Japan premier pledges to win battle at stricken nuclear plant
Source: Agencies |
April 2, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JAPAN'S Prime Minister Naoto Kan sounded a resolute note yesterday, promising to win the battle against an overheating nuclear plant even as safety officials raised questions about the accuracy of measurements at the complex.
Three weeks after the tsunami disabled the plant's cooling systems, Kan vowed that Japan would create the safest system anywhere.
Japan will "do whatever it takes to win the battle" at Fukushima Dai-ichi, Kan said in a televised news conference. When the crisis ends, he said, "we will establish a system that could respond to any situation based on an assumption that anything could happen."
After the March 11 earthquake and tsunami set off a series of events that disabled the plant, the accident has been exacerbated by several missteps along the way.
Apparently spotting another mistake yesterday, the nuclear safety agency ordered Tokyo Electric Power Co to review its radiation figures, saying they seemed suspiciously high.
The company has repeatedly been forced to retract such figures, eroding confidence in its ability to respond effectively to the crisis.
Among the measurements called into question was one from Thursday that the company said showed groundwater under one of the reactors contained iodine concentrations 10,000 times the government's standard for the plant, the safety agency's spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said. Seawater and air concentrations during the week also are under review.
"We have suspected their isotope analysis, and we will wait for the new results," Nishiyama said.
The power company has conceded that there appears to be an error in the computer program used to analyze the data, but spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said the glitch only affected readings for two radioactive isotopes, neither of which was iodine or other readings that have raised recent radiation concerns.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has held out the possibility that a complete review of all radiation data collected since the tsunami might eventually be ordered.
In any case, it appears radiation is still streaming out of the plant, underscoring the company's inability to get it under control. It has increasingly asked for international help in its uphill battle, most recently ordering giant pumps from the United States that were to arrive later this month to spray water on the reactors.
Though experts have said radiation seeping into the ground under the plant is unlikely to reach drinking supplies, there are two ways that could happen.
One is if it were to seep into wells in the area. For now, a 20-kilometer radius around the plant has been cleared.
The other is that contaminated water from the plant could eventually make its way into rivers used for drinking water. Tomohiro Mogamiya, an official with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's water supply division, said that was "extremely unlikely" since groundwater would flow toward the ocean.
The two closest filtration plants for drinking water have both been shut down because they are just inside the exclusion zone.
"When people return to the area we will test the water to make sure it is safe," said Masato Ishikawa, an official with Fukushima prefecture's food and sanitation division.
Radiation concerns have rattled the Japanese public, already struggling to return to normal life. Three weeks after the earthquake, 260,000 households still do not have running water and 170,000 do not have electricity.
So far 11,500 people have been confirmed dead. Of those, more than 9,000 have been identified. Another 16,400 are missing, and many may never be found.
In the latest report of food becoming tainted, the government said a cow slaughtered for beef had slightly elevated levels of caesium, another radioactive particle.
Officials said the meat was never put on the market.
Three weeks after the tsunami disabled the plant's cooling systems, Kan vowed that Japan would create the safest system anywhere.
Japan will "do whatever it takes to win the battle" at Fukushima Dai-ichi, Kan said in a televised news conference. When the crisis ends, he said, "we will establish a system that could respond to any situation based on an assumption that anything could happen."
After the March 11 earthquake and tsunami set off a series of events that disabled the plant, the accident has been exacerbated by several missteps along the way.
Apparently spotting another mistake yesterday, the nuclear safety agency ordered Tokyo Electric Power Co to review its radiation figures, saying they seemed suspiciously high.
The company has repeatedly been forced to retract such figures, eroding confidence in its ability to respond effectively to the crisis.
Among the measurements called into question was one from Thursday that the company said showed groundwater under one of the reactors contained iodine concentrations 10,000 times the government's standard for the plant, the safety agency's spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said. Seawater and air concentrations during the week also are under review.
"We have suspected their isotope analysis, and we will wait for the new results," Nishiyama said.
The power company has conceded that there appears to be an error in the computer program used to analyze the data, but spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said the glitch only affected readings for two radioactive isotopes, neither of which was iodine or other readings that have raised recent radiation concerns.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has held out the possibility that a complete review of all radiation data collected since the tsunami might eventually be ordered.
In any case, it appears radiation is still streaming out of the plant, underscoring the company's inability to get it under control. It has increasingly asked for international help in its uphill battle, most recently ordering giant pumps from the United States that were to arrive later this month to spray water on the reactors.
Though experts have said radiation seeping into the ground under the plant is unlikely to reach drinking supplies, there are two ways that could happen.
One is if it were to seep into wells in the area. For now, a 20-kilometer radius around the plant has been cleared.
The other is that contaminated water from the plant could eventually make its way into rivers used for drinking water. Tomohiro Mogamiya, an official with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's water supply division, said that was "extremely unlikely" since groundwater would flow toward the ocean.
The two closest filtration plants for drinking water have both been shut down because they are just inside the exclusion zone.
"When people return to the area we will test the water to make sure it is safe," said Masato Ishikawa, an official with Fukushima prefecture's food and sanitation division.
Radiation concerns have rattled the Japanese public, already struggling to return to normal life. Three weeks after the earthquake, 260,000 households still do not have running water and 170,000 do not have electricity.
So far 11,500 people have been confirmed dead. Of those, more than 9,000 have been identified. Another 16,400 are missing, and many may never be found.
In the latest report of food becoming tainted, the government said a cow slaughtered for beef had slightly elevated levels of caesium, another radioactive particle.
Officials said the meat was never put on the market.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
