Japan nuclear crisis report takes Fukushima plant operator to task
Source: Agencies |
July 24, 2012, Tuesday
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EXPERTS investigating Japan's nuclear disaster said yesterday that the operator of the crippled plant continues to drag its feet in investigations and has tried to understate the true amount of damage at the complex.
The report, by a government-appointed panel, is the latest of several to fault Tokyo Electric Power Co and the government for doing too little to protect the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant from the earthquake and tsunami that set off three meltdowns in the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
The panel, of 10 independent experts in fields, including radiation protection, medicine and law, also said the utility has yet to address problems within its own culture that contributed to its failings in the crisis - including employees "not fully trained to think for themselves."
"We still don't perceive much enthusiasm in the accident investigation from" the company, the report said. "TEPCO must take our findings sincerely and resolve the problems to achieve a higher level of safety culture across the company."
The panel said TEPCO covered up unfavorable data in a computer analysis attempting to measure the extent of damage inside the reactors earlier this year. It said that in a hearing, TEPCO officials acknowledged the simulation was inadequate, but they have yet to make another attempt.
In interviews with the panel, staff of TEPCO's nuclear department demonstrated expertise in emergency equipment, but many failed to speak up when it was most needed during the crisis, the report said.
For instance, some employees were aware that water gauges attached to containment vessels were likely broken and their measurements unreliable. But none of them raised questions, and the company kept releasing what turned out to be wrong data for months.
Yesterday's report, like others before it, said the operator and regulators failed to upgrade plant safety. The three reactors melted down after the March 11, 2011, tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system. The nuclear disaster displaced tens of thousands of people and will take decades to clean up.
The 450-page report also says the government and its main nuclear regulator, the Nuclear Industrial and Safety Agency, promoted nuclear power as an entirely safe form of energy without being open about its inherent risks.
The report, by a government-appointed panel, is the latest of several to fault Tokyo Electric Power Co and the government for doing too little to protect the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant from the earthquake and tsunami that set off three meltdowns in the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
The panel, of 10 independent experts in fields, including radiation protection, medicine and law, also said the utility has yet to address problems within its own culture that contributed to its failings in the crisis - including employees "not fully trained to think for themselves."
"We still don't perceive much enthusiasm in the accident investigation from" the company, the report said. "TEPCO must take our findings sincerely and resolve the problems to achieve a higher level of safety culture across the company."
The panel said TEPCO covered up unfavorable data in a computer analysis attempting to measure the extent of damage inside the reactors earlier this year. It said that in a hearing, TEPCO officials acknowledged the simulation was inadequate, but they have yet to make another attempt.
In interviews with the panel, staff of TEPCO's nuclear department demonstrated expertise in emergency equipment, but many failed to speak up when it was most needed during the crisis, the report said.
For instance, some employees were aware that water gauges attached to containment vessels were likely broken and their measurements unreliable. But none of them raised questions, and the company kept releasing what turned out to be wrong data for months.
Yesterday's report, like others before it, said the operator and regulators failed to upgrade plant safety. The three reactors melted down after the March 11, 2011, tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system. The nuclear disaster displaced tens of thousands of people and will take decades to clean up.
The 450-page report also says the government and its main nuclear regulator, the Nuclear Industrial and Safety Agency, promoted nuclear power as an entirely safe form of energy without being open about its inherent risks.
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