The work was a collaborative effort between the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program (LWRS), BWROG, the Electric Power Research Institute, the Government of Japan, and Texas A&M University. The new guidance is based on insights gained from evaluating Fukushima Daiichi’s Unit 2 and 3 Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) system operation, along with tests that were conducted as part of the Terry Turbine Expanded Operating Band project. The forensics program information also contributed to revised guidance developed for operating BWR emergency cooling systems during extreme external events. It has also led to significant cost savings by reducing training costs by more than $6 million per year over the BWR fleet. This resource frees plant owners and operators from having to develop and provide their own training. More than 3,000 individuals, including control room operators, emergency response center staff, and other cognizant personnel, have already been certified through SAIL. The Severe Accident Interactive Learning (SAIL) program was enhanced by information obtained from the forensics working group and is currently hosted on the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations e-learning portal. The BWROG recently developed an interactive computer-based training program for reactor operators, decision makers, and implementers of accident management guidance. thanks to new training programs, operational procedure upgrades and implementation of accident management guidance. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.īWROG recently highlighted three successes enabled by the forensics program that are already having a direct influence on the performance and safety of boiling water reactors (BWRs) in the U.S. This effort includes experts from industry, national laboratories and universities, as well as the U.S. The Boiling Water Reactor Owners’ Group (BWROG), led by utility personnel and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, has also been a key contributor to this work through an international forensics program led by the U.S. to provide information and support this effort. Several Japanese organizations, including Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Holdings, have worked closely with the U.S. One aspect of that partnership is analyzing data that came from the damaged reactors to see what we can learn and how to apply that knowledge to enhance nuclear safety. government has been collaborating with Japan to further our understanding about the accident progressions that occurred in these three units. While no deaths were attributed to radiation exposure from these accidents, there are still many lessons to be learned from these events. The tsunami led to a total loss of power at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and caused fuel melting in three of its reactors and a release of radioactive materials into the environment. Our determination surpassed all other considerations.Mawas a sobering day for the world when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Japan triggered a massive tsunami that destroyed 430 miles of coastline and killed nearly 16,000 people. “No one was forced to stay, but those of us who remained knew that we would be there until the end. "We knew that we would not be replaced,” said one of the rescuers. But they would never call themselves heroes - only people bound by an unshakeable sense of duty. Today, seven years after an act of nature transformed their lives forever, the Heroes of Fukushima are widely recognized for saving countless lives during one of the darkest moments in recent Japanese history. In spite of these challenges, they pressed on, deflecting attempts to honor their work - many, in fact, have chosen to remain anonymous. Accolades for their lifesaving work came slowly. The bravery of the first responders, who were frequently stigmatized by those fearful of contamination, exacted a psychological toll. Through their courageous work, the damage was contained, the danger zone was stabilized, and casualties proved far lower than estimated. They fought fires and flooded overheating nuclear fuel cores with seawater. Some went to the crippled plant, sleeping side by side in a small room and subsisting on limited food and water. As an anxious nation waited, they returned to the so-called “exclusion zone,” where radiation levels were highest. But then a courageous group of first responders - firefighters, employees of the nuclear plant, and members of the Japanese Self Defense Forces - got to work. It was Japan’s gravest crisis since the Second World War, and had the potential of being the greatest nuclear disaster in contemporary history. It was a disaster in triplicate - the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan the ensuing tsunami that ravaged the country's northeast and then the series of explosions and meltdowns at the nuclear reactors at Fukushima.
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