IAEA / FUKUSHIMA

UK Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations Michael Weightman comments on last month's international fact-finding mission the IAEA sent to Japan to make assessments of the safety issues linked with the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power stations following the earthquake and tsunami in March. IAEA

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:23
• Production Date: 22 June 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY - IAEA
• Subject Topical: POLITICAL CONDITIONS; POLITICAL MOVEMENTS; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PEACE AND SECURITY; DISARMAMENT
• Geographic Subject: JAPAN
• MAMS Id: U110622c

Description

STORY: IAEA / FUKUSHIMA
TRT: 2:23
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Shotlist

1. Various shots, IAEA team at Fukushima Dai-ichi site
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Weightman, Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, United Kingdom:
“We went out of the coach and we just stood there in awe of the destructive power of the energy that was involved when we looked at reactors 3 and reactors 4 buildings there so it’s interesting to see this destructive power of energy and natural forces as well.”
3. Various shots, IAEA team at Fukushima Dai-ichi site
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Weightman, Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, United Kingdom:
“That sense of dedication spread from the site outwards of people very professionally trying to do the best they can in their extreme circumstances and that was seen both at the start of the incident and also throughout it and we were there 10 weeks later and that effort was still being sustained.”
5. Various shots, IAEA team at Fukushima Dai-ichi site
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Weightman, Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, United Kingdom:
“One of the main findings is that never be complacent. We must seek to improve as we move forward. The lessons are in many areas. They are how we can have a basic design basis for plans making sure they are compatible with the circumstances around them and we understand them. And they cover extreme events. Then we must have layout plans that take account of impact of such natural disasters both on and off the sites.”
7. Various shots, IAEA team at Fukushima Dai-ichi site

Storyline

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations Michael Weightman commented on last month’s international fact-finding mission the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent to Japan assess the safety issues linked with the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power stations following the earthquake and tsunami.

At a recent interview in Vienna, Weightman said that when the team arrived at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant site, they were “in awe of the destructive power of the energy that was involved.”

A series of large tsunami waves caused by a magnitude 9 earthquake struck the coast of Japan 11 March 2011. The earthquake and tsunami waves caused widespread devastation across a large part of Japan, with 15, 391 lives lost.

In addition to this, 8 171 people remain missing, with many more being displaced from their homes as towns and villages were destroyed or swept away. Many aspects of Japan‘s infrastructure have been impaired by this devastation and loss.

Several nuclear power facilities were affected by the severe ground motions and large multiple tsunami waves. The operational units at these facilities were successfully shutdown by the automatic systems installed as part of the design of the nuclear power plants to detect earthquakes.

However, the large tsunami waves affected all these facilities to varying degrees, with the most serious consequences occurring at Fukushima Dai-ichi.

Weightman was a part of the international fact-finding mission that was sent there to make a preliminary assessment of safety issues linked with the accident at the Fukushima. The mission was at the site from 24 May to 2 June.

Talking about how the Japanese responded to the disaster, Weightman said that “the sense of dedication” of people “trying to do the best they can in their extreme circumstances and that was seen both at the start of the incident and also throughout it.”

The 10–day mission aimed to identify lessons from the Japanese nuclear accident that could improve global nuclear safety. The mission’s report was just presented at the ongoing IAEA ministerial conference on nuclear safety in Vienna.

When asked about the report, Weigthman said “one of the main findings is that never be complacent” adding that “we must seek to improve as we move forward.”

On the first day of the conference, which started on Monday (20 June), Member States adopted a declaration calling for a number of improvements to global nuclear safety including the ability to act upon the lessons learned from Fukushima Dai-ichi accident.