In line with a recent request from the president, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday voted to create a task force that
will conduct short-term and long-term assessments of safety at U.S. nuclear
plants.
“Examining all the available information from Japan is
essential to understanding the event’s implications for the United States. We
will perform a systematic and methodical review to see if there are changes
that should be made to our programs and regulations,” NRC Chairman Gregory
Jaczko said in a release, referencing the ongoing reactor accidents at Japan’s
tsunami-disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Senior NRC managers and former NRC experts with relevant
experience will make up the task force, with the NRC inspectors currently posted
at U.S. nuclear power plants and regional officials helping with the short-term
review. Their schedule is tight. Updates for the short-term effort are
scheduled for roughly 30, 60 and 90 days from now.
“This work will help determine if any additional NRC
responses, such as orders requiring immediate action by U.S. plants, are called
for, prior to completing an in-depth investigation of the information from
events in Japan,” NRC Executive Director for Operations Bill Borchardt said in
the release.
The longer-term review potentially will inform future
NRC regulation changes, according to the release. Commissioners expect work on
it to begin within 90 days and a report six months afterward.