The New Reality of Event

Communications

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident

Ralph DeSantis

Manager, Communications

Exelon Nuclear

Three Mile Island Generating Station

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Before the Accident

Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Units 5, 6

At the time of the earthquake Reactors 1, 2 and 3 operating

Reactors 4, 5 and 6 shutdown for

maintenance, inspection, refueling

The World As It Was: March 10, 2011

Our Assumptions … True?

Processes are sound, scenarios complete

Timely faxes, press releases matter

Spokespeople are prepared

Not our concern: Non-U.S. events, non-

reportable events of public interest

Joint information centers: well-situated, well-

prepared

Information will follow predictable paths

Where Were You on March 11?

Initial inquiries, first

response

Tsunami preparation

Readying a fleet

Perceptions?

Why us? Who speaks?

Value of Pre-planning

Immediate Challenges

Rapid escalation of events beyond imaginable

scenarios

Limited information from Japan

Shoring up supplemental resources

Notifying industry

Rapidly mobilizing activists

Radiation stigma

NEI’s Response Mission

Uphold the U.S. nuclear industry’s reputation

Coordinate with NRC, DOE, INPO, EPRI

Serve as an information source for NEI stakeholders

Outreach to media,

Congress, the financial

community

Provide timely and accurate

event data, communication

tools, consistent messages

Communications Tenets

Candid, clear, transparent

communications to key audiences

Establish credibility

Express empathy

Leverage digital

media to fullest extent

The Crisis Escalates: Servicing the Beast

Accommodating media –

identifying spokespeople,

refining approach

How to use JIC?

Battling the flood of inquiries

Addressing the issues – design

basis, radionuclides, KI, 50-mile

EPZ

How to reach stakeholders?

Special Web Page Created

Press Releases Issued

Faxes Sent

Website Hits

Playing Today’s Game: Website Hits

Million

Total Website Hits Per Day

Th

3/10

Fr

3/11

Sa

3/12

Su

3/13

Mo

3/14

Tu

3/15

We

3/16

Th

3/17

Fr

3/18

Sa

3/19

Su

3/20

Mo

3/21

Tu

3/22

We

3/23

Th

3/24

Fr

3/25

Sa

3/26

Su

3/27

Mo

3/28

88 103 218 177

630 534 1 057 160

2 834 031

6 390 373

8 637 951

7 099 660

4 528 927

2 222 783

2 264 739

2 501 594 2 076 589

1 782 590

1 745 121

1 880 664

1 010 469

1 151 698

1 824 128

Playing Today’s Game: Social Media

Experts on YouTube

Twitter

NEI Blog

#fukushima

#japan

#nuclear

YouTube Tutorials, Issue-Based Videos

Blog Traffic Escalates

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 March

YouTube Views

Followers on Twitter in March

The World As It Will Be

Our Assumptions … True?

Processes are sound, scenarios complete

Timely faxes, press releases matter

Spokespeople are prepared

Not our concern: Non-U.S. events, non-

reportable events of public interest

Joint information centers: well-situated, well-

prepared

Information will follow predictable paths

The World As It Will Be: What Next?

Our Assumptions … True?

Processes are sound, scenarios complete

Timely faxes, press releases matter

Spokespeople are prepared

Not our concern: Non-U.S. events, non-

reportable events of public interest

Joint information centers: well-situated, well-

prepared

Information will follow predictable paths

The World As It Will Be: What Next?

What Changes … Web/social media

preparedness … the JICs of tomorrow

A Comprehensive Plan for Industry

U.S. Nuclear Plants Are Safe

“Our nuclear power plants have

undergone exhaustive study, and have

been declared safe for any number of

extreme contingencies. ” President Barack Obama March 17, 2011

“All the plants in the United States are designed to deal with a wide range of natural disasters, whether it’s earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, other seismic events. We require all of them to deal with those.”

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko March 17, 2011