TEPCO executives bow at Monday press conference (Reuters)
The disturbingly inept managers of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. are now effectively conceding they have made hash of nearly every aspect of their measurements and interpretation of higher levels of radioactivity around the damaged nuclear reactors at Fukushima, Japan. Their apologetically deep bows aren't having much impact any more. Instead, the company has been ordered by Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to review all data. That and a
deluge of other deplorable revelations about TEPCO's operation of the six reactors at the Fukushima facility, including an outdated and poorly thought-out disaster plan, spurred Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to
make the sharpest comment yet Thursday about the company's possible future.
Mr. Kan said Japan must review its long-term energy policy, one that relies heavily on nuclear power as a way to meet the nation's commitment to slash oil consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions. In an ambitious policy blueprint unveiled just last year, Japan had said it planned to build 14 new nuclear reactors by 2030, adding to the existing 54.
"Human wisdom has made it possible to generate energy from nuclear power. But we have also allowed a huge accident like this to happen," Mr. Kan said.
The prime minister raised the possibility that the government would take a greater role in nuclear-power operation. His comments, delivered in Tokyo at a press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, appeared to take direct aim at Tepco, the subject of recent speculation that it could be nationalized. "Once this crisis is brought under control, we need to have discussions on how our power companies should look, including whether they should continue to exist," he said.
Imagine a U.S. president saying such a thing after a U.S. disaster of this sort.
The wrecking of four of the Fukushima reactors by the March 11 tsunami has given new life to critics of the so-called "nuclear renaissance" that has generated a surge of orders for new electricity-generating reactors. How long-lasting this backlash may be is anyone's guess. It could depend on whether the situation worsens at one or more of the damaged power plants. Or on how many of the "atomic samurai" workers now exposing themselves to high levels of radiation soon die, as they seem to believe will be the case. On the other hand, Areva, the French government-controlled nuclear-engineering firm, does not believe the Fukushima disaster will have much effect on building new nuclear power plants, according to an internal document Dow Jones gained access to on Tuesday.
Whatever the long-term outcome, the spread of the impact of the partial meltdown is worsening. The government has told farmers in areas near Fukushima to stand down. No harvesting, no planting, no tilling of the soil. That presents a problem not just for the farmers but also for the general population since Fukushima Prefecture and its two neighbors produce 15 percent of Japan's rice.
Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that exposure to radiation isn't the only problem for the atomic samurai:
Sumio Imoto, a spokesman for one of Tepco's main subcontractors, said its labourers were being looked after and were not taking unnecessary risks. "The safety of our employees is our primary concern," he said, "but keeping up morale is a big challenge." ...
According to the few reliable descriptions of conditions at the plant, the workers are given just two meals a day – crackers and a small carton of vegetable juice for breakfast; dried rice and canned fish or chicken for dinner – and take naps in cramped corridors on lead-lined sheets to limit their exposure to radiation.
"That's where they sleep, with only one blanket each to wrap themselves around," said Kazuma Yokota, a Nisa official who spent five days at the plant. ...
Conditions have marginally improved amid widespread admiration for the workers, initially nicknamed the Fukushima 50 because they worked in groups of that number. Their daily bottled water allowance has increased and the government has vowed to improve food supplies. The workers' nightly meeting ends with shouts of "ganbaro!" ("let's keep going").
Day 21 and counting.