00:16:06:05. BARS. BEAUTY SHOTS OF A TREE COVERED MOUNTAIN RANGE AND A VALLEY. VS OF BOULDER, MONTANA. CU OF A BARBED WIRE FENCE WITH THE TOWN IN THE BG. VS OF A SIGN THAT READS, "WORLD FAMOUS FREE ENTERPRISE HEALTH MINE". CARS DRIVE DOWN A STREET PAST THE HEALTH MINE BUILDING. SOUNDBITES WITH PEOPLE ABOUT THE URANIUM MINES WHICH ALLEGEDLY BRING RELIEF TO ARTHRITIS SUFFERERS. ONE MAN SAYS THE MINES HELPED CURE HIS ALLERGIES. CI: GEOLOGY: COUNTRYSIDE. GEOLOGY: MOUNTAINS. HEALTH: TREATMENTS.

Senate environment committee hearing on the nuclear emergency in Japan and implications for the U.S. with Lisa P. Jackson of the EPA and Gregory Jaczko the chair of the NRC and others 15:00:00 SYSTEM OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SO PEOPLE ARE 15:00:02 COMFORTABLE WITH WHATEVER RISKS THEY ARE. 15:00:04 AND AS WE LOOK AT OUR OWN HISTORY, ACTUALLY, WE'VE DONE A 15:00:08 FAIR JOB OF THAT. AT THREE-MILE ISLAND SPAWNED 15:00:14 SEVERAL IMPROVEMENTS SUCH AS THE INSTITUTE FOR NUCLEAR POWER 15:00:17 OPERATIONS WHICH HAVE IMPROVED SAFETY. 15:00:20 THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR AMERICANS TO KNOW THAT WHILE THREE-MILE 15:00:23 ISLAND WAS A SIGNIFICANT ACCIDENT AND A BIG PROBLEM THAT 15:00:25 NO ONE WAS HURT AT THREE-MILE ISLAND. 15:00:28 THAT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW. SEPTEMBER 11, THAT HAD NOTHING 15:00:33 TO DO WITH NUCLEAR POWER BUT IT CAUSED NUCLEAR POWER OPERATORS 15:00:36 AROUND THE COUNTRY TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF 15:00:39 THERE WERE A TERRORIST ATTACK, AND YOU CAN GO ON YOUTUBE AND 15:00:43 SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN F4 PHANTOM JET RUNS INTO A CONCRETE 15:00:47 WALL AT 500 MILES AN HOUR. THE JET VAPORIZES BUT THE PLANT 15:00:52 IS STILL THERE. HURRICANE KATRINA HAD NOTHING TO 15:00:55 DO WITH NUCLEAR POWER, BUT IT CAUSED OPERATORS IN THE 104 15:01:00 NUCLEAR PLANTS AROUND THE COUNTRY TO THINK, WHAT WOULD 15:01:04 HAPPEN IF WE HAD A HORRIFIC EVENT LIKE THE SIZE OF HURRICANE 15:01:08 KATRINA? SO I THINK WE STILL HAVE A LOT 15:01:10 TO LEARN FROM WHAT HAPPENED IN JAPAN. 15:01:15 FOR EXAMPLE, ON SPENT FUEL STORAGE, A LOT OF TALK ABOUT 15:01:18 THAT. IT HELPS US THINK ABOUT, IS IT 15:01:22 PROPER TO -- HOW LONG SHOULD IT BE IN POOLS? 15:01:26 HOW SOON COULD IT GO TO DRY CASTS? 15:01:32 IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO KNOW, AS DR. CHU HAS SAID, THE 15:01:39 PRESIDENT'S NOBEL PRIZE WINNING CHIEF, THAT IT'S OKAY TO STORE 15:01:46 FUEL ON-SITE FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS. 15:01:49 AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT ALL THE FUEL WE'VE STORED WOULD 15:01:53 FIT ON ONE FOOTBALL FIELD TO A DEPTH OF ABOUT 20 FEET. 15:01:56 THAT'S THE MASS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. 15:02:03 THAT'S IMPORTANT TO ASK. WHAT ABOUT YUCCA MOUNTAIN? 15:02:08 WE DO NEED TO DISPOSE OF IT. WE HAVE INVESTED MILLIONS OF 15:02:13 DOLLARS TO DISPOSE OF IT. WHY SHOULDN'T WE DO IT? 15:02:18 WE HAVE BEEN THINKING OF NEW REACTORS. 15:02:25 . WE HAVE A WATCHED BAR. 15:02:28 HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S EVEN SAFER AS SENATOR CARPER SAID WE HAVE 15:02:34 NOT HAD ONE SINGLE FATALITY RELATD TO A REACTOR IN THE 15:02:38 HISTORY OF THOSE FACILITIES. SO THERE ARE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS 15:02:42 TO ASK. THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION TO 15:02:44 LEARN FROM THE JAPAN DISASTER, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT AT THE SAME 15:02:50 TIME TO RECOGNIZE THE SAFETY RECORD THAT WE HAVE FOR THIS 15:02:55 FORM OF ENERGY PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES AND KEEP IT ALL IN 15:03:00 PERSPECTIVE. SENATOR CARPER AND SENATOR 15:03:02 BOXER, I WELCOME THESE HEARINGS. THE MORE OF THEM THE BETTER. 15:03:07 I BELIEVE THE MORE WE UNDERSTAND AND TALK ABOUT THIS COMPLEX OF 15:03:10 CITY ENERGY PROTECTION, THE SAFEST WE'RE LIKELY TO BE, AND 15:03:14 THE MORE USEFUL IT WILL BE TO PROPOSE CLEAN AIR IN OUR 15:03:21 COUNTRY. EXCUSE ME, I AM GOING TO 15:03:25 SENATOR UDALL AND BACK TO YOU. THANK YOU. 15:03:32 I THANK MY CLIENTS IN THE HOUSE AND CERTAINLY LOOK FORWARD TO 15:03:38 HEARING THEIR TESTIMONY. AS SENATOR CARPER HAS SAID, OUR 15:03:41 THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS REALLY DO GO OUT TO THE JAPANESE PEOPLE 15:03:44 FOR THIS TRAGEDY AND WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THEM. 15:03:46 I KNOW WHEN I TALKED THE OTHER DAY WITH JAPAN'S AMBASSADOR TO 15:03:50 THE UNITED STATES, HE WAS VERY, VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE LEVEL 15:03:55 OF SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT THAT WE WERE GIVING JAPAN. 15:04:00 I KNOW MANY SCIENTISTS HAVE COME FROM CALIFORNIA, NEW MEXICO AND 15:04:05 FROM OUR NATIONAL LABS, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THEY APPRECIATE 15:04:08 AND I THINK WE'RE ALL VERY PROUD OF. 15:04:11 THIS IS A THREE-PART DISASTER, AN EARTHQUAKE, I SUE NAUCHL I, 15:04:18 AND IT TRAGIC. AMERICANS SHOULD FOCUS ON THEIR 15:04:26 SIX KIDS, THE JAPANESE. NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS ARE RARE BUT 15:04:32 THEIR CONSEQUENCES CAN BE SEVERE. 15:04:37 SAFETY MUST BE THE TOP PRIORITY FOR GOVERNMENT REGULATORS AND IT 15:04:40 SHOULD BE THE TOP PRIORITY FOR THE INDUSTRY AS WELL. 15:04:43 THE JAPANESE CRISIS UNDERSCORES THE NEED FOR INFORMATION FCHL 15:04:49 TRANSPARENCY. NUCLEAR ENERGY WILL GULF OF 15:04:53 MEXICO BE TERRIBLY IMPORTANT TO. WE HAVE 400 REACTORS TODAY, AND 15:05:05 MORE WILL BE BUILT. BUT IT'S HARD TO BUILD REACTORS 15:05:08 IF THE PUBLIC REMAINS IN FEAR OF THEM. 15:05:12 MY JOP IS TO ENSURE THAT THE EPA AND THE PRC SAFETY STANDARDS 15:05:20 ARE OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANT AND WE SHOULD BE CAREFUL TO, QUOTE, 15:05:28 UNQUOTE, STREAMLINE OR CUT CORNERS ON SAFETY STANDARDS. 15:05:33 IT WILL BE UP TO THE BANK AND LOCAL COMMUNITY ON WHETHER TO 15:05:37 INVEST IN COMMUNITY PROJECTS COMPARED TO THE OTHER OPTIONS 15:05:40 OUT THERE. NATIONS LIKE FRANCE WHICH RELY 15:05:44 HEAVILY ON NUCLEAR POWER ALSO HAVE TAXPAYERS PICKING UP MOST 15:05:47 OF THE TAB. AND THAT IS NOT REALISTIC FOR 15:05:49 THE UNITED STATES' CURRENT BUDGET SITUATION. 15:05:54 SO I PRECH APPRECIATE THIS LENGTH OF WITNESSES TODAY, AND 15:05:59 I'M GOING TO YIELD BACK MY TIME SO WE CAN GET QUICKLY TO THE 15:06:05 SOCCER YARD. SENATOR GRASSO, THANK YOU FOR 15:06:12 YOUR PATIENCE. WE APPRECIATE OUR GUESTS FOR 15:06:14 BEING HERE TO TESTIFY, AND I WANT TO ASSOCIATE MYSELF WITH 15:06:16 THE OPENING REMARKS OF SENATOR UDALL REGARDING HIS CONCERNS FOR 15:06:19 THE PEOPLE OF JAPAN, ABSOLUTELY. INCREDIBLE CHAL LEPGZ, 15:06:25 INCREDIBLE LOSS. I THINK -- THE TSUNAMI AND THE 15:06:35 EARTHQUAKE OCCURRED IN JAPAN, NOT THE UNITED STATES. 15:06:38 THE MACHINE THAT PRECEDED THE U 'NAM I AND EARTHQUAKE OCCURRED 15:06:42 IN JAPAN. THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS 15:06:45 OCCURRING IN JAPAN WITH THE HELP FROM THE UNITED STATES. 15:06:53 BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE. THE CHAIRMAN OF THE REGULATORY 15:07:00 COMMISSION IS ACTING ON HIS EMERGENCY POWERS SINCE THE 15:07:04 DISASTER FIRST OCCURRED. THE REASON WHY THESE EMERGENCY 15:07:12 ROPZ, DOESN'T HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES NUCLEAR 15:07:17 SAFETY RESPONSE. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT 15:07:19 I BELIEVE THE HEARING TODAY IS SO IMPORTANT. 15:07:31 SOMEONE TO USE THIS IN JAPAN TO HELP WIPE OUT NUCLEAR REACTION 15:07:36 IN THE UNITED STATES. THE ARTICLE STATES THAT, QUOTE, 15:07:44 ENVIRONMENTALISTS ARE STEPPING UP EFFORTS TO PUSH THE EPA TO 15:07:52 OVERMINE OPERATIONS IN LIGHT OF THE NUCLEAR DISASTER, TARGETING 15:07:55 THE PROCESSING OF METAL BECAUSE ITS DISTRACTION MARKS THE FIRST 15:07:58 STEP IN THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE THAT ITS PROPONENTS TOUT AS AN 15:08:05 ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL FUELS, CLOSED QUOTE. 15:08:08 HOW URANIUM MINING IS TIED TO A NUCLEAR EMERGENCY IS BEYOND ME. 15:08:13 I WISH THEY WOULD NOT IGNORE THESE TYPE OF STOPS WHICH WOULD 15:08:19 OCCUR IF THE JAPANESE CATASTROPHE HAD OCCURRED OR NOT. 15:08:22 WE HEARD TESTIMONY FROM THOSE WHO WANT TO STOP HYDRAULIC 15:08:26 FRACTURING. THIS IS A PROCESS WHERE WE CAN 15:08:31 TAP THE HYDRAULIC RESERVES. THESE PEOPLE DON'T WANT NATURAL 15:08:36 GAS, EITHER. BY TAPPING ALL ENERGY SOURCES, 15:08:38 INCLUDING NUCLEAR AND NATURAL GAS, ACTIVISTS ARE DRIVING UP 15:08:42 THE COST OF ENERGY. THEY ARE RAISING THE COST OF 15:08:44 RUNNING A FACTORY, OR A MINOR A SMALL BUSINESS. 15:08:48 THEY ARE RAISING THE FACT OF COOLING HOMES IN THIS COUNTRY. 15:08:52 THIS WILL COST THOUSANDS OF JOBS DURING OUR ECONOMIC DOWNTURN. 15:08:55 WE CANNOT REACH A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE WITHOUT NATURAL GAS OR 15:09:02 SOME POWER. THAT MEANS COLE, SOLAR, HYDRO -- 15:09:16 POWER. THE CHEAPEST ENERGY IS ENERGY 15:09:18 THAT'S NOT USED. WE NEED THE TYPE OF THING THAT 15:09:21 KEEPS FACTORIES RUNNING AND HOMES HEATED. 15:09:24 PLACES LIKE GERMANY WHO ARE PHASING OUT NUCLEAR POWER ARE 15:09:29 RECOGNIZING THIS FACT. THERE WAS A PRESS STORY ON APRIL 15:09:33 6 ENTITLED "UTILITIES: IT GOES ON AND CHANTS, STATE ANGELA 15:09:43 MERKLE'S ATTEMPTS TO TAKE POWER LINES OFF LINE OF JAPAN'S 15:09:50 DISASTER MEANS THEY ARE NO LONGER COUNTING ON THEIR 15:09:55 NEIGHBORS. IT PPZ ABOUT 30-GIGABYTE HOURS 15:10:00 FROM FRANCE AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC EVERY DAY. 15:10:06 SO THIS SAME PATTERN WE'RE SEEING IN GERMANY WILL OCCUR IN 15:10:08 THE UNITED STATES. AMERICAN STATES THAT DECLARE 15:10:13 THEMSELVES NUCLEAR FREE, WHETHER CALIFORNIA OR ELSEWHERE, 15:10:17 WHATEVER STATES DECLARE THEMSELVES NUCLEAR FREE AND SHUT 15:10:19 DOWN NUCLEAR PLANTS WILL HAVE TO HAVE POWER SHIPPED IN FROM 15:10:22 NEIGHBORING STATES. IT'S AN ENERGY SHELL GAME AND IT 15:10:28 WILL NOT HIDE AMERICA'S FOREIGN NEED TO POWER THIS GAIN. 15:10:33 LET'S NOT TRY TO SUT DOWN ANOTHER ENERGY SOURCE. 15:10:39 LET'S TRY AND BE AS CLEAN AS WE CAN AND AS FAST AS WE CAN 15:10:46 WITHOUT INTERRUPTING OTHER JOBS. AS WE SAID, WE ALL AGREE THAT 15:10:56 OUR SYMPATHIES, OUR CONCERN, AND OUR DESIRE TO BE OF HELP TO THE 15:10:59 PEOPLE IN JAPAN WHO ARE AFFECTED AS A RESULT OF THE EARTHQUAKE 15:11:06 TSUNAMI AND THE NUCLEAR EMERGENCY. 15:11:08 BUT WE WANT TO LEARN FROM IT, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT 15:11:15 WE'RE DOING WHAG WE CAN FOR PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY. 15:11:23 DO AMERICANS THINK OF VLG TIME. WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? 15:11:29 SOON AFTER THE MELTDOWN IN N JAPAN, I ASKED THEM TO PERFORM A 15:11:40 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW WHICH PROVIDE OUR STATE WITH ABOUT 15:11:43 HALF OF ITS ELECTRICITY. I ALSO REQUESTED THE THE CHIEF 15:11:50 EXECUTIVES OF NEW JERSEY POWER COMPANIES TO JOIN ME IN MY 15:11:53 OFFICE WHERE THEY AGREED WITH A THOROUGH, SHAKY REVIEW OF EACH 15:11:59 OF THE FOUR REACTORS. THE PEOPLE OF NEW JERSEY NEED TO 15:12:01 KNOW THAT IF OUR PLANTS ARE SAFE, THEN WE'RE DETERMINED TO 15:12:06 SEE THAT THEY GET THE PEACE OF MIND THAT THEY DESERVE, OF THE 15:12:12 REALITY OF BEING PROTECTED. THIS ISN'T THE ONLY CONCERN IN 15:12:15 NEW JERSEY, A NUCLEAR REACTOR PROVIDES 20% OF AMERICA'S 15:12:20 ELECTRICITY, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE NUCLEAR SAFETY A NATIONAL 15:12:23 PRIORITY. THE UNITED STATES HAS A GOOD 15:12:25 TRACK RECORD OF KEEPING OUR PLANTS SAFE. 15:12:27 THERE HAVE BEEN FEW ACCIDENTS AND FEW FATALITIES, BUT WE'VE 15:12:30 GOT TO REMAIN VIGILANT IF WE WANT TO MAINTAIN THIS RECORD. 15:12:35 JAPAN, THE WORLD LEADER OF TECHNOLOGY, BUT AS WE KNOW, IT 15:12:42 WASN'T ENOUGH. SO HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, WE 15:12:45 CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED. KEEP AMERICANS SAFE. 15:12:49 WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE WE GIVE OUR CITIZENS A CLEAR GUIDE 15:12:53 IN STEERING EMERGENCIES. AND I WAS TRUCKED. 15:12:55 WHEN AMERICAN CITIZENS IN JAPAN WERE TOLD TO STAY AT LEAST 50 15:12:58 MILES AWAY FROM THE SITE OF THE EMERGENCY. 15:13:05 IN OUR COUNTRY, GUIDELINES REQUIRE PEOPLE TO ONLY STAY 15:13:09 WITHIN 10 MILES AWAY FROM A NUCLEAR EMERGENCY. 15:13:12 MAKE NO MISTAKE, NUCLEAR POWER DEMONSTRATIONS MAKE ENERGY AND 15:13:19 THEY WILL BE PART OF OUR ENERGY FUTURE. 15:13:21 BUT WE CANNOT EVER TRADE PEOPLE'S SAFETY FOR THE SAKE OF 15:13:25 MEETING OUR ENERGY DEMANDS. WE SAW CHERNOBYL A QUARTER 15:13:29 CENTURY AGO. THE EFFECTS OF A SINGLE NUCLEAR 15:13:33 ACCIDENT THAT WILL LINGER FOR GENERATIONS. 15:13:36 SO I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM TODAY'S WITNESSES. 15:13:39 I THANK OUR COLLEAGUES FROM THE HOUSE ABOUT HOW WE CAN LEARN 15:13:43 FROM PAST MISTAKES AND MAKE SURE THE NUCLEAR POWER REMAINS A 15:13:47 SAFE, CLEAN ENERGY SOURCE. I WANT TO RESPOND TO SOMETHING 15:13:50 THAT WE HEARD TALKED ABOUT THIS MORNING, AND THAT IS, WELL, 15:13:56 COSTS. COSTS. 15:13:59 NUCLEAR POWER DOES SO MUCH FOR US, BUT HAS RISKS. 15:14:03 WHEN WE THINK OF THE CONTRIBUTION THAT NUCLEAR POWER 15:14:05 BRINGS TO OUR ENERGY NEEDS, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO KEEP ON 15:14:12 HAVING NUCLEAR POWER CREATED. BUT BURNING FOSSIL FUEL HAS AN 15:14:18 AFTERCOST. IT HAS A LASTING EFFECT ON OUR 15:14:21 ENVIRONMENT AND ON THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR CITIZENS. 15:14:24 SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE COST FOR ENERGY, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE 15:14:30 COST OF -- ON FEDAIR FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ASTHMA AND OTHERWISE 15:14:38 AND POLLUTION GENERALLY. SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE WHOLE 15:14:41 PICTURE. I ASSURE YOU THAT WE'D LIKE TO 15:14:43 DO JUST THAT. I THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 15:14:46 THANK YOU, SENATOR. SENATOR MARKLAND? 15:14:50 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR, AND I EXPRESS MY DEEP SYMPATHIES TO 15:14:53 THE FAMILIES OF JAPAN, VICTIMS OF THE TRIPLE TRAGEDY, THE 15:14:58 EARTHQUAKE, TSUNAMI AND CERTAINLY THE NUCLEAR DISASTER. 15:15:01 AND I THANK ALL THE HEROES IN JAPAN WHO RACED TO THE SCENE TO 15:15:05 PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI, AND 15:15:08 THOSE WHO ARE WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK TO COOL THE NUCLEAR 15:15:11 REACTORS AND CONTAIN THE RADIATION THAT IS BEING 15:15:18 RELEASED. IT IS VERY MUCH OUR WORST 15:15:19 NIGHTMARE THAT A NATURAL DISASTER OF SOME KIND SHOULD 15:15:23 CAUSE A SIMILAR TRAGEDY IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THAT'S WHY 15:15:28 IT'S CERTAINLY APPROPRIATE AND IMPORTANT THAT WE DO EVERYTHING 15:15:32 POSSIBLE TO TAKE AND LOOK AT THE LESSONS IN JAPAN AND APPLY THEM 15:15:38 TO OUR OWN SYSTEM JUST AS WE APPLIED A STRESS TEST TO THE 15:15:43 BANKS AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, WE NEED TO APPLY A STRESS TEST 15:15:46 TO OUR NUCLEAR PLANTS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WEAKNESSES 15:15:52 ARE. WHEN THE DISASTER HAPPENED IN 15:15:57 JAPAN, CERTAINLY A LOT OF DISCUSSION WAS AROUND THE 15:16:00 COOLING POOLS FOR RODS. I WAS TAKEN BACK TO WHEN I WAS 15:16:04 TRAVELING THROUGH HANFORD MANY YEARS AGO, ABOUT 14 YEARS AGO, 15:16:08 AND WAS LOOKING AT THE COOLING POOL AT HANFORD, AND YOU HAD 15:16:11 THAT KIND OF EERIE BLUE GLOW DOWN IN THE POOL, AND I ASKED 15:16:21 THE QUESTION, IF A NUCLEAR REACTOR BROKE, WHAT HAPPENS TO 15:16:24 THE WATER IF IT RUSHES OUT? THE ANSWER WAS BASICALLY A BLANK 15:16:29 LOOK THAT SAID, THAT WOULD BE BAD. 15:16:31 CERTAINLY WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED IN FAR BETTER WAYS THAN SIMPLY 15:16:35 SAYING SOMETHING WOULD BE BAD. IN THE LAST TWO DECADES, WE'VE 15:16:39 BUILT ONLY THREE NEW NUCLEAR REACTORS AND BY THE TIME WE 15:16:49 ACCOUNT FOR A NUCLEAR DISASTER AND BY THE TIME WE ACCOUNT FOR 15:16:54 TERRORIST ATTACK. WE HAVE TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY 15:16:55 BECAUSE THE RISK IS SUBSTANTIAL. THAT IS CERTAINLY A FACTOR. 15:16:59 WE HAVE STRATEGIES THAT HAVE BEEN PUT FORTH BY GROUPS LIKE 15:17:04 NEW STALE IN OREGON. OWE PATTERNS THAT HAVE FAIL-SAFE 15:17:12 MECHANISMS OR PASSIVE PROTECTIONS THAT I THINK 15:17:16 CERTAINLY SHOULD BE -- WE SHOULD LOOK INTO AND UNDERSTAND THAT 15:17:18 PART OF THIS CONVERSATION WHETHER FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT 15:17:23 DESIGNS WOULD GREATLY MITIGATE THE RISKS. 15:17:27 THESE DISASTERS OCCUR BECAUSE WE LOSE THE HEATING TRANSFER MEDIUM 15:17:29 AND PLANTS OVERHEAT. BUT THEY ARE DESIGNS INTENDED TO 15:17:32 MAKE SURE THERE IS NO MELTDOWN EVEN WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WHETHER 15:17:35 THE MEDIUM BE WATER OR THE MEDIUM BE HELIUM. 15:17:41 THAT NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION. 15:17:42 SO THE WITH THAT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MADAM CHAIR, AND I YIELD 15:17:46 BACK THE BALANCE OF MY TIME. THANK YOU, SO MUCH, MR. 15:17:53 CHAIRMAN, FOR HOLDING THE HEARING. 15:17:56 MADAM CHAIRWOMAN, I APPRECIATE YOU HOLDING THIS HEARING AS 15:17:59 WELL. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY AN ISSUE WE 15:18:01 SHARE GREAT PASSION FOR, AND IN LIGHT OF THE DISASTER IN 15:18:06 JANUARY, I'M REALLY JUST THANKSING YOU BOTH TO DRAWING 15:18:10 OUR ATTENTION TO SUCH A SERIOUS ISSUE. 15:18:16 THANK YOU FOR SPENDING TIME AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS. 15:18:19 I MAY NOT HAVE THE TIME TO MANS QUESTIONS, BUT I WANT TO 15:18:23 HIGHLIGHT MY AREAS FOR CONCERN AND I WILL HAND THEM IN FOR 15:18:34 REVIEW. IN ANY PLANLT WHICH IS THE ONE 15:18:36 THAT SERVES ABOUT 30% OF NEW YORK'S ELECTRICITY RIGHT NOW, IT 15:18:39 WAS WITHIN A 50-MILE RADIUS. IT HIT 16 MILLION PEOPLE. 15:18:44 SO WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT CONCERN TO FOCUS ON THAT, AND ALL THE 15:18:46 PLANTS IN NEW YORK TO MAKE SURE IT'S SAFE. 15:18:49 AT INDIAN POINT, THERE HAS BEEN A NUMBER OF WAIVERS GIVEN. 15:18:56 ARE YOU GOING TO RELOOK AT THE. IF SHE SHOULD BE RECONSIDERED 15:19:01 AND PERHAPS WITHDRAWN. SO THE ISSUE OF WAIVERs AND 15:19:15 EVACUATION. THE PLANS WITH REGARD TO INDIAN 15:19:17 POINT IS A TEN-MILEY EVACUATION PLANT. 15:19:20 I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE REASON WHY THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN 15:19:23 EVACUATION PLANS. TO DO A 10-MILEY EVACUATION FOR 15:19:26 INDIAN POINT TAKES NINE HOURS. I UNDERSTAND THERE IS A 15:19:31 DIFFERENT TYPE OF REDUNDANCY, AND ANOTHER SL TO BACK UP A 15:19:39 VEHICLE. HOW DO YOU RECONCILE EVACUATIONS 15:19:47 AND HOW TRIVIAL THEY CARE ABOUT THESE ITEMS. 15:19:51 OBVIOUSLY, WE ARE LOOMING ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF 2011, AND ONE 15:19:57 RECOMMENDATION WAS TO STEER CLEAR OF ALL THEY STAND AND WHAT 15:20:05 KIND OF INVESTIGATIONS ARE YOU DOING WITH REGARD TO EMPLOYEES 15:20:10 WITH REGARD TO I MARK AND VULNERABLE STRUCTURE ISSUES. 15:20:15 AND THE LAST ISSUE IS THE POOL AND DRY STORAGE ISSUES. 15:20:19 ARE THESE POOLS DESIGNED TO BE LONG-TERM STORAGE? 15:20:22 WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO TO MOVE THEM FROM A FUEL POOL TO DRY 15:20:29 CAST STORAGE FACILITIES, AS A GENERAL MATTER, FOR SAFETY. 15:20:33 OBVIOUSLY, THAT'S A LONG LIST OF CONCERNS AND ISSUES. 15:20:39 IF YOU DO GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THEM, I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR 15:20:44 OPINION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 15:20:46 INTRODUCING CONGRESSWOMAN CAPS AND CONGRESSMAN BILL GATES. 15:20:52 CONGRESSWOMAN CAPS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING WITH US. 15:20:55 SHE'S GIFTED TO THE PEOPLE DOWN THERE. 15:20:57 SO WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THAT. IN FACT, WE'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE 15:21:02 CONGRESSWOMAN LOIS CAPS, 23rd DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, AND 15:21:07 FOLLOWED BY CONGRESSMAN BRIAN LARAY. 15:21:18 WE'RE GLAD YOU HEAR, ROADWAYS YOU AND HAVE MERCY. 15:21:22 THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR JOIPG UT ROCKY 15:21:31 MOUNTAIN CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, THANK YOU FOR 15:21:33 HOLDING THIS HEARING AND FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY. 15:21:41 WE COULD BBLG ESSENTIAL FOCUS IN THE WEEKS FOLLOWING THE JAPANESE 15:21:49 AND A -- WE BELIEVE IT KENLA AND OTHER POTENTIAL THREATS. 15:22:01 YESTERDAY, PG&E ASKED THE NCA TO DELAY ITS LICENSE RENEWAL WHILE 15:22:08 IT STILL COMPLETES STUDIES. HERE TODAY, IN LIGHT OF THE PG&E 15:22:14 ACTION, I'M RENEWING MINE IN LIGHT OF THE PROCESS. 15:22:17 I DO NOT TAKE THIS LIGHTLY. LAST MONTH I TOURED THE POWER 15:22:24 PLANT. I LEFT WITH TWO THINGS. 15:22:27 FIRST, THAT EMPLOYEES ARE MEANT TO DO IT RIGHT. 15:22:34 I WANT TO BE JOINED BY CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR ROBERT 15:22:42 BLAXLY. STATE SENATOR BLAKESLY WILL 15:22:48 TESTIFY TODAY ALONG WITH A P HRNGS D. 15:22:52 I'M SURE THE INFORMATION WILL OFFER THE COMMITTEE VALUABLE 15:22:59 ON-THE-GROUND SITE. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS. 15:23:04 WE DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS WE NEED TO COMFORT BELIEVELY MOVE 15:23:12 FORWARD. AND BECAUSE THE REACTORS DO NOT 15:23:15 NEED TO BE LICENSED FOR MORE THAN A DOZEN YEARS, WE HAVE 15:23:19 PLENTY OF TIME TO FIND THOSE ANSWERS. 15:23:22 MR. CHAIRMAN, WHAT HAPPENED SO TRAGICALLY IN JAPAN OFFERS US 15:23:26 THE OPPORTUNITY TO QUESTION AND QUESTION AGAIN, WHETHER WE'RE 15:23:35 R READY. 15:23:36 THEY HAVE SAID THERE COULD BE A MULTIPLE CATASTROPHE SUCH AS AN 15:23:41 EARTHQUAKE AND A MELTDOWN AT DIABLO NUCLEAR PLANT. 15:23:47 A QUOTE: SOMETHING NUCLEAR HAPPENING IS FAIRLY SMALL. 15:23:57 THE UNTHINKABLE DID HAPPEN IN JAPAN. 15:24:00 AN EARTHQUAKE, A TSUNAMI AND A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT COULD OCCUR, 15:24:13 TRULY. MR. CHAIRMAN, LET'S BExD 15:24:18 WE KNOW THE PLANT EXIST. THEY DISCOVERED THE FALLS LESS 15:24:22 THAN THREE MILES AWAY, FORCING A MAJOR RESIGN AND PUSHING THE 15:24:27 PROJECT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER BUDGET. 15:24:31 2008 THEY BASICALLY DISCOVERED ANOTHER SITE. 15:24:36 IT LIES OFFSHORE ABOUT AN HOUR FROM THE PLANT. 15:24:41 DIABLO WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE TWO LARGEST POWER PLANTS FOR A 15:24:47 HIGH RISK AREA. CAN THIS PLANT, -- CAN THIS 15:25:00 PLANT BE SUSTAINED FOR A LONG TIME? 15:25:02 MANY OF US ON THE COAST OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA REMAIN 15:25:05 CONCERNED THAT THE NRC HAS NOT TAKEN ACTION TO ADDRESS THESE 15:25:09 QUESTIONS OR ADDRESS THESE WARNINGS. 15:25:11 SO MUCH SO THAT THE CALIFORNIA COMMISSION IS SAID AND THEY HAVE 15:25:18 DIRECTED THAT PEER-REVIEWED REACTOR PLACE SHOULD BE STUDIED. 15:25:27 I AGREE WITH THAT. WE NEED TO TAKE SOME TIME TO GET 15:25:30 ALL THE ANSWERS. IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT I'M 15:25:33 NOT TALKING ABOUT DIABLO. I'M ASKING THAT YOU CAN BE 15:25:45 HAUNTED UNTIL UPDATED SIZ MICK 303 STUDIES BE COMPLETED IN 15:25:54 LIGHT OF THE PROCESS AND THAT THEY BE DONE BY A THIRD PARTY 15:26:00 WITH THEIR SIN TIS. IT WILL CAUSE TAXPAYERS BILLIONS 15:26:04 OF DOLLARS TO, ONCE AGAIN, BELATEDLY ADDRESS ISSUES THAT 15:26:10 SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH BEFOREHAND. 15:26:13 THAT'S WHY I'M HOPEFUL THE NRC WILL WORK WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS. 15:26:19 IF WE GET TO THIS POINT, REMAIN STEADY AND REMAIN UNRESOLVED. 15:26:29 I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY TODAY. 15:26:32 CONGRESSMAN BILL BRAY, WELCOME. 15:26:39 IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE. LIFE-LONG RESIDENT OF SAN JOSE 15:26:49 COUNTY. I HAVE THE CONCERNS THAT 15:26:50 EVERYONE HAS AFTER SEEING WHAT HAPPENED IN JAPAN. 15:26:52 EVERY ONE OF MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN EXCEPT TO THOSE 15:26:57 WHO HAVE BEEN EXILED TO HELEN IN MONTANA NOT ONLY LIVE DOWN WIND. 15:27:08 THE STATE NOCCHES BUT SOMEONE WHO THE EVACUATION AND RESPONSE 15:27:22 TO NOT JUST THE NUCLEAR ISSUE BUT ALSO THE TSUNAMI ISSUE. 15:27:28 AND ALSO AS A PRIVILEGE OF SERVING ON THE CALIFORNIA 15:27:31 COASTAL COMMISSION, AN AGENCY THAT HAS OVERSIGHT AND REVIEW OF 15:27:34 THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN CALIFORNIA. 15:27:37 THIS ISSUE REALLY DID BRING BACK MEMORIES OF ALL THE HEARINGS AND 15:27:43 PROCESSES WE'VE HAD THE FRANKLY THERE ARE STILL THE FACTS TO BE 15:27:46 TAKEN, STILL RESEARCH THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, BUT I THINK THERE 15:27:49 ARE SOME INDICATIONS THAT ARE VERY, VERY ENLIGHTENING. 15:27:52 ONE IS THE FACT THAT EVEN THOUGH THE JAPANESE PLANT WAS NOT 15:27:56 DESIGNED TO THOSE ENGINEERED IN OUR CALIFORNIA PLANTS, THAT IT 15:28:00 DID SURVIVE AN EARTHQUAKE THAT'S WELL OVER WHAT OUR PLANTS EVER 15:28:04 PERCEIVED TO BE. IN FACT, THE POINT THAT WE'RE 15:28:08 TALKING ABOUT THAT HAS STRUCK THIS PLANT, WE'RE LOOKING AT 7 15:28:13 MAXIMUM OR 7.2 MAXIMUM IN CALIFORNIA. 15:28:16 THAT FREQUENCY OF 7.2, AS POINTED OUT BY SECRETARY CHU, 15:28:24 OCCURS EVERY 7 TO 10,000 YEARS. SO IT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF THE 15:28:30 ENGINEERING. THE JAPANESE WERE HIT WITH A 15:28:34 GROUND MOTION OF .52. OUR CALIFORNIA SANTA NOFRA TO A 15:28:45 POINT .2 TO A 1.7. IT WILL NOT GET OVER A 7.2 AND 15:28:54 THAT WILL BE NO SOONER THAN SEVEN YEARS. 15:29:01 IT WAS NOT AN EARTHQUAKE AS WE GET THE INFORMATION NOW. 15:29:03 IT WAS A TSUNAMI. AND AS A SURFER, LET ME TELL YOU 15:29:07 THIS IS ONE THING THAT IS NOT JOKING IN ANY MANNER, BUT IT IS 15:29:11 ONE THAT'S VERY DISCONCERTING. THE FACT IS THAT JAPAN HAD A 15:29:17 10-FOOT SURGE WALL. THEY'RE SITTING ON A POSSIBILITY 15:29:29 IN AN AREA WHERE THE EXPERTS SAID THE TIDAL WAVES WOULD NEVER 15:29:32 REACH THAT LEVEL, BUT IF THEY DID, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 15:29:36 CALIFORNIA FACILITIES AND THE JAPANESE FACILITIES IS THE 15:29:39 CALIFORNIA FACILITIES HAVE GRAVITY FEED COOLING BUILT INTO 15:29:43 THEIR SYSTEMS AND THEY HAVE THEIR PUMP SYSTEMS TOTALLY 15:29:46 PROTECTED WHICH THE JAPANESE DID NOT HAVE. 15:29:48 THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THEIR FUEL TANKS PROTECTED, WHICH WAS A 15:29:51 MAJOR FLAW. I THINK THAT'S WHERE GOOD 15:29:54 ASSESSMENT CAN REALLY BE MADE ON THIS ISSUE. 15:29:56 REMEMBER, AS WE TALK ABOUT NUCLEAR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, 15:29:59 AS A FORMER MEMBER OF SIX YEARS ON THE RESOURCES BOARD, WE'RE 15:30:04 TALKING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT A VOIDS EMISSIONS, 15:30:08 INCLUDING 86% OF ALL AUTOMOBILES THAT ARE DRIVING ON AMERICAN 15:30:13 SOIL. I THINK WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZES 15:30:17 THE CHALLENGES, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH THE U.S. HAVE TO BE PART OF 15:30:30 ANY PLAN TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE. 15:30:32 I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS, MADAM 15:30:35 CHAIR AND MR. CHAIRMAN, IS WHERE ARE WE TODAY, HAVE WE 15:30:39 OVERENGINEERED, AND WAS THAT OVERENGINEERING PROOF? 15:30:42 I THINK ONE THING IT LOOKS LIKE IN CALIFORNIA IS THAT WE HAVE, 15:30:47 AND THAT SHOULD BE REASSURING. MY BIGGEST CONCERN IS WE'RE NOT 15:30:53 JUST TALKING SAN OFRIO AND SAN DIEGO BUT RELATIVE NUMBERS OF 15:31:03 YARDS THAT THE GOVERNMENT OWNS. THOSE ARE ISSUES WE IGNORE AND I 15:31:07 THINK IT'S ONE WE ADDRESS. THE BIGGEST ISSUE I'D LIKE TO 15:31:10 AGREE WITH YOU STRONGLY ON, SENATOR, IS HOW DO WE ADDRESS 15:31:15 THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S 40 YEARS OLD THAT WE HAVE ON THE GROUND 15:31:18 OPERATING TODAY, BUT HOW DO WE MOVE TO TECHNOLOGY THAT'S THERE, 15:31:28 BUT ALSO CREATES THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THAT WASTE PROBLEM, 15:31:32 THAT 100 YARD BY 20 FOOT WHICH NOW IT COULD NOT ONLY BE A FUEL, 15:31:38 IT COULD BE BURNED IN THE TECHNOLOGY THAT'S NOT SAFE BUT 15:31:42 ALSO A TECHNOLOGY WHICH COULD USED UP THAT. 15:31:53 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS. 15:31:56 LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON. THANK YOU. 15:32:06 WITH THAT WE'RE GOING TO INVITE OUR SECOND PANEL, JIM YASCO, 15:32:12 ADMINISTRATOR JACKSON, TO JOIN US AT THE TABLE, PLEASE. 15:32:27 NEITHER OF OUR MEMBERS ON THE SECOND PANEL ARE STRANGERS TO 15:32:30 US. WE APPRECIATE YOUR HARDSHIP AND 15:32:33 YOUR RESPONSE TO THE DISASTERS IN JAPAN. 15:32:35 FIRST WE'LL HEAR FROM LISA JACKSON, WHO THE ADMINISTRATOR 15:32:38 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, AND FOLLOWING HER 15:32:42 TESTIMONY, WE'LL HEAR FROM GREG YASCO, WHO IS CHAIRMAN OF THE 15:32:46 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION. WE'LL ASK YOU TO USE ABOUT FIVE 15:32:48 MINUTES FOR YOUR STATEMENT AND THEN WE'LL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS. 15:32:51 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING. YOUR STATEMENT WILL BE MADE PART 15:32:54 OF THE RECORD. THANK YOU, ALL THE MEMBERS OF 15:33:00 THIS COMMITTEE, THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO TESTIFY ON EPA'S 15:33:04 ROLE IN RESPONDING TO THE TRAGEDY IN JAPAN. 15:33:06 I DO WANT TO BEGIN BY EXPRESSING MY SYMPATHY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE 15:33:10 LOST LOVED ONES FROM THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI AND MY 15:33:18 SUPPORT FOR THOSE TRYING TO CONTROL THE RADIATION AT THE 15:33:21 FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR PLANT IN JAPAN. 15:33:23 THEIR EFFORTS ARE TRULY HEROIC. AS JAPAN TRIES TO CONTROL THEIR 15:33:29 REACTORS, MANY AMERICANS ARE WORRIED ABOUT WHAT THE MANY 15:33:33 RELEASES TO THE ATMOSPHERE MAY MEAN TO THEM, AND WHAT THE 15:33:35 GOVERNMENT IS DOING TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE SAFE HERE IN THE UNITED 15:33:39 STATES. LET ME BEGIN BY SPEAKING 15:33:40 DIRECTLY TO THOSE WHO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT RADIATION 15:33:44 DETECTION, THAT MONITORING AND SAMPLING FROM THE EPA AND OTHER 15:33:48 FEDERAL AGENCIES ARE PICKING UP THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. 15:33:53 LET ME BE CLEAR. THE EPA DOES NOT EXPECT TO SEE 15:33:56 RADIATION IN OUR AIR OR WATER REACHING HARMFUL LEVELS IN THE 15:34:01 UNITED STATES. ALL THE DATA WE HAVE SEEN, WHICH 15:34:04 WE CONTINUE TO BE MAKING PUBLIC ON OUR WEB SITE, INDICATES THAT 15:34:08 WHILE THE LEVELS ARE RADIATED IN SOME PLACES, THEY ARE 15:34:13 SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW MODERATE LEVELS. 15:34:16 IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE TSUNAMI STRUCK, WE DETECTED RADIOACTIVE 15:34:26 ISOTOPES. THESE NUMBERS WERE SO MINISCULE, 15:34:28 THAT THEY WERE 100 TIMES THE EXPOSURE WE ALL RECEIVE. 15:34:32 WE'RE EXPOSED TO RADIATION EVERY DAY, SUCH AS RESOURCES IN THE 15:34:37 GROUND AND MANMADE SOURCES, SUCH AS X-RAYS. 15:34:41 WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE EVENT FOR RADIATION. 15:34:46 WE'LL EXPLAIN WHAT THE DATA MEAN TO THE PEOPLE AND FAMILIES THAT 15:34:49 WE SERVE. AS I'VE SAID IN THIS COMMUNITY, 15:34:57 TRANSPARENCY WILL GUIDE ALL OF OUR ACTIONS. 15:35:00 IF YOU REMAIN, A RESPONSE TO THIS ROLE IS VERY IMPORTANT. 15:35:04 USING A VARIETY OF TECHNIQUES, WE EXPOSE RELEASES INTO THE 15:35:09 ENVIRONMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. 15:35:11 THESE RADIOACTIVE RELEASES ARE ONES THAT DISAPPEAR FROM THE 15:35:16 ENVIRONMENT WITHIN DAYS, SUCH AS IODINE, AND THOSE SUCH AS 15:35:21 PLUTONIUM. LET ME SPEAK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT 15:35:23 THOSE MONITORING EFFORTS. A MONITORING EFFORT CALLED RAD 15:35:35 NET, INVOLVE LONG-TERM TRENDS AND ALLOWS THEM TO DETECT 15:35:42 MINISCULE INCREASES. IT'S HELD UP TO CREATE DETEXZ. 15:35:58 THEY'RE SENDING REAL-TIME DATA TO OUR LABORATORY. 15:36:01 IN RESPONSE TO THE JAPANESE NUCLEAR INCIDENT, WE RESPONDED 15:36:04 BY QUICKLY DEPLOYING LOCAL AIR MONITORS TO FAR OFF 15:36:09 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING ALASKA AND ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC, TO 15:36:14 DETECT RADIATION IT AS SLOWLY MOVED AWAY FROM JAPAN. 15:36:22 WE CAN FIND EVEN MINISCULE AMOUNTS OF RADIOACTIVITY IN THE 15:36:27 AIR. MONITORING STATIONS ACROSS THE 15:36:29 COUNTRY SUBMIT PRECIPITATION SAMPLES TO EPA LABORATORIES AS 15:36:40 RAIN, FALL, SNOW AND SLEET OCCUR. 15:36:41 UNDER THIS RESPONSE WE ARE ANALYZING PRECIPITATION SAMPLES 15:36:44 AS THEY COME INTO THE LABORATORY AND QUICKLY POST THE RESULTS ON 15:36:47 OUR PUBLIC WEB SITE. ALSO, EPA ROUTINELY SAMPLES MILK 15:36:51 AND DRINKING WATER FROM SITES ACROSS THE NATION. 15:36:55 LIKE RAINWATER, THESE SITES ARE COLLECTED AND ANALYZED ON A 15:36:59 QUARTERLY BASIS, BUT IN RESPONSE TO THE NUCLEAR ACTIVITY IN 15:37:07 JAPAN, WE MEASURE THE LEVEL. THE INFORMATION IS ALL AVAILABLE 15:37:12 ON EPA'S WEBSITE. THIS WEB SITE WAS QUICKLY 15:37:20 EXPANDED AFTER THIS SUE SUE, ESPECIALLY ONES THAT ARE NOT 15:37:26 INTO PHYSICS, COULD EASILY TELL WHAT THE MONITORS WERE 15:37:33 INDICATING. IT R -- MADAM CHAIRMAN, THANK 15:37:40 YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THESE ISSUES. 15:37:44 BOTH OF OUR CHAIRMEN, EXCUSE ME. WE WILL CONTINUE OUR OUTREACH TO 15:37:48 THE PUBLIC AND THE ELECTED OFFICIALS TO PROVIDE 15:37:56 AUTHORIZATION ON OUR RESULTS. THANK YOU. 15:37:58 BEFORE YOU TESTIFY, I JUST WANT TO SAY TO YOU, TO THE OTHER 15:38:03 COMMISSIONERS, TO MEMBERS ON THE STAFF OF THE REGULATORY 15:38:06 COMMISSION THAT WE APPRECIATE THE WAY YOU STEPPED UP AND TRIED 15:38:08 TO BE AS HELPFUL AS YOU CAN TO THE PEOPLE OF -- THIS WASN'T 15:38:16 JUST TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO LET UP. THANK YOU. 15:38:19 PLEASE PROCEED. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, 15:38:22 MADAM CHAIRMAN, AND RANKING MEMBER BROSSO. 15:38:27 I ALSO APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TRAGIC EVENTS ACROSS 15:38:37 JAPAN. PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN TOUCHED 15:38:39 AROUND THE COUNTRY AND ALONG THE WORLD ARE FOLLOWING THIS IN 15:38:46 JAPAN AND MANY COUNTRY AROUND THE WORLD. 15:38:48 AS INDICATED, OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO THOSE DEALING WITH THE 15:38:52 AFTERMATH OF THESE NATIONAL DISASTERS. 15:38:54 ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, I MADE A BRIEF VISIT TO JAPAN AND MADE A 15:39:02 MESSAGE AND DISCUSS THE ONGOING SITUATION. 15:39:03 AS PART OF THAT VISIT, I MEANT WITH SENIOR JAPANESE GOVERNMENT 15:39:08 AND TETCO OFFICIALS. JUST TO BRIEFLY RECAP, ON 15:39:16 FRIDAY, MARCH 11, WHEN THE EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI STRUCK, 15:39:21 THE NRC'S HEADPOSITION. UNDER THE REORGANIZATION ACT OF 15:39:32 1980. FOR THE PAST FEW WEEKS, THEY 15:39:36 HAVE BEEN MONITORING EVENT IN JAPAN. 15:39:41 DESPITE THE EFFORTS, THE NTHS STILL HAVE REACTORS FOR 15:39:53 FACILITIES HERE IN THE UNITED STATES. 15:39:55 I, NEEDLESS TO SAY, AM INCREDIBLY PROUD OF THEIR WORK. 15:39:58 AS REGARDS THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE REACTORS IN JAPAN, FROM 15:40:01 THE INFORMATION WE HAVE, WE BELIEVE THE SITUATION CURRENTLY 15:40:05 IS STATIC. WE DON'T SEE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES 15:40:07 ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS WITH THE REACTORS. 15:40:10 IT IS NOT YET, HOWEVER, WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE STABLE. 15:40:15 NAMELY, THAT GIVING ADDITIONAL EVENTS OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES 15:40:20 THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT 15:40:23 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS AT THE REACTORS. 15:40:25 SO THE EFFORTS CONTINUE TO BE ON THESE EFFORTS TO TRANSITION FROM 15:40:30 STATIC TO STABLE TO ENSURE A LONG TERM, ULTIMATELY, ABILITY 15:40:34 TO PROVIDE COOLING FOR THE SPENT FUEL POOLS. 15:40:37 LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WORK THAT WE HAVE AS AN NEGATIVE DEALING 15:40:44 WITH FUGITIVES IN THIS COUNTRY, ON MONDAY, MARCH 21st, THE 15:40:50 COMMISSION ACTED QUICKLY TO MOVE AND EXPLORE TO DETERMINE WHETHER 15:41:00 THE AGENCY SHOULD MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR REGULATORY 15:41:06 SYSTEM. T 15:41:09 THIS ISs AN INVITATION TO TAKE A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF OUR OWN 15:41:13 FACILITIES IN LIGHT OF THE JAPAN SITUATION. 15:41:15 THIS REVIEW WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A SHORT TERM AND LONGER TERM 15:41:18 TIME FRAME. THE SHORT TERM REVIEW, WHICH 15:41:21 WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY 90 DAYS, HAS ALREADY BEGUN AND WILL 15:41:25 IDENTIFY POTENTIAL OR PRELIMINARY NEAR TERM 15:41:27 OPERATIONAL OR REGULATORY ISSUES. 15:41:30 A LONG TERM REVIEW WILL BEGIN AS SOON AS WE HAVE SUFFICIENT 15:41:33 INFORMATION FROM JAPAN. BUT WE EXPECT THAT REVIEW TO BE 15:41:37 COMPLETED WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF THE GOOD IT IN THAT TIME. 15:41:43 AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE LESSONS LEARNED THAN OTHER 15:41:50 COUNTERPARTS AROUND THE WORLD. I RECENTLY RETURNED FROM THE 15:41:54 FIFTH REVIEW MEETING ON NUCLEAR SAFETY WHICH PROVIDED AN 15:41:59 IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY FOR NATIONS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE IN 15:42:03 JAPAN, AND BEGIN THE TERMS FOR SHORT AND LONG-TERM COOPERATION. 15:42:06 IN CONCLUSION, I WANT TO REITERATE THAT WE TON TO TAKE 15:42:12 LICENSES AND OVERSIGHT WITH THE U.S. LICENSE SEES. 15:42:22 BASED ON THE 90-DAY REVIEW AND UNDER -- ON BEHALF OF THE 15:42:32 COMMISSION, I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU 15:42:34 TODAY AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU 15:42:36 MAY HAVE. THANK YOU. 15:42:37 THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU FOR TESTIFYING. 15:42:41 MADAM CHAIRMAN? THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. 15:42:44 CHAIRMAN. FIRST I WANT TO THANK BOTH OF 15:42:47 YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE TO THOSE OF US ON BOTH 15:42:50 SIDES OF THE AISLE HERE TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS. 15:42:52 I APPRECIATE THAT SO MUCH. I WANT TO PUT IN THE RECORD 15:43:03 SOMETHING I GOLT FROM USGS, BECAUSE IT HAPPENED IN JAPAN, IT 15:43:09 DIDN'T HAPPEN HERE, OBVIOUSLY. BUT HOW MANY EARTHQUAKES, I 15:43:13 WOULD SAY TO MY FRIEND, HAVE WE HAD IN AMERICA THAT THEY HAVE 15:43:19 MANAGED TO DOCUMENT, AND IT'S 157 EARTHQUAKES ALL OVER THIS 15:43:26 GREAT NATION AND IN EVERY PART OF THIS COUNTRY. 15:43:35 THESE ARE OVER 6.0. 157 EARTHQUAKES OVER 6.0. 15:43:41 I ALSO ASKED FOR THE DOCUMENTATION ON TSUNAMIS, AND 15:43:44 WHAT I DO HAVE IS THE AREAS WHERE THE HIGHEST RISKS ARE. 15:43:48 THAT WOULD BE ALASKA, HAWAII VERY HIGH, WEST COAST HIGH, 15:43:54 PUERTO RICO, VIRGIN ISLANDS HIGH, THE OTHERS LOW TO VERY 15:43:57 LOW. SO I'M GOING TO PUT THOSE BOTH 15:43:59 IN THE RECORD. NO OBJECTION. 15:44:03 THANK YOU. MR. YASCO, I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN 15:44:06 VERY INVOLVED, MR. CHAIRMAN, IN HELPING THE PEOPLE IN JAPAN. 15:44:09 EVERY ONE OF US ON BOTH SIDES ARE GRATEFUL, BECAUSE I THINK 15:44:13 AMERICA IS AT ITS BEST WHEN WE'RE THERE FOR OUR FRIENDS AND 15:44:16 WE CERTAINLY ARE. RIGHT NOW YOU DESCRIBED -- YOU 15:44:20 SAID IT'S A STATIC SITUATION NOT A STABLE SITUATION. 15:44:24 SO LET ME ASK YOU, WHAT'S THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN 15:44:27 RIGHT NOW WITH THOSE REACTORS, AND WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT 15:44:33 COULD HAPPEN? I'M RELUCTANT TO SPECULATE ON 15:44:43 THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS 15:44:48 SOMETHING. WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. 15:44:50 WHAT'S THE BEST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN, WHAT'S THE WORST? 15:44:52 WE ALL HOPE FOR THE BEST, BUT WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT CAN 15:44:55 HAPPEN? RIGHT NOW WHAT OUR FOCUS IS 15:45:00 ON IS THAT IT ENSURES TO PROVIDE OR THAT THE JAPANESE CAN 15:45:04 CONTINUE TO PROVIDE COOLING TO THE REACTOR AND WATER INTO THE 15:45:06 SPENT FUEL POOLS, AND THAT IS A PROCESS THAT IS WORKING RIGHT 15:45:13 NOW. AS I SAID, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY 15:45:16 THE MOST STABLE CONFIGURATION. FOR INSTANCE, THERE WAS AN 15:45:24 AFTERSHOCK LAST NIGHT, SO THEY HAD TO REMOVE SOME OF THE 15:45:27 INDIVIDUALS, THEY LOST SOME OF THE POWER, SO SOME OF THE PUMPS 15:45:31 THEY WERE USING WERE NOT ABLE TO WORK FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES. 15:45:35 WHAT WE WANT IS TO MOVE INTO A SITUATION WHERE THAT KIND OF 15:45:38 SITUATION WOULD BE DEALT WITH IN A MORE PREDICTABLE MANNER AND 15:45:43 LESS FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF THE LOSS OF THE COOLING SYSTEMS. 15:45:46 EVERY DAY THE REACTORS CONTINUE TO HAVE COOLING AND CONTINUE TO 15:45:55 RECEIVE WATER AND OTHER TYPES OF COOLING, THE LIKELIHOOD OF A 15:46:00 SIMILAR EVENT GOES DOWN. SO THE COOLING, OBVIOUSLY, 15:46:04 HERE IS KEY, AND THERE'S NOTHING ELSE THAT COULD GO WRONG, IN 15:46:07 YOUR MIND? THAT'S CORRECT. 15:46:12 THE PRIMARY FOCUS IS TO MAINTAIN COOLING. 15:46:15 IF YOU LOSE THE ABILITY TO COOL THE REACTORS, THEN YOU HAVE THE 15:46:18 POSSIBILITY OF A FURTHER DEGRADATION IN THE FUEL WHICH 15:46:22 COULD LEAD TO A GREATER RELEASE THAN WHAT'S GOING ON. 15:46:25 IS A LEAK STILL GOING ON IN THE OCEAN? 15:46:27 WE BELIEVE NOW THAT SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN STOPPED, BUT 15:46:30 THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THERE ARE OTHER LEAKS AND OTHER 15:46:34 MATERIAL BEING RELEASED. HOW RADIOACTIVE IS THAT 15:46:39 WATER? RIGHT NOW THE JAPANESE ARE 15:46:44 SURVEYING THE WATER THAT'S GOING OUT INTO THE OCEAN. 15:46:56 I HAVEN'T SEEN FIGURES OF THAT. WILL YOU LET ME KNOW HOW MUCH 15:47:00 CONTAMINATION IS FLOWING INTO THE OCEAN? 15:47:04 ABSOLUTELY. YOUR BOARD FOUND THAT EPA 15:47:09 FIXED MONITORS HAD A TAMPERING BIAS AGAINST LARGER PARTICLES, 15:47:14 WHICH COULD INCLUDE HOT PARTICLES. 15:47:16 HAVE YOU TAKEN ANY ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THE CONCERNS? 15:47:20 YES. YES, CHAIRMAN, WE HAVE. 15:47:22 THAT REPORT WAS DONE SEVERAL KWHEERZ AGO, AND SINCE THAT 15:47:25 REPORT WAS DONE, EPA RESPONDED TO DO AN ADDITIONAL STUDY ON THE 15:47:32 EFFICACY OF MONITORING EQUIPMENT IN CATCHING ALL SIZES OF 15:47:40 PARTICLES. THE REAL TRAUMATIC ONES ARE THE 15:47:42 SMALLER ONES, AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS THROUGH THAT STUDY, OUR SIX 15:47:46 MONITORS CAN COLLECT THE VERY SMALLEST PARTICLES REASONABLY 15:47:51 EFFECTIVELY. I DO WANT TO SAY, HAVING NEWER 15:47:54 MONITORS, THERE ARE NEWER MONITORS OUT THERE THAT GET EVEN 15:47:56 GREATER CAPTURE, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE PURPOSE OF THE SYSTEM, 15:47:59 WHICH IS TO GIVE BROAD LEVELS OF BACKGROUND FOR EVENTS THAT ARE 15:48:04 KNOWN, THE CURRENT SYSTEM IS CERTAINLY EFFECTIVE. 15:48:06 MY TIME IS EXPIRED, I JUST WANT TO SAY TO CHAIRMAN JASZKO, 15:48:14 I'VE GOT THESE TWO NUCLEAR PLANTS THAT WERE BUILT A VERY 15:48:16 LONG TIME AGO, AND NOW APPARENTLY PG&E AND CENTRAL 15:48:24 CALIFORNIA HAVE DROPPED THEIR RELICENSING PERSONALLY NOW. 15:48:30 I GUESS I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT -- AND NOBODY HAS TO 15:48:35 RESPOND TO THIS. I'M THINKING COMMON SENSE. 15:48:39 . YOU'VE GOT MORE THAT LIVE 15:48:49 WITHIN 50 MILES OF ONE OF MY CLIENTS AND ABOUT HALF THE 15:48:53 RADIUS THAT LIVE WITHIN 50 MILES OF THE OTHER. 15:48:55 ABOUT HALF OF THESE ARE NEAR EARTHQUAKE FAULTS. 15:48:59 SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO SAY TO YOU AND THE OTHERS WHEN WE GET TO 15:49:02 SPEAK TO THEM, AND I THINK WE WILL, TO MY MIND, I THINK THE 15:49:06 COMMISSION WHEN YOU'RE RELICENSING, HAS TO LOOK AT THIS 15:49:09 AS THOUGH IT'S A NEW OPPORTUNITY. 15:49:11 WOULD YOU LICENSE A PLANT THAT CAME TO YOU NOW WITH THAT 15:49:15 CIRCUMSTANCE RIGHT BY OR NEAR EARTHQUAKE FAULTS, STUDIES THAT 15:49:20 IS THERE WILL BE MORE FREQUENT EARTHQUAKES AND BOTH INVOLVE 15:49:27 TSUNAMIS THOUGH ONE IS THE MORE VULNERABLE. 15:49:31 I JUST HOPE THAT YOU -- AGAIN, I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO THINK LOPG 15:49:41 A AND HARD ABOUT THIS, BUT IF YOU 15:49:42 WOULD SAY NO TO A NEW OPERATOR, I HOPE YOU'LL THINK ABOUT HOW IT 15:49:47 MAKES ANY SENSE TO JUST KEEP ON GOING. 15:49:50 UNLESS THERE IS A MAJOR REINFORCEMENT AND HARDENING OF 15:49:55 SOME OF THESE BUILDINGS AND THE REST. 15:49:57 SO I JUST LEAVE YOU WITH THAT THOUGHT THAT THOSE ARE MY 15:50:01 CONCERNS. THANKS, MADAM CHAIR. 15:50:05 THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CHAIRMAN. 15:50:07 I APPRECIATE BOTH OF YOU BEING HERE TODAY AND CHAIRMAN I 15:50:12 APPRECIATE THE TIME YOU'VE BEEN AVAILABLE TO ME, VISITING BY 15:50:15 OFFICE AND ADDRESSING THESE VARIOUS CONCERNS THAT ARE 15:50:18 CRITICAL, QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO 15:50:23 BE ANSWERED. I NOTICED LAST WEEK THE 15:50:25 CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION CONCLUDED THAT A NUCLEAR 15:50:28 EMERGENCY SUCH AS IS OCCURRING IN JAPAN IS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY 15:50:32 AT THE STATE'S TWO OPERATING NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. 15:50:34 WOULD YOU AGREE WITH THAT CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION'S 15:50:38 CONCLUSION? WE THINK IT'S VERY UNLIKELY 15:50:41 TO SEE A LARGE EARTHQUAKE AND A TSUNAMI. 15:50:44 THEY WENT ON TO SAY, THE COMBINATION OF A STRONG GROUND 15:50:46 MOTION AND MASSIVE TSUNAMI THAT OCCURRED IN JAPAN CAN'T BE 15:50:50 GENERATED BY THE KINDS OF FAULTS THAT EXIST IN THE VICINITY OF 15:50:54 THE TWO PLANTS IN NUCLEAR PLANTS IN CALIFORNIA. 15:50:57 YOU AGREE WITH THE ASSESSMENT THERE? 15:50:59 IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THE TYPE OF FAULT IN JAPAN WAS A 15:51:02 DIFFERENT TYPE OF FAULT THAT DOESN'T EXIST OFF THE COAST OF 15:51:08 CALIFORNIA. THANK YOU. 15:51:09 I MENTIONED IN MY OPENING STATEMENT THAT ON APRIL 6th, 15:51:16 ACTIVIST, STRENGTHEN AND OVERSIGHT ON URANIAN RECOVERY 15:51:22 AND I NOTICED HOW THEY ARE USING THAT IN JAPAN WHEN APPROVING 15:51:29 URANIAN MINES DOMESTICALLY IN THE UNITED STATES. 15:51:31 DO YOU SEE A CONNECTION WITH THE URANIAN MINING IN THE UNITED 15:51:39 STATES? NO DIRECT CONNECTIONS. 15:51:41 THANK YOU. MR. CHAIRMAN, WHEN WE LAST 15:51:44 HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT MY OFFICE, I DISCUSSED MY CONCERNS 15:51:48 ABOUT THE DELAY IN APPROVING PERMITS FOR URANIAN MINES AND 15:51:56 YOU MENTIONED THE DELAY WAS WORKING THINGS OUT WITH THE EPA 15:51:59 AND WE FINALLY ACHIEVED THE RESOLUTION NECESSARY. 15:52:02 YOU THOUGHT YOU NOW HAD A TEMPLATE TO MOVE FORWARD 15:52:06 APPROVING ADDITIONAL MINES. DO YOU BELIEVE YOU WORKED OUT OF 15:52:13 THOSE ISSUES SO WE CAN NOW PROCEED WITH A FASTER PERMITTING 15:52:17 PROCESS? I BELIEVE WE WORKED OUT -- 15:52:18 COME TO A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE DEAL WITH OUR 15:52:21 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS. WE ARE, HOWEVER, CONTINUING TO 15:52:25 WORK THROUGH ISSUES THAT ARE OUR RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER TWO 15:52:30 CONSULT WITH TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS AS PART OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS 15:52:35 AND THAT IS THE LAST ACTIVITY THAT WE'RE WORKING ON AS WE 15:52:39 FINALIZE OUR EFFORTS ON THESE URANIAN RECOVERY OPERATIONS. 15:52:46 ADMINISTRATOR, YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH AND ANY ISSUES 15:52:52 IN A TIMELY MANNER. I REMAIN COMMITTED TO RESOLVE 15:52:57 ANY ISSUES WE MIGHT HAVE WITH RESPECT TO WYOMING. 15:53:00 I DON'T BELIEVE THE ARTICLE REFERENCED SITES IN WYOMING. 15:53:03 THE OVERALL APPROVAL. THANK YOU. 15:53:08 I WANTED TO GET BACK, MR. CHAIRMAN, WITH THE NRC RESPONSE 15:53:13 IN JAPAN AND YOU HAVE 250 STAFF BOTH FUNCTION S AND WORKING HARD 15:53:19 ON THIS. GIVEN THE COMMITMENT TO THE 15:53:21 RESOURCES TO JAPAN, IF WE HAD ANY SORT OF EMERGENCY IN THE 15:53:25 UNITED STATES, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO REDEPLOY IN A WAY WE WOULD 15:53:28 NOT PUT OURSELVES IN A DISADVANTAGE? 15:53:31 ABSOLUTELY. AS THIS EVENT HAS GONE FORWARD 15:53:33 WE HAVE LOOKED AT OUR STAFFING LEVELS AND ACTUALLY WE'VE 15:53:37 TRANSITIONED OUR APPROACH TO THE STAFF IN OUR OPERATIONS CENTER 15:53:40 TO HAVE A SMALLER TEAM THERE WHO CAN RESPOND QUICKLY BUT THEN 15:53:44 WOULD REACH BACK TO OUR LARGER AGENCY TO GET INFORMATION 15:53:48 REQUESTS AS THEY NEED. IT ALLOWS US TO RESPOND BUT IN 15:53:53 AWAY THAT ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE WITH OUR OTHER IMPORTANT 15:53:58 RESPONSIBILITIES. SENATOR INHOFE RAISED THE 15:54:00 ISSUE ABOUT YOU INVOKING AN EMERGENCY POWERS AS A RESULT OF 15:54:03 THIS. COULD YOU DESCRIBE TO ME HOW YOU 15:54:06 INTERACTED WITH YOUR FELLOW COMMISSIONERS DURING THIS 15:54:11 NUCLEAR INCIDENT AND HOW YOU RELIED ON THEM ON MAKING 15:54:15 DECISIONS AS WELL? THERE'S NOT SO MUCH INVOKING 15:54:20 OF THE EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES. THAT'S AN AUTHORITY THAT THE 15:54:23 CHAIRMAN HAS. MOST OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT I'M 15:54:25 ENGAGED IN AS PART OF THIS RESPONSE HAVE BEEN NORMAL SUPER 15:54:32 ADVISORY AND COMMUNICATION RESPONSIBILITIES. 15:54:35 I WOULD NOTE AND WE CAN PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION FOR THE RECORD, 15:54:39 BUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER WE ENTERED OUR MONITORING MODE ON MARCH 15:54:43 11th. AN E-MAIL WAS SENT DOWN 15:54:45 INDICATING WE HAD DONE THAT. WITHIN THE FIRST 24 HOURS WE HAD 15:54:49 FOUR BRIEFINGS OF THE ASSISTANCE OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 15:54:54 OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, I'VE DONE AT LEAST 26 BRIEFINGS 15:54:57 TO MY COLLEAGUES ON THE COMMISSION, INCLUDING ONE PUBLIC 15:55:00 COMMISSION MEETING THAT WAS HELD ABOUT A WEEK AFTER THE EVENT 15:55:06 STARTED. THERE'S BEEN ABOUT OVERALL, 15:55:08 ABOUT 60 BRIEFINGS TO STAFF OF THE COMMISSION ASSISTANCE AND 15:55:13 ABOUT 80 PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED TO THE COMMISSION 15:55:15 INDICATING THE STATUS TO THE RESPONSE EFFORTS AND ACTIVITIES 15:55:18 THAT ARE ONGOING. I THINK THERE'S BEEN GOOD 15:55:20 COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMISSION ABOUT WHAT WE'RE 15:55:22 DOING AND HOW WE'RE DEALING WITH RESPONSE. 15:55:24 THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. MISS CHAIRMAN, AS A POINT OF 15:55:29 PERSONAL PRIVILEGE AS THE SENATOR MENTIONED, THE PLANTS IN 15:55:32 MY STATE, I APPRECIATE HIS CONCERN. 15:55:34 LET ME PUT INTO THE RECORD TWO LETTERS BY THE CALIFORNIA 15:55:40 COASTAL COMMISSION, THEY WANT NEW EARTHQUAKE STUDIES, NUMBER 15:55:45 ONE. NUMBER TWO, WHAT MY FRIENDS SAID 15:55:47 ABOUT THE FACT IT WOULD BE UNLIKELY WE WOULD HAVE SUCH AN 15:55:50 ACCIDENT IN CALIFORNIA ABSOLUTELY VERY UNLIKELY. 15:55:54 IT'S UNLIKELY. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAID 15:55:56 ABOUT JAPAN. TO THE WORD. 15:55:59 SO WE'VE GOT TO MOVE BEYOND TALK. 15:56:04 AND GET TO THIS SERIOUS QUESTION OF WHAT DO WE DO TO DO 15:56:07 EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO MAKE IT SAFE. 15:56:09 IS THERE AN OBJECTION TO THE UNANIMOUS REQUEST? 15:56:13 SO ORDERED. MY FIRST QUESTION OF THE 15:56:19 CHAIRMAN, IF I COULD, I WOULD LIKE TO QUOTE ALBERT IN STEEN, 15:56:27 IN ADVERSITY LIES OPPORTUNITY. WHEN ASKED THE QUESTION, WHAT IS 15:56:31 THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN FOLLOWING UP ON THIS TRAGEDY? 15:56:34 ONE OF THE WORST THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN, WE WOULDN'T LEARN 15:56:37 ANYTHING FROM IT. THAT'S ONE OF WORST THINGS THAT 15:56:39 COULD HAPPEN. WE HAVE HAD NOT A WHOLE LOT OF 15:56:43 TIME BUT SOME TIME HAS PASSED SINCE THIS SAD CHAPTER BEGAN 15:56:48 UNFOLDING. TALK TO US ABOUT THE LESSONS WE 15:56:50 HAVE LEARNED IN THE PAST WEEKS. AND LET'S -- MAYBE THAT WOULD 15:56:57 SUGGEST THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS APPROPRIATE, GOOD, SMART, SAFE 15:57:00 AND MAYBE SOME THINGS WE LEARNED THAT WE CAN DO BETTER. 15:57:04 I THINK ONE OF THE ISSUES WE'VE REALLY COME TO RECOGNIZE 15:57:09 IS THAT THE STATION EVENT IS A VERY SERIOUS EVENT. 15:57:12 THE GOOD ASPECT IS THAT WE'VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT IS A VERY 15:57:15 SERIOUS TYPE OF EVENT AND TYPE OF SITUATION WHICH YOU LOSE THE 15:57:19 ABILITY TO HAVE ELECTRICAL POWER TO THE SITE. 15:57:22 FUNDAMENTALLY WE THINK THAT'S THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE 15:57:26 PROBLEM. WHAT WE'RE REALLY WORKING TO 15:57:28 ESTABLISH IS WHY EXACTLY THEY GOT INTO THE STATION WITH THE 15:57:31 STATION BLACKOUT AND WHAT WERE THE LEAD FACTORS AFFECTING THAT. 15:57:39 I THINK WE'VE SEEN THE IMPORTANCE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING 15:57:40 IN HAVING THE ABILITY TO RESPOND AND PROVIDE EMERGENCY GUIDANCE 15:57:45 TO THE POPULATION AROUND THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AND WE'VE 15:57:51 SEEN THAT THAT -- CARRIES OUT ITS INTENDED FUNCTION, IT MOVES 15:57:55 PEOPLE OUT OF AN AREA THEY CAN BE EXPOSED TO HARMFUL LEVELS OF 15:58:00 RADIATION. IF WE LOOK AT THE KINDS OF 15:58:02 THINGS WE'VE SEEN RIGHT NOW, THOSE ARE THE BIG LESSONS WE'VE 15:58:07 LEARNED. WE HAVE THIS 90-DAY TASK FORCE 15:58:09 THAT WILL LOOK AT VERY SPECIFIC THINGS IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, 15:58:12 TWO AND A HALF MONTHS. I DON'T WANT TO GET TOO FAR IN 15:58:15 FRONT OF THE WORK THEY ARE DOING BECAUSE THEY PUT TOGETHER 15:58:19 TALENTED PEOPLE AT THE AGENCY. WE'RE GOING TO DO A GOOD 15:58:21 THOROUGH LOOK. I WANT THEM TO START GIVING THE 15:58:25 ANSWERS THAT THEY HEAR ME SAY AT A HEARING. 15:58:28 I THINK THAT IF THERE'S ANY ONE OTHER LESSON WE'VE LEARNED, 15:58:32 AFTER THREE MILE ISLAND, WE LEARNED IT IS IMPORTANT TO GO 15:58:37 ABOUT THIS KIND OF REVIEW IN A SYSTEM BEING AND METHOD 15:58:41 CALLAWAY. I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING. 15:58:43 THAT WILL BE THE CONTINUED FOCUS I HAVE WITH THE AGENCY. 15:58:46 BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE PUT IN PLACE THE KIND OF CHANGES 15:58:51 THAT MAKE SAFETY BETTER AND NOT THE KIND OF CHANGES THAT IN THE 15:58:56 END WIND UP UNDERMINING SAFETY. I T