Does "hurried" report assuage fears?

• Position: Nuclear Accidents

An assessment examining the causes of and lessons learned from Japan's 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident is notable for the extent to which it affirms the culture of safety adhered to by the U.S. nuclear industry, according to a study by the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.

Core findings from the NAS study validate the actions that the U.S. industry has initiated in recent years and that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is requiring to be ready to manage plants if extreme natural events occur that may exceed a plant's design basis.

However, NAS's report raises some concern with respect to its treatment of nuclear energy facilities' emergency preparedness in the U.S., as the report authors acknowledge that they did not have "the time or resources to perform an in-depth examination of U.S. preparedness for severe nuclear accidents."

'The U.S. nuclear energy industry began taking steps within days of the Fukushima Daiichi accident to ensure that [American] reactors could respond to events that may challenge safe operation of the facilities," claims Anthony Pietrangelo, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Safety enhancements the industry supposedly has completed over the past...