2024-02-14 12:45:16
At its regular meeting on the 14th, the Nuclear Regulation Authority announced that its review of the Nuclear Disaster Countermeasure Guidelines, which stipulate disaster prevention responses in the event of a nuclear power plant accident, will be limited to the method of “sheltering indoors” for residents to avoid exposure to radioactive materials that have spread into the environment. We decided to have a discussion. A unanimous decision made by the five members. Although it was found that the Noto Peninsula earthquake caused many collapsed houses and severed roads, making sheltering indoors and evacuating difficult, the study will proceed without assuming these issues. (Seiko Watanabe)
◆Revision of countermeasure guidelines is limited to the “sheltering indoors” method
Shinsuke Yamanaka, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, explaining the review of the Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Guidelines on the 14th in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
At a press conference following the meeting, Committee Chairman Shinsuke Yamanaka emphasized that collapsed houses and disrupted evacuation routes are issues for local governments to consider. He reiterated that “responding to natural disasters is outside of our scope.” When asked whether future discussions would be based on the assumption that people can shelter in place, he answered, “That’s fine.”
The regulatory commission, which was established following the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, examines and regulates nuclear power plant accident countermeasures, but has a limited role such as providing advice on evacuation plans, which are not subject to review.
Discussion on the review will be limited to items that are not specifically stated in the current guidelines, such as how far away from the nuclear power plant people should be to shelter in place and for how many days, and the criteria for deciding whether to lift the shelter-in-place order. A team including outside experts, local governments, and Cabinet Office officials will study the matter, and the results will be compiled in regarding a year.
At the meeting, committee members repeatedly said that responses to natural disasters were “not up for discussion.” Commissioner Nobuhiko Ban also stated, “Regardless of whether there is a nuclear disaster or not, the collapse of houses and isolation of villages are problems in themselves.These should be dealt with (by local governments) as countermeasures once morest natural disasters.” Although Commissioner Tomoyuki Sugiyama pointed out that it would be desirable for assembly halls that can be used as evacuation centers to be earthquake-resistant, he recognized that there was no need for the regulatory commission to discuss the matter.
◆Governor of prefecture where nuclear power plant is located: “We should discuss evacuation methods based on reality”
Current guidelines state that in the event of a serious accident in which large amounts of radioactive materials are scattered outside, residents within 5 kilometers of a nuclear power plant must evacuate, and those within 5 to 30 kilometers must shelter indoors. Local governments will formulate detailed evacuation plans based on the guidelines.
A regular meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, which began discussing the operation of evacuation shelters as part of the review of the Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Guidelines, took place on the 14th in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
After the Noto Peninsula earthquake, local governments began to question the guidelines. On the 9th, Governor Hideyo Hanazumi of Niigata Prefecture, where the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant that TEPCO aims to restart, told Hiromu Katayama, Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, which is the secretariat of the regulatory commission, “Based on reality, “We should discuss how evacuations should be carried out.”
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