NEI Update 7/16 Key Issues Fukushima Response Enhancing Safety at America’s Nuclear Energy Facilities

Key Issues

Fukushima Response

Enhancing Safety at America’s
Nuclear Energy Facilities

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan led to a severe accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility. Within days, the U.S. nuclear energy industry began taking steps based on lessons learned from the events in Japan to further enhance the safety of American reactors

The U.S. nuclear energy industry responded within days of the accident in Japan, inspecting plants to ensure they could withstand similar extreme natural events. In addition, the entire industry adopted a strategy to ensure that lessons learned in Japan are applied quickly and effectively at America’s reactors. This “FLEX” strategy addresses the major problems encountered in Japan—the loss of power to maintain effective cooling—by stationing another layer of backup equipment in multiple locations, both at plant sites and in other secure locations. This flexible approach builds on existing safety systems to protect against unforeseen events of all kinds.
http://www.nei.org/Key-Issues/Fukushima-Response