U.S. and Japan exchange nuclear response practices

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) led a three-day meeting last week allowing U.S. and Japanese emergency experts to share ideas on enhancing nuclear emergency preparedness and on- and off-site response capabilities.

“This meeting was of enormous benefit to both the United States and Japan.” Steve Aoki, deputy undersecretary of Energy for Counterterrorism and Counter proliferation and U.S. Chair of the joint U.S.-Japan working group, said. “We had a wide array of international, federal, regional and state expertise here, and I think everyone benefited from the discussions, particularly in the areas of emergency preparedness, planning, readiness assurance and public messaging and education mechanics.”

The meeting was the latest joint effort between the two countries as part of a bilateral commission on civil nuclear cooperation. The two countries exchanged their best practices on nuclear emergency response. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission hosted the meeting, which focused on the development and evaluation of offsite radiological emergency response plans.

Meeting attendees included officials from NNSA, NRC, Department of Defense, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Environmental Protection Agency, Japan’s Cabinet Office, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and Xcel