Chernobyl Nuclear Accident Congressional Hearings Transcript

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Although we are still lacking information regarding the causes of
the accident, it is possible to identify issues in which increased
regulatory attention will likely be focused in the future. These
issues can, in general, be codified into three areas. The first
area deals with those issues involving accident prevention. We
will be looking to identify the initiating event, the relationship
of the Chernobyl plant design to the accidents and transients that
could occur in plants of that design, and to assess the likelihood
of such events. This relationship will be compared to U. S.
plants to systematically identify any similarities and
differences. We will also be examining the USSR approach to
safety features that can potentially reduce radiological
consequences, such as containments, and at severe accident
management and accident recovery procedures.
The second area we will investigate deals with the issues
involving emergency response planning. This includes
international cooperation and early warning programs as well as
reassessing the adequacy of current U. S. programs in light of any
lessons learned from Chernobyl. We will be involved with wide
range planning efforts regarding radiation assessment, food chain
impacts, and other environmental impacts. Close coordination with
other U. S. agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Food and Drug Administration, will be required.
The third and last major area is source term and accident
consequences. A major effort will be to examine how the