COMMISSION SEEKS PROMPT ACTION ON

JAPAN TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has directed its staff to complete several actions 

within the next 45 days in response to recommendations from the agency’s Near-Term Task 

Force examination of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident in Japan.

“I am pleased to see the Commission moving the agency forward on these important 

issues, and I look forward to receiving additional input from our technical experts, the industry 

and the public as we proceed,” said NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko. “The plan we’ve 

established will require a dedicated effort by our staff and stakeholders, and will require a 

continued commitment by the Commission to see that these recommendations are promptly 

addressed.”

The Commission established the Task Force to examine the agency’s regulatory 

requirements, programs, processes, and implementation in light of information from the accident

following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The Task Force presented its report to the 

Commission on July 12, proposing 12 recommendations on improving several safety-related 

areas. The recommendations covered areas including loss of electrical power, earthquakes, 

flooding, spent fuel pools, venting and preparedness.

The Commission has asked the staff for a series of papers in the next two months 

covering various aspects of the Task Force’s work. These include:

The staff has until Sept. 9 to produce a paper outlining which of the Task Force’s 

recommendations 2 - 12, either in part or in whole, the staff believes should be 

implemented without unnecessary delay. The 21-day effort will include a public 

dialogue on the staff’s proposal, and the staff expects to announce a public 

meeting in the next few days. 

The staff has until Oct. 3 to produce a paper which prioritizes Task Force

recommendations 2 - 12. This paper is expected to lay out all agency actions to be 

taken in responding to lessons learned from the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. The 

paper will also lay out a schedule for interacting with the public, other 

stakeholders and the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS).

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001

E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov

Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov

No. 11-151 August 19, 2011
The staff has 18 months to consider the Task Force’s first and broadest 

recommendation, a call for revising the NRC’s regulatory approach. The Task 

Force felt the NRC should find a better balance between the use of risk analysis to 

inform regulation and the “defense in depth” concept that underlies many of the 

agency’s original requirements. The Task Force felt doing so would create a 

regulatory framework that is logical, systematic, coherent and more easily 

understood. The paper is expected to provide options, including a recommended 

course of action, in dealing with the Task Force’s first recommendation.

The Commission’s direction to the staff and the Task Force Report are both available on 

the NRC’s website.

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