nuclear-news

Deception and mistrust crippled Japan’s response to Fukushima disaster

many of the residents around the plant who evacuated went north, on the assumption that winds blew south during winter in that area. That took them directly into the radioactive plume, he said — exposing them to the very radiation that they were fleeing….

In Nuclear Crisis, Crippling Mistrust NYT, By NORIMITSU ONISHI and MARTIN FACKLER, June 12, 2011 “…..it became clear that a prime minister who had built his career on suspicion of the collusive ties between Japan’s industry and bureaucracy was acting nearly in the dark. He had received a confusing risk analysis from the chief nuclear regulator, a fervently pro-nuclear academic whom aides said Mr. Kan did not trust. He was also wary of the company that operated the plant, given its history of trying to cover up troubles…

.. The convoluted drama has exposed the underlying rifts behind Japan’s handling of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, which eventually resulted in explosions at four of the plant’s six reactors. Mutually suspicious relations between the prime minister’s aides, government bureaucrats and company officials obstructed smooth decision-making.

At the drama’s heart was an outsider prime minister who saw the need for quick action but whose well-founded mistrust of a system of alliances between powerful plant operators, compliant bureaucrats and sympathetic politicians deprived him of resources he could have used to make better-informed decisions…

… Hiroshi Kawauchi, [a lawmaker in Mr. Kan’s own party] said that many of the residents around the plant who evacuated went north, on the assumption that winds blew south during winter in that area. That took them directly into the radioactive plume, he said — exposing them to the very radiation that they were fleeing….

. Distrust and Distraction Mr. Kan’s critics and supporters alike say his suspicions of Tepco were well-founded. In the early days after the March 11 disaster, Tepco shared only limited information with the prime minister’s office, trying instead to play down the risks at the plant, they said…

…the Kan government essentially left the handling of the nuclear crisis in the crucial first three days to Tepco,…..the company still did not disclose crucial information until mid-May, including final confirmation that three of the plant’s four active reactors had melted down. …….
In Fukushima Nuclear Plant Crisis, Crippling Mistrust – NYTimes.com

June 14, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties