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that they understand the necessity of
succeeding. I am encouraged by the
fact that their Nuclear Reform Plan
incorporates extensive changes in
management structure as well as training
and communications, all with the focus
on establishing this safety culture.
And I believe we have seen it play
out in the meticulous planning for and
execution of the fuel removal from Unit
4, despite the dire predictions that so
many had made about how it would turn
out.
Indeed, I believe that the fuel
removal from Unit 4 is a genuine
milestone. It represents the first major
step in actual removal of nuclear material
after the accident, and at the same time
demonstrates the extent to which the
safety culture is taking hold.
I believe we will see that safety
culture take root at KK, and that whenever
Japan decides it is an appropriate time to
restart KK, we will see it take root as KK
and Japan’s other nuclear plants reclaim
their crucial role in powering Japan’s
economy and its way of life.
World is Watching
As a former U.S. nuclear regulator,
and now as the associate vice chancellor
for research at the University of Texas
System, I travel extensively. Everywhere
I go, whether in the U.S., Asia, Europe
– truly, wherever – I am asked about
Fukushima.
“How are they doing?” “Can they
fix it?” “Have they got it under control.”
People are intensely interested; some of
them are sophisticated nuclear engineers,
others are ordinary citizens.
And I tell them the same thing I am
telling you: great progress is being made,
I am optimistic about the future, but it
will not be a straight line forward and
there will be setbacks along the way.
At Fukushima, difficult decisions
remain to be made about what to do with
the 400 tons of contaminated water that
are accumulating daily on the site, and
inevitably more difficult decisions will
need to be made about dealing with the
debris of Units 1, 2 and 3. In the coming
decades, we will surely encounter the
unexpected more than once, and by
creating the new D&D entity – and
adopting the safety culture – TEPCO is
establishing a robust structure that will be
able to cope effectively when things don’t
go strictly according to plan.
It is important for Japan to realize
that there will be future problems as the
cleanup progresses – what is important is
that there is the technical talent and the
safety culture to address these problems.
I noted before that the world is
watching, and that is true. But it is doing
more than watching, it is helping. I have
found my work on the Nuclear Reform
Monitoring Committee to be among the
most rewarding of my career. We are
aware of how important this work is,
and how much it means to the people of
Japan.
We have been gratified by the
reception we have been given and
by the openness of our colleagues at
TEPCO to true reform and especially
the contribution of the members of the
Nuclear Reform Committee from Japan.
The Nuclear Reform Committee has not
always been kind in our assessments,
and we intend to continue to offer our
thoughts on how things can be improved.
We will continue to provide whatever
assistance we can in the coming years,
and I am confident that the Japanese
people have the resources, technical
sophistication, and determination to
succeed.
But even as we help, we are also
learning. We are learning about how to
make nuclear power plants even safer
than they already are. And we are learning
invaluable lessons about D&D work that
will be useful in the coming decades
as older nuclear power plants must be
retired or replaced.
Even though we hope those
retirements will not come as the result
of the kind of accident experienced at
Fukushima, the technical and engineering
experience gained at Fukushima will
make a huge contribution to the safe
closure of those plants.
Indeed, it is reasonable to believe that
the D&D capability you are developing
will become a valuable and exportable
asset for Japan.
The world, not just Japan, needs
nuclear energy as part of the overall mix
of sources of our electricity. It makes little
sense to have “green” cars, or “green”
electric trains if we pollute the air with
tons of carbon emissions to generate the
electricity they will need.
Renewables are important, but Japan
and other countries need a reliable supply
of base load electricity.
As you know, significant numbers of
people who once opposed nuclear power
now support it precisely because they
recognize that the risks of dependence on
fossil fuels are so much greater.
Japan’s success in overcoming
the challenges of Fukushima will play
an important role in building public
confidence all over the world in the role
of nuclear energy in our common future.
So we are cheering for your success.
In a speech a few weeks ago, TEPCO
President Hirose noted that the third
anniversary of the Fukushima accident
marks a time both of reflection on the past
and of rededication to creating a better
future. I believe he is exactly right.
It is an appropriate time to pause and
reflect on the suffering and dislocation
visited on so many people by the
earthquake, the tsunami, and the accident
at Fukushima Daiichi. It is also an
appropriate time to reflect on the last three
years, which, whatever their frustrations
and occasional setbacks, have brought
important progress.
And it is an appropriate time to
rededicate ourselves to the future. It is
a future I believe is bright, and one with
energy security and economic vitality for
the Japanese people.
No matter how much we rely on
process and technology, it is people who
will be responsible for achieving these
goals. TEPCO will have challenges ahead
and there will be setbacks. It is important
that TEPCO continues to reform, does
not become complacent and continues to
make progress on the Fukushima Daiichi
clean-up. And I have every confidence
that the people of this extraordinary
nation will meet that challenge.
At every crucial moment they have
done so, and I believe they will continue
to do so, through the combination of
great effort, teamwork, and technical
sophistication for which Japan is
renowned. It has been, and remains, a
great privilege to have been invited to
play a small role in this great national
effort.
Contact: Dale Klein, University of Texas
System, Office of Academic Affairs, 601
Colorado, Austin, Texas 78701; fax: (512)
499-4741, email:
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