"On March 11, 2011 at 1:41 EST, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake took place approximately 130 kilometres east of the city of Sendai off the eastern coast of Japan. A massive tsunami wave ensued striking a large part of Japan's east coast between 30 and 60 minutes after the earthquake causing widespread destruction and loss of life. It also damaged the Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in the Fukushima prefecture precipitating a severe nuclear accident which led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of Japanese residents. The accident was closely monitored by several nations around the world, particularly by those with nuclear facilities of their own. In the days and weeks which followed March 11th , nuclear regulators were called on to reassure citizens in their countries that their own facilities were safe. Furthermore, several countries undertook an examination of their licensed facilities to assess the degree to which their power plant designs and emergency management procedures were able to withstand scenarios of extreme natural hazards. In Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is the nuclear regulator and conducted such a review of Canada's nuclear power plants (NPPs). ... In parallel with this work, on August 5, 2011 CNSC's President formed the External Advisory Committee (EAC) to review the CNSC's process in responding to the Fukushima crisis and in developing proposed changes to its processes and regulatory framework. ... This document is the EAC's report. In conducting its study, the EAC heard presentations on a variety of topics from CNSC staff, met with external parties and participated in a site tour of an NPP. The EAC has conducted its fact-finding process in accordance with its mandate, and presents its findings in this report along with a series of recommendations for the CNSC President's consideration."
- Pages
- 47
- Published in
- Canada
