Q UESTIONS AND A NSWERS ABOUT THE UNFOLDING NUCLEAR CRISIS IN JAPAN, FOLLOWING THE MARCH 11, 2011 EARTHQUAKE By Frontier Group, for Staff of the Public Interest Network Updated March 14, 1 PM Pacific Time BACKGROUND The unfolding nuclear emergency in Japan has raised questions amongst our own staff and in our own communities. We have prepared this factsheet to attempt to provide answers where information is available, and will attempt to keep it updated as the situation unfolds. WHAT IS HAPPENING? On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered an earthquake off the northeastern coast of the main island, Honshu. The earthquake was an 8.9 on the Richter scale, the strongest ever recorded in Japan, and one of the strongest earthquakes recorded on the planet in the last century. Following the quake, a tsunami flooded nearby coastal areas, causing widespread damage. The damage affected several nuclear power plants in the country.1 Eleven separate reactors shut down automatically in the incident. Even after a reactor shuts down, the cooling systems must remain active in order to keep the reactor core from overheating, which could cause fuel to melt and potentially release radioactive material into the atmosphere. (For a more detailed explanation, see this article from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/japan-fukushima-nuclearreactor.html) At the Fukushima Daiicihi Nuclear Power Station, backup diesel power generators failed, cutting off power to the cooling system for reactors number 1, 2 and 3.2 Pressure levels inside several of the reactors began to rise beyond safe levels. Plant operators declared an emergency situation. Local government evacuated nearby residents to a distance of 6 miles. And plant operators began to vent the extra pressure while teams attempted to connect and activate another emergency backup power system.3 Later, a state of emergency and evacuation area was declared at the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station, 10 miles away, where backup cooling systems failed for three out of four reactors.4 “Massive Earthquake Hits Japan: Update 8, 9:48 GMT,” World Nuclear News, 11 March 2011. “Massive Earthquake Hits Japan: Update 8, 9:48 GMT,” World Nuclear News, 11 March 2011. 3 “Massive Earthquake Hits Japan: Update 8, 9:48 GMT,” World Nuclear News, 11 March 2011. 4 “Five Nuclear Reactors Under State of Emergency,” Associated Press, 11 March, 6:21 PM, available at www.suntimes.com/4258154-417/five-nuclear-reactors-in-state-of-emergency-in-japan.html. 1 2 Venting caused hydrogen gas to build up in two buildings housing reactor vessels at Fukushima Daiichi. Explosions destroyed the buildings, but apparently not the reactor vessels. In a last-ditch effort to cool three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, operators began a plan to pump seawater containing boron into the reaction chamber to cool the fuel rods and quench any fission reactions – essentially abandoning any hope of salvaging the reactor for future use. But the effort was fraught with technical difficulties. As of noon pacific time, the effort failed at least temporarily, and fuel rods were exposed to open air, beginning to melt down – increasing the risk of a breach of reactor containment and an uncontrolled release of radioactive material.5 Even if the seawater quenching procedure succeeds, it will require periodic venting of radioactive steam into the atmosphere, potentially for months into the future.6 Radioactive material, possibly from the fuel rods, was detected as far as 60 miles from the reactor site.7 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS *Control-click on the question below to jump to that point in the document* How many U.S. nuclear plants are located near earthquake faults? ........................................... 2 How large of an earthquake could U.S. nuclear plants withstand? ............................................ 3 Which U.S. reactors have the same design as the reactors that suffered cooling system failures in Japan?...................................................................................................................................... 4 What U.S. nuclear reactors are located near large population centers? ...................................... 7 What are other people saying? .................................................................................................. 10 Please direct any additional questions to add to this factsheet to travis@frontiergroup.org. HOW MANY U.S. NUCLEAR PLANTS ARE LOCATED NEAR EARTHQUAKE FAULTS? The World Nuclear Association estimates that 20 percent of nuclear reactors worldwide operate in areas vulnerable to earthquakes.8 In the United States, several nuclear reactors in California and New York are located on or near known faults. Other parts of the country where nuclear plants now exist are seismically active, although not so much as the West Coast. Hiroko Tabuchi, Keith Bradsher, and Matthew Wald, “Emergency Cooling Effort Failing at Japanese Reactor, Deepening Crisis,” New York Times, 14 March 2011. 6 David E. Sanger and Matthew Wald, “Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say,” New York Times, 13 March 2011. 7 David E. Sanger and Matthew Wald, “Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say,” New York Times, 13 March 2011. 8 World Nuclear Association, Nuclear Power and Earthquakes (factsheet), January 2011, available at www.worldnuclear.org/info/inf18.html. 5 Two reactors at Diablo Canyon, (near the town of San Luis Obispo, CA) are 3 miles from the Hosgri Fault line and about half a mile from an offshore fault line scientists discovered in 2008.9 Two reactors at San Onofre (next to Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and San Diego, CA) are 5 miles from the Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault.10 Two reactors at the Indian Point, NY nuclear power plant are one mile from a recentlydiscovered intersection of two active fault lines. Close to 10 million people live within 25 miles of the Indian Point facility.11 The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission notes that the Midwest and Eastern United States, while less seismically active than the West Coast, still face an appreciable risk of earthquakes. The commission notes that in the early 1800s, three large earthquakes – between 7 and 7.7 on the Richter scale – affected the Eastern United States, with an epicenter in Missouri. Another similar earthquake struck Charleston, South Carolina in 1886.12 Western Ohio is the second-most seismically active area in the Eastern United States behind Missouri.13 An earthquake there in 1986 affected the Perry nuclear power plant, for example, breaking pipes and equipment – but the plant had not yet begun operation.14 HOW LARGE OF AN EARTHQUAKE COULD U.S. NUCLEAR PLANTS WITHSTAND? According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, historical earthquake activity at the location of a proposed plant is an important part of reactor design standards.15 Commission staff determine the largest “credible” earthquake that could occur at a given site, and require engineers to design the plant to withstand that force, plus an added margin of safety. According to a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, the San Onofre nuclear power plant is designed to withstand a magnitude 7.0 earthquake happening 5 miles away.16 According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Diablo Canyon is designed to withstand a magnitude 7.5 earthquake 3 miles away.17 “Diablo Canyon Deemed Safe From New Earthquake Fault,” Environment News Service, 14 April 2009, available at www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2009/2009-04-14-091.html. 10 Onell Soto, “San Onofre nuclear plant tsunami-ready,” San Diego Union Tribune, 11 March 2011. 11 Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Earthquakes May Endanger New York More Than Thought, Says Study (press release), 25 August 2008. 12 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Fact Sheet on Seismic Issues for Existing Nuclear Power Plants, 10 November 2010. Available at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/fs-seismic-issues.html. 13 James Hannah, “Earthquake risk exists in Ohio: Western half of state is second-most active seismic zone in eastern U.S.,” Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 July 2000. 14 Moid Ahmad and Jeffery Smith, “Earthquakes, injection wells, and the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Cleveland, Ohio,” Geology 16: 739-742, August 1988. 15 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Fact Sheet on Seismic Issues for Existing Nuclear Power Plants, 10 November 2010. Available at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/fs-seismic-issues.html. 16 Onell Soto, “San Onofre nuclear plant tsunami-ready,” San Diego Union Tribune, 11 March 2011. 17 Goutam Bagchi, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Diablo Canyon Seismic Review, presentation at Seismic Information Workshop, 8-9 September 2010, downloaded from www.nrc.gov/public-involve/conferencesymposia/seismic-info/presentations/session5-bagchi.pdf. 9 A spokesperson for the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York told Reuters that the plant was designed to survive an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale.18 The New York Times published an article on March 14 featuring the opinion of Ross Stein, a geological physicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, in the aftermath of the Japan quake. The article reads:19 What is perhaps most surprising about the Japan earthquake is how misleading history can be. In the past 300 years, no earthquake nearly that large — nothing larger than magnitude-eight — had struck in the Japan subduction zone. That, in turn, led to assumptions about how large a tsunami might strike the coast. “It did them a giant disservice,” said Dr. Stein of the geological survey. That is not the first time that the earthquake potential of a fault has been underestimated. Most geophysicists did not think the Sumatra fault could generate a magnitude-9.1 earthquake, and a magnitude-7.3 earthquake in Landers, Calif., in 1992 also caught earthquake experts by surprise. “Perhaps the message is we should re-evaluate the occurrence of superlarge earthquakes on any fault,” Dr. Stein said. WHICH U.S. REACTORS HAVE THE SAME DESIGN AS THE REACTORS THAT SUFFERED COOLING SYSTEM FAILURES IN JAPAN? Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactors are General Electric Mark I boiling water reactors.20 There are 23 reactors of this type in the United States, including:21 Plant Name, Unit Number Location Licensee Date of First Commercia l Operation Renewed Operating License Issued Operating License Expires Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 Athens, AL (32 MI W of Huntsville, AL) Tenessee Valley Authority 8/1/1974 5/4/2006 12/20/2033 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 Athens, AL (32 MI W of Huntsville, AL) Tenessee Valley Authority 3/1/1975 5/4/2006 6/28/2034 Timothy Gardner, “NY nuclear plant likely a quake risk: study,” Reuters, 22 August 2008. Kenneth Chang, “Quake Moves Japan Closer to U.S. and Alters Earth’s Spin,” New York Times, 14 March 2011. 20 Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Factsheet on Fukushima Power Plant, downloaded from www.nirs.org/reactorwatch/accidents/Fukushimafactsheet.pdf on 11 March 2011. 21 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Information Digest, 2010–2011: Appendix A, (NUREG-1350, Volume 22), August 2010. 18 19 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant, Unit 3 Wheeler Lake, AL (10 MI SW of Athens, AL) Tenessee Valley Authority 3/1/1977 5/4/2006 7/2/2036 Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Unit 1 Southport, NC (40 MI S of Wilmington, NC) Carolina Power & Light Co. 3/18/1977 6/26/2006 9/8/2036 Brunswick Steam Electric Plant, Unit 2 Southport, NC (40 MI S of Wilmington, NC) Carolina Power & Light Co. 11/3/1975 6/26/2006 12/27/2034 Cooper Nuclear Station Brownville, NE (23 MI S of Nebraska City, NE) Nebraska Public Power District 7/1/1974 Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2 Morris, IL (25 M SW of Joliet, IL) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 6/9/1970 10/28/2004 12/22/2029 Dresden Nuclear Power Station, Unit 3 Morris, IL (25 M SW of Joliet, IL) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 11/16/1971 10/28/2004 1/12/2031 Duane Arnold Energy Center Palo, IA (8 MI NW of Cedar Rapids, IA) FPL Energy 2/1/1975 Duane Arnold, LLC Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit 1 Baxley , GA (20 MI S of Vidalia, GA) Southern Nuclear Operating Co. 12/31/1975 1/15/2002 8/6/2034 Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, Unit 2 Baxley , GA (20 MI S of Vidalia, GA) Southern Nuclear Operating Co. 9/5/1979 1/15/2002 6/13/2038 Fermi, Unit 2 Newport, MI (25 MI NE of Toledo, OH) The Detroit Edison Co. 1/23/1988 3/20/2025 Hope Creek Generating Hancock Bridge, NJ (18 MI SE of PSEG Nuclear, 12/20/1986 4/11/2026 1/18/2014 2/21/2014 Station, Unit 1 Wilmington, DE) LLC James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant Scriba, NY (6 MI NE of Oswego, NY) Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 7/28/1975 9/8/2008 10/17/2034 Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1 Monticello, MN (30 MI NW of Minneapolis, MN ) Northern States Power Company 6/30/1971 11/8/2006 9/8/2030 Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, Unit 1 Scriba, NY (6 MI NE of Oswego, NY) Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station, LLC 12/1/1969 10/31/2006 8/22/2029 Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1 Forked River, NJ (9 MI S of Toms River, NJ) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 12/1/1969 4/8/2009 4/9/2029 Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit 2 Delta, PA (17.9 MI S of Lancaster, PA) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 7/5/1974 5/7/2003 8/8/2033 Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit 3 Delta, PA (17.9 MI S of Lancaster, PA) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 12/23/1974 5/7/2003 7/2/2034 Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Plymouth, MA (38 Entergy MI SE of Boston, Nuclear MA) Operations, Inc. 12/1/1972 Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Unit 1 Cordova, IL (20 MI NE of Moline, IL) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 2/18/1973 10/28/2004 12/14/2032 Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2 Cordova, IL (20 MI NE of Moline, IL) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 3/10/1973 10/28/2004 12/14/2032 Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Vernon, VT (5 MI S of Entergy Nuclear Operations, 11/30/1972 6/8/2012 3/21/2012 Plant, Unit 1 Brattleboro, VT) Inc. The Nuclear Information and Resource Service has prepared a factsheet on common design flaws with this type of reactor, available here: http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/bwrfact.htm Fukushima Dai-Ni reactors are all General Electric Mark III boiling water reactors.22 Reactors of this type in the United States include:23 Plant Name, Unit Number Location Licensee Date of First Commercial Operation Renewed Operating License Issued Operating License Expires Clinton Power Station, Unit 1 Clinton, IL (23 MI SSE of Bloomington, IL) Exelon Generation Co., LLC 2/24/1976 4/17/1987 11/24/1987 Grand Gulf Nuclear Station, Unit 1 Port Gibson, MS (20 MI S of Vicksburg, MS) Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 9/4/1974 11/1/1984 7/1/1985 Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 1 Perry, OH (35 MI NE of Cleveland, OH) First Energy Nuclear Operating Co. 5/3/1977 11/13/1986 11/18/1987 River Bend Station, Unit 1 St. Francisville, LA (24 MI NNW of Baton Rouge, LA) Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. 3/25/1977 11/20/1985 6/16/1986 WHAT U.S. NUCLEAR REACTORS ARE LOCATED NEAR LARGE POPULATION CENTERS? [Census population data if necessary can be found here: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en] New York: 24 22 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_boiling_water_reactors) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Information Digest, 2010–2011: Appendix A, (NUREG-1350, Volume 22), August 2010. 23 Indian Point – 24 miles north of New York City Connecticut: Connecticut Yankee – near Meridian, CT. Closer than 25 miles to Hartford and New Haven, CT. Waterford – 3 miles from New London, CT Massachusetts Pilgrim – 40 miles south of Boston New Hampshire Seabrook – 13 miles south of Portsmouth Vermont Vermont Yankee – 5 miles south of Brattleboro Maryland Calvert Cliffs – 45 miles from Washington D.C. New Jersey: Salem and Hope Creek – 18 miles north of Wilmington, DE Oyster Creek – 9 miles south of Tom’s River Pennsylvania: Peach Bottom – 18 miles south of Lancaster, PA Limerick – 21 miles northwest of Philadelphia Beaver Valley – about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh Three Mile Island – 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg Susquehanna – about 25 miles to Wilkes-Barre, PA Florida: Turkey Point – 25 miles from Miami Louisiana: Waterford – 20 miles from New Orleans North Carolina 24 McGuire – 17 miles from Charlotte, NC Proximity data: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Information Digest, 2010–2011: Appendix A, (NUREG1350, Volume 22), August 2010. Shearon Harris – 20 miles from Raleigh-Durham, NC South Carolina: Virgil C. Summer – about 30 miles from Columbia, SC Catawba – about 30 miles from Charlotte, NC Tennessee: Sequoyah – 10 miles from Chattanooga Virginia: Surry – 17 miles from Newport News Illinois: Dresden – about 20 miles from Joliet, IL Zion – 6 miles from Waukegan, IL and 8 miles from Kenosha, WI Byron – 17 miles from Rockford, IL Ohio: Davis-Besse – 21 miles from Toledo, OH Perry – 7 miles from Painesville, OH Michigan: Enrico Fermi – 25 miles from Toledo, OH Donald Cook – 11 miles from Benton Harbor, MI Missouri: Callaway – 10 miles from Fulton, 25 miles from Jefferson City Arizona: Palo Verde – 36 miles from Phoenix California: San Onofre – 4 miles from San Clemente. About 30 miles from Costa Mesa and Oceanside. WHAT ARE OTHER PEOPLE SAYING? Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) has called for a moratorium on the construction of nuclear power facilities in the United States. “I think it calls on us here in the U.S., naturally, not to stop building nuclear power plants but to put the brakes on right now until we understand the ramifications of what’s happened in Japan,” Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut and one of the Senate’s leading voices on energy, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” 25 Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent a letter to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Greg Jaczko requesting additional information on the potential impacts of today’s massive earthquake on Japan’s nuclear facilities as well as any implications for America’s domestic nuclear industry.26 “This disaster serves to highlight both the fragility of nuclear power plants and the potential consequences associated with a radiological release caused by earthquakerelated damage,” wrote Rep. Markey to Chairman Jaczko. “We must ensure that America’s nuclear power plants can withstand a catastrophic event and abide by the absolute highest standards for safety.” Earlier this week, Rep. Markey wrote to Chairman Jaczko urging the NRC not to approve Westinghouse’s design for a new nuclear reactor design, known as the AP1000, until serious safety concerns have been addressed. Rep. Markey’s letter referenced concerns raised by one of the Commission’s most long-serving staff that there is a risk that an earthquake at the AP1000 could result in a catastrophic core meltdown. “If the NRC approves the AP1000, then it may have widespread use throughout the United States, making questions about its safety of crucial national importance,” said Rep. Markey earlier this week. “Taxpayer dollars should not be spent on reactors that could be at risk of suffering a catastrophic core meltdown in the event of an aircraft strike or a major earthquake.” Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) said that the U.S. Government lacks a coordinated nuclear emergency plan, and called for a moratorium on new nuclear reactors in the United States.27 25 “I am concerned that it appears that no agency sees itself as clearly in command of emergency response in a nuclear disaster,” writes Rep. Markey. “In stark contrast to the scenarios contemplated for oil spills and hurricanes, there is no specificity for emergency coordination and command in place for a response to a nuclear disaster.” John M. Broder, U.S. Nuclear Industry Faces New Uncertainty, 13 March 2011. Representative Edward Markey, Markey Queries NRC on Seismic Safety of Nuclear Reactors in Wake of Japan Earthquake (press release), 11 March 2011, available at http://markey.house.gov/. 27 Representative Edward Markey, Markey: Who’s In Charge If Nuclear Disaster Hits America? (press release), 13 March 2011, available at http://markey.house.gov/. 26 Rep. Markey also reiterated his concerns that potassium iodide, the “emergency pills” taken after a nuclear disaster which can help prevent the cancer-causing effects of radiation poisoning, have not been distributed to those living within 20 miles of a U.S. nuclear facility, in contradiction with a 2002 law which Rep. Markey authored. Rep. Markey also called for a moratorium on all new reactors that could be placed in seismically active areas until a top-to-bottom review of design resiliency, emergency response, backup power to prevent a meltdown during long electricity outages, and evacuation plans has been conducted. Rep. Markey has also demanded a safety review of the 31 reactors in the United States that are the same design as those currently experiencing major failure in Japan. Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) warned that a nuclear accident like the one occurring in Japan could also happen in the United States.28 28 “I am shocked by the devastation that has already been caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It is heart-breaking to see the destruction that has already taken place, and to hear of so many people being killed or injured,” said Rep. Markey. “As a result of this disaster, the world is now facing the looming threat of a possible nuclear meltdown at one of the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors. I hope and pray that Japanese experts can successfully bring these reactors under control and avert a Chernobyl-style disaster that could release large amounts of radioactive materials into the environment.” “I am also struck by the fact that the tragic events now unfolding in Japan could very easily occur in the United States. What is happening in Japan right now shows that a severe accident at a nuclear power plant can happen here," said Rep. Markey. “The unfolding disaster in Japan must produce a seismic shift in how we address nuclear safety here in America.” Representative Edward Markey, Markey Warns that Japan Nuclear Accident Could Happen Here (press release), 13 March 2011, available at http://markey.house.gov/.