国の原子力安全委員会は４日、１９９２年に原発の全電源喪失対策を検討していた作業部会が、対策は不要とする根拠を電力会社に「作文」するよう指示していたと明らかにした。東京電力が作成した回答が作業部会の報告書に盛り込まれ、安全委員会の指針は見直されず、結果として全電源喪失の対策が取られなかった。

　原発の全電源喪失は、原子炉の冷却ができなくなるなど過酷事故につながり、東京電力福島第１原発事故を深刻化させた原因の一つ。

　当時の作業部会の議事概要や配布資料は安全委のホームページで福島第１原発事故後に公開されているが、作文を指示した今回の文書は公開していなかった。

(Source: tokyo-np.co.jp)

A meeting between members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the public began with a protest that reversed the NRC and audience members’ positions and ended with a walkout.

  A group of 6 women from the Shut It Down Affinity Group formed a semi-circle behind the tables set up for the members of the NRC. Dressed in black shirts and white masks, some had signs reading, “NRC is a lapdog, not a watch dog” hung around their necks.

Karl Farrar, general council for Region 1, told the crowd the meeting wouldn’t start until they sat down in the audience.

“We’re not going to start this meeting until they sit down,” Farrar said. “It’s disrespectful. We’re trying to conduct a civil meeting here. It’s just terrible. They can make their statement but we’re not going to start this meeting.”

When the women refused to sit down, several dozen other audience members joined them at the front.

One woman asked to take a vote.

“Who wants the meeting to start with women standing in front?” she asked the crowd of approximately 100 people. “This is democracy in action.”

Farrar continued to say that the meeting wasn’t going to begin because those were the rules, to which George Harvey, of Brattleboro, replied, “Those are your rules sir, not ours.”

That’s when a group of 60 or so people who were in the crowd joined the women behind the tables and apparently Farrar had enough.

Brattleboro Police escorted the dozen or so members of the NRC out into a nearby hallway and refused to let anyone else into the hallway as they closely guarded the doors. While the group of NRC officials was in the hallway, the crowd conducted its own meeting.  Harvey said that based on the fact that Vermont Yankee got through another year without major mishap, people are expected to infer that the plant is safe.

“That is the logic of the nuclear industry,” he said. “If there is no mishap, then the plant is safe, like driving up I-91 at 105 mph could be called safe if you don’t have an accident.”

The NRC members returned within five minutes, and Chris Miller, director of the division of reactor safety, answered questions, but kept close to the exit near the side of the room.

Many of the audience members remained at the front. A handful of people with “VT4VY” buttons sat quietly at the back with others wearing NRC name tags.

The meeting ended after Westminster resident Betsy Williams asked Miller if there was anything the group could say that would change the mind of the NRC about Vermont Yankee.

“Is there anything we can say tonight that would convince you to shut down this reactor?” she said.

The director’s answer was no, “that’s not how the system works.”

With Miller’s words spoken the meeting ended much like it began, at the direction of the crowd as many got up and left the building after the NRC response, and the meeting adjourned with a walkout, en masse.

Afterward, Williams said her question was rhetorical. “What we say in these meetings really makes no difference whatsoever,” Williams said. Many appeared to share her assessment.

“I don’t come here because I think you’re going to listen,” said Chad B. Simmons, a Brattleboro resident and member of the Safe and Green Campaign.  “Safety, reliability — whatever term you put on it — we don’t want to be a part of it,” he said.