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More Disaster And Dishonesty

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Unfortunately, the cynicism expressed in my last posting was well-founded.  The Japanese government has been misleading everyone about the extent of the nuclear hazards at the aptly-named Fukushima power plant.  The only remaining question is whether the Japanese government was knowingly misleading everyone or whether it was just passing along the deception generated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).  If the latter is the case, the Japanese are living under a similar system of “regulatory capture” to what we have in the United States.  The frustration I expressed about the difficulty involved in attempting to obtain credible information about the Japanese nuclear crisis was experienced and discussed by a number of other commentators.  Clive Crook put it this way:

From the start of this calamity I have wanted to know, “What is the worst that can happen at these nuclear sites?  Suppose everything that could go wrong does go wrong:  what then?”  I still don’t know the answer.  In what I have read so far — dozens of articles –nobody who knows what he is talking about has spelt this out carefully.

We are now learning that in 2008, the Japanese government had been warned by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the nuclear reactors on the island nation could not withstand an earthquake.  Through cables obtained by WikiLeaks, The Telegraph was able to provide this report:

The document states:  “He [the IAEA official] explained that safety guides for seismic safety have only been revised three times in the last 35 years and that the IAEA is now re-examining them.

“Also, the presenter noted recent earthquakes in some cases have exceeded the design basis for some nuclear plants, and that this is a serious problem that is now driving seismic safety work.”

The cables also disclose how the Japanese government opposed a court order to shut down another nuclear power plant in western Japan because of concerns it could not withstand powerful earthquakes.

*   *   *

Another cable reported to Washington local concerns that a new generation of Japanese power stations that recycle nuclear fuel were jeopardising safety.

The cable, quoting a local newspaper, reports:  “There is something precarious about the way all electric power companies are falling in step with each other under the banner of the national policy.  We have seen too many cases of cost reduction competition through heightened efficiency jeopardizing safety.”

The cables also disclose how Taro Kono, a high-profile member of Japan’s lower house, told US diplomats in October 2008 that the government was “covering up” nuclear accidents.

The outrage expressed by Japanese citizens over their government’s handling of the entire situation – both pre-crisis and post-tsunami, is rapidly receiving more coverage.  American journalists who are covering the situation are expressing concern over their own safety.  NBC’s Lester Holt and his crew had been exposed to what was described as  “minute levels” of radiation, which was found on their shoes.

At a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on March 16, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Greg Jaczko testified that despite the fact that the Japanese government had established an evacuation zone with a radius of only 12 miles from the Fukushima plant, the NRC had recommended a 50-mile evacuation zone for U.S. forces and American citizens.

ABC News quoted the reaction of an expert from Europe, who provided a harshly different message than the vague statements issued by the Japanese government:

“There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen,” European Union’s energy commissioner Günther Oettinger said today, according to various reports.  “Practically everything is out of control.  I cannot exclude the worst in the hours and days to come.”

The coming days will reveal the extent of the misrepresentations by TEPCO and the Japanese government concerning the threat posed by the hazardous situation at the Fukushima power plant.  As I said last time:  It’s not looking good.


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