nuclear-news

Nuclear radiation treated lightly in new Japanese schoolbooks

 “They highlighted coexistence with radiation. They treated radiation risks lightly.” On the subcontractor, he said, “I don’t think it reasonable for an organization that promotes nuclear power generation to be entrusted with the project. Soul-searching on the nuclear accident is lacking.”

TEPCO boss part of utility group in shady deal on publication of radiation books  Mainichi Daily News, 8 Dec 11The education ministry commissioned a group managed by top executives of utility firms to produce supplementary books on radiation for elementary, junior and senior high school students even after the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, it has been learned.

The Japan Atomic Energy Relations Organization (JAERO) won a contract from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to produce supplementary books on radiation for school children before the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear complex on March 11. But the ministry did not change its decision to ask JAERO to produce the educational materials even after the nuclear disaster.

Toshio Nishizawa, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), and other top executives of utility firms are JAERO’s board members. Critics say the selection of the group as a subcontractor for the contract is not appropriate in light of the situation gripped by the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima…….

The books are focused on the basics and convenience of radiation, with only a brief mention of the nuclear accident in the preface. Hisashi Nakamura, the production committee chairman and professor emeritus at Tohoku University, said, “We produced them from the standpoint of knowing about radiation correctly. The committee checked the content independently from the executive office (JAERO).”

December 9, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, spinbuster