The Electric Power Research Institute, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the Nuclear Energy Institute announced a joint organization to coordinate the U.S. nuclear industry’s study and response to the March 11 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan.

In a June 9 press conference, the three agencies said the coordination of the groups would ensure that all groups understand and implement “lessons” learned from the event. In addition to improving response capabilities and communication plans, the group will focus on technical areas including studying total loss of on-site and off-site AC power; the accident guidelines already in place; and used fuel pool cooling and examination of existing containment structures. The group’s activities will be implemented through seven temporary organizations created to develop and execute action plans in specified areas of focus.

“A comprehensive investigation of the events at Fukushima Daiichi will take considerable time. Yet there is also a need to act in a deliberate, decisive manner. The industry’s response is structured to ensure that emergency response strategies are updated based on new information and insights learned during subsequent event review,” according to a joint report released by the agencies. The fledgling organization gave no time line for finishing its work.