Japan Times: Time to give nuke watchdog teeth

[kristopher]

Time to give nuke watchdog teeth
Regulator lacks meaning under wing of industry advocate METI

By KAZUAKI NAGATA
Staff writer

A government report about the Fukushima No. 1 power plant crisis released June 7 mentions the need to review the way the nuclear power industry is regulated.

One of the main points of the report focuses on the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, a regulatory body that answers to the very same entity tasked with promoting nuclear power — the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan is calling for separating NISA from METI to ensure it can actually wield watchdog authority without the constraints of vested interests.

Established a decade ago to strengthen the regulatory system, NISA is now at a crossroads as Japan struggles to deal with the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Following are...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110621i1.html

[PoliticAverse]

1. Barn Door. =====> Horse

[kristopher]

2. We did the same thing and it hasn't worked here...

AP IMPACT: Federal nuclear regulators repeatedly weaken or fail to enforce safety standards
By Associated Press,

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation’s aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews.


The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety — and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States.

Examples abound. When valves leaked, more leakage was allowed — up to 20 times the original limit. When rampant cracking caused radioactive leaks from steam generator tubing, an easier test of the tubes was devised, so plants could meet standards.

Failed cables. Busted seals. Broken nozzles...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/federal-nuclear-regulators-repeatedly-weaken-or-fail-to-enforce-safety-standards/2011/06/19/AGzqHYbH_story.html