Nuclear accidents and decommissioning in the world. Toward new dialogue with citizens

This paper gives an overview of the serious nuclear reactor accidents that have occurred in the world to date, and then explains the three-mile island (TMI) nuclear power plant Unit 2 accident and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Unit 4 accident among commercial nuclear reactor accidents. For each accident, it describes an overview of the accident, stakeholders' involvement, and the current state. It also describes, for TMI Unit 2, the decommissioning and disposal of treated water (tritium water) after the accident, and for Chernobyl Unit 4, the shelter and new safe confinement facility. One common characteristic of the TMI and Chernobyl accidents is that the government had set up a public specialized agency to interact with the citizens. In the case of the U.S., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) set up an 'advisory panel for decontamination of TMI-2', and the members were also appointed from local residents. In the case of Ukraine, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) set up a 'Public Council' to discuss the decommissioning of Chernobyl from the perspective of citizens, and its activities are still ongoing. It is probable that both countries have placed particular emphasis on dialogue with citizens in the measures for the decontamination of the accident reactors. It is considered to be significant to grasp the decommissioning measures and the method of dialogue with citizens after nuclear accidents that occurred in foreign countries. (A.O.)