
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| Issue date: | 03/18/2011 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
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| Category:Press Release | |
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| Press Release 11-052 | |
| Download: ML110800151 (1) | |
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NRC INFORMS U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS ON JAPAN EARTHQUAKES EFFECTS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued an Information Notice to all currently operating U.S. nuclear power plants, describing the effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on Japanese nuclear power plants.
The notice provides a brief overview of how the earthquake and tsunami are understood to have disabled several key cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, and also hampered efforts to return those systems to service. The notice is based on the NRCs current understanding of the damage to the reactors and associated spent fuel pools as of Friday, March 18.
The notice reflects the current belief that the combined effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami exceeded the Fukushima Daiichi plants design limits. The notice also recounts the NRCs efforts, post-9/11, to enhance U.S. plants abilities to cope with severe events, such as the loss of large areas of a site, including safety systems and power supplies.
The NRC expects U.S. nuclear power plants will review the entire notice to determine how it applies to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate.
News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website.
NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No.11-052 March 18, 2011