Fukushima Disaster and Nuclear Governance Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the Fukushima disaster timeline, governance failures, risk assessment methods, ethics, and nuclear governance frameworks.

Natech disaster

A disaster where a natural hazard, such as the earthquake and tsunami in the Fukushima case, triggers a technological disaster like a nuclear accident.

Cascading disaster

An event where one failure leads to a chain reaction of subsequent failures.

Systemic failure

A situation where multiple interconnected systems fail at the same time.

Reactor scram

The process of inserting control rods to stop nuclear fission during an immediate response to a disaster.

Decay heat

The heat that remains in a reactor after fission has been stopped, requiring continuous cooling.

Station Blackout (SBO)

The complete loss of both external and internal power at a facility.

Zircaloy fuel cladding

The zirconium material surrounding fuel rods that reacts with steam at high temperatures to produce hydrogen gas.

Regulatory Capture

A governance failure where the regulator is not independent and is closely tied to the industry and government it is supposed to oversee.

The ‘Nuclear Village’ (Iron Triangle)

An alliance between government, industry, and regulators that promoted nuclear energy while minimizing risks.

Safety Myth (anzen shinwa)

The cultural belief held by authorities in Japan that a major nuclear accident was impossible.

Sŀteigai

A term meaning ‘beyond expectations,’ used to dismiss warnings about risks such as large tsunamis.

Elite Panic

The phenomenon where authorities withhold information to avoid public panic, which often backfires and increases distrust.

Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA)

A technique used to estimate the probability of accidents, which at Fukushima failed due to its reliance on limited historical data.

Fault Tree Analysis

A top-down risk method that demonstrates how different failures combine to result in a major disaster.

Event Tree Analysis

A bottom-up risk method that starts with an initiating event and maps possible outcomes based on system success or failure.

Normal Accident Theory

The theory that in complex, tightly coupled systems like nuclear plants, accidents are inevitable.

Series Systems

Systems designed in a way that allows a failure to spread quickly through the sequence.

Parallel Systems

Systems that provide redundancy to prevent single points of failure from stopping an entire process.

Crisis Communication

The process by which authorities communicate with the public specifically during the occurrence of a disaster.

Risk Communication

The process of explaining potential risks and dangers to the public.

Misinformation

Accidental false information shared without the intent to cause harm.

Disinformation

Purposefully misleading information shared with the specific intent to cause harm.

Right to Know

An ethical concept proposed by Shrader-Frechette stating that the public has a fundamental right to be informed about potential risks.

Intergenerational Justice

The ethical principle by Taebi that future generations should not suffer the consequences of decisions made by the present generation.

Social Acceptance

The level of risk or behavior that a population is willing to tolerate.

Ethical Acceptance

The level of risk or behavior that is considered morally justified.

Anthropocentric Perspective

An ethical viewpoint that focuses primarily on the benefits of decisions for humans.

Ecocentric Perspective

An ethical viewpoint that considers the impact of decisions on the entire ecosystem.

Energy Trilemma

The challenge of balancing energy security, energy equity (affordability), and environmental sustainability (low emissions).

ALPS-treated water

Water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium.

FŦhyō Higai

A term referring to the economic and social damage caused by rumors, such as concerns about radiation radiation contamination.

Hibakusha identity

The revival of a nuclear victim identity among those affected by the Fukushima disaster.

Boomerang Event

An event where promoting a specific cause, like nuclear energy, leads to severe negative consequences such as political backlash and high costs.

Resilience Engineering

A design philosophy where systems are built with the ability to recover quickly after a failure occurs.

Safe-by-Design

A shift toward passive safety systems that rely on natural forces like gravity rather than active systems requiring power.

Safety (Three S's)

The component of nuclear governance focused on preventing accidents.

Security (Three S's)

The component of nuclear governance focused on preventing malicious acts.

Safeguards (Three S's)

The component of nuclear governance focused on preventing nuclear proliferation.

Network Governance

A governance model involving multiple actors including governments, international organizations, and private companies.

Nodes

The individual actors within a network, such as nations, communities, or states.

Ties/Edges

The channels used for exchanging material and non-material resources between actors in a network.

Centrality

A measure of the density or strategic importance of a specific actor (node) within a network.