Media Nightmare

4 Lessons Learned oe What Coded Have Been Done Dieeerentey 

After a 6-month investigation, the commission has concluded the following In order to prevent future disasters, fundamental reforms must take place. These reforms must cover both the structure of the electric power industry and the structure of the related government and regnlatory agencies as well as the operation processes. They must cover both normal and emergency situations. 

A man-made disaster The TEPCO Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident was the resnlt of collusion between the government, the regnlators and TEPCO, and the lack of governance by said parties.. .. Therefore, we con-clnde that the accident was clearly man-made. We believe that the root canses were the organizational and regulatory systems that supported faulty rationales for decisions and actions, rather than issues relating to the competency of any specific individual. 

There were organizational problems within TEPCO. Had there been a higher level of knowledge, training, and equipment inspection related to severe accidents and had there been specific instructions given to the onsite workers concerning the state of emergency within the necessary time frame, a more effective accident response would have been possible. 

The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations wrote an interesting addendum to their INPO 11-005, Special Report on the Nuclear Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. They go on to discuss some of the lessons learned from the black swan event. Many of the lessons learned are heavily related to nuclear-specific design and operational issues however, here are some that have more universal application and again are themes that we shall see throughout this book (INPO, 2012)  

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