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Turns out, Japan's nuclear meltdown really made the NRC nervous
By dwray in The nature of things
February 8, 2012

In movies about British people, calm and decorum are valued in times of crisis. We Americans have never held much truck with that business of never letting the teacup tremble in your hand when things get difficult, or so I have always believed (this is what happens when you let Turner Classic Movies color in your world view a bit too much).

But it turns out, we Americans can be as cool and considerate as the Brits when the time comes for it. The case in point being the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and those who work within that intricate federal organization.

Last March when Fukushima Daiichi, a nuclear power plant badly damaged by a massive earthquake that rolled through Japan, went into meltdown mode, the NRC reps were incredibly sure and comfortingly reassuring.

Of course, as the anniversary of the incident rolls around, the Washington Post has a story on what the NRC internal reaction really was. There were disagreements on how to advise the Japanese, who weren't terribly forthcoming with information anyway. Despite the reassurances that the meltdown wouldn't land on any American doorsteps, at least one worst case scenario had radiation exceeding safe levels for thyroid doses.

I know I kept a close eye on the story as it unfolded last year, but it is fascinating as details of what was really going on backstage, under that stiff-upper-lip exterior, where the unvarnished possibilities were really talked about.