( CNN ) -- International regulators need to rethink their procedures for handling nuclear accidents in the wake of the crisis in Japan , the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said Monday . The current framework for responding to emergencies dates back to the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and `` reflects the realities of the 1980s , not of the 21st century , '' International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said . `` The speed at which information now travels and the huge volume of information in public circulation are among the most significant changes since then , '' Amano said . `` Live television and the internet provide constant updates on a crisis situation -- not always accurately -- to a global audience . The responsibility of the IAEA is to provide authoritative and validated information as quickly as possible , but doing this under the current arrangements inevitably takes time and has limitations . '' Amano said the first priority remains cooling down the damaged reactors at the earthquake- and tsunami-battered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant . But he said authorities should move to revise their playbooks for similar crises `` in a reasonable amount of time , '' and an April conference on nuclear safety would be a good opportunity to start . Amano , the IAEA director-general , briefed the agency 's governing board in Vienna after a trip back to his native Japan . During that visit , he pressed Prime Minister Naoto Kan to provide more information on conditions at Fukushima Daiichi , where three of the six reactors may have suffered core damage since the March 11 earthquake that struck northern Japan . Japan 's government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company , which owns the damaged plant , have been criticized for failing to share information about conditions there fully and promptly . In Washington , the head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said information coming out of Japan `` is sometimes conflicting , and certainly is n't at the level that any engineer would like to have to do a thorough analysis . '' `` I do n't believe we have anywhere near a clear understanding of what the plant conditions are like within the reactor building -- what kinds of electrical cabling has been damaged , what kinds of pumps and valves remain operable is a significant unknown right now , `` NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko , whose agency has sent specialists to Japan to assist with the effort , said Monday . Amano told reporters Monday that information coming from Tokyo now is `` more extensive , '' and that damaged instruments at the plant may have prevented Tokyo Electric or Japanese regulators from having all the facts . However , when asked whether the response to the accident was quick enough , he said it was `` difficult to say . '' `` We had the information . But I personally think understanding the context was not that easy , and that was one of the reasons I went there , '' Amano said .
Current procedures were developed after Tokyo , the the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 's chief says . Those plans reflect `` the realities of the 21st century , not the 1980s , '' he says . He urges the release of more information about the Japanese situation .