The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should order plant operators to re-evaluate their ability to withstand earthquakes and floods "without delay," the commission's staff said Friday.

NRC staff identified a handful of proposals that have the greatest potential for improving safety at America's 104 operating nuclear plants in the near term, according to a Sept. 9 staff memorandum made public today.

At issue are a dozen safety recommendations that an internal task force proposed this summer after reviewing the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The disaster critically damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on the country's northeastern coast, triggering explosions, radioactive leaks and evacuations.

The five-member NRC commission ordered its staff in August to prioritize and collect stakeholder comments on the proposals, although NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko wanted to fast-track the process and make any changes within five years (Greenwire, Aug. 22).

NRC staff is expected to prioritize the remaining recommendations by Oct. 3, according to Scott Burnell, a spokesman for the agency. The NRC has given staff 18 months to consider the task force's most far-reaching recommendation, which calls for an overhaul of the agency's regulatory structure.

In the short term, NRC staff said the agency should order plant operators to immediately update seismic and flooding information.

"The state of knowledge of seismic hazards within the United States has evolved to the point that it would be appropriate for licensees to reevaluate the designs of existing nuclear power reactors to ensure" the plants can withstand seismic events without losing safety functions, NRC staff said.

Data the agency is collecting about increased seismic risk in the eastern United States should be incorporated into the review, staff said.

The NRC should also issue an order requiring all boiling water reactors with Mark I and Mark II containments to have reliable, hardened vents to make sure they can operate if the plants lose power for prolonged period of time, staff said.

The agency should also order plants to better protect safety equipment put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to ensure it can handle multi-unit events, Burnell said.

The NRC will meet Wednesday to discuss the staff recommendations and must hold a vote and reach consensus before moving forward, Burnell said.