Looking back at the fundamental causes of the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Hirose reported that progress was being made under the reassessment of the accident and the nuclear safety reform plan, issued in 2013.
The specific areas of progress that he cited were an improvement in safety awareness, technological capabilities, and the ability to promote dialogue. Talking about TEPCO’s activities toward those ends, he referred to “Traits of a Healthy Nuclear Safety Culture” used by the U.S. Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO).
At the meeting, some NRA commissioners raised the issue of risk communication in connection with such matters as the recent accidental death of a worker at Fukushima Daiichi and the outflow of contaminated water through a drain channel.
In response to a query by Commissioner Satoru Tanaka about ensuring human resources for the future, the TEPCO president said that people are “extremely important” to completing decommissioning at Fukushima Daiichi, stressing that he would commit himself to the issue on behalf of top management.
Speaking with the press after the meeting, Hirose said that he would sincerely consider every opinion expressed by the NRA commissioners.
Hirose also spoke about the damaged trust with the people in the area that was caused by the recent leakage of contaminated water into a drainage channel. He stressed that the power company would try to “make a fresh start.”
Regarding the problem of properly communicating risk, meanwhile, he said that TEPCO would endeavor to match its “yardstick” to that used in society.
