nuclear-news

Abe better focus on Fukushima radiation crisis, not on nuclear power restart

The first thing Abe must do is shift the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s focus away from evaluating the safety of atomic plants for restart, back to the fast-growing crisis of toxic sludge flowing into the sea around Fukushima. Really folks, first things first. Let’s first make sure children living within a 100 mile radius won’t develop cancer 10 years from now.

Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare  Bloomberg By William Pesek Aug 7, 2013 “………It also would have been great if Abe himself had cared more about nuclear safety than dollars when he assumed the premiership in December. His focus was on restarting the 52 reactors taken offline out of an abundance of caution after the earthquake. Never mind that most Japanese want them to remain mothballed. Japan’s potent “nuclear village,” the nexus of power companies and pro-nuclear regulators, bureaucrats and researchers, packs way too much political firepower.

This nuclear-industrial complex is one of the nation’s biggest advertisers, which keeps the Japanese media in line. That’s partly why international campaigners like Greenpeace received so few column inches as they presented report after report showing radiation levels far above what Tepco would admit. (Tepco was eventually forced to come clean.)

So, is Abe’s sudden interest in Fukushima’s radiation mess for real? Well, it has to be at this point. Aside from the risk to his approval ratings, Tokyo is actively vying for the 2020 Summer Olympics. International Olympic Committee officials might find the threat of protests in Istanbul preferable to jokes about Tokyo hosting the Chernobyl Games.

The first thing Abe must do is shift the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s focus away from evaluating the safety of atomic plants for restart, back to the fast-growing crisis of toxic sludge flowing into the sea around Fukushima. Really folks, first things first. Let’s first make sure children living within a 100 mile radius won’t develop cancer 10 years from now.

Abe also should nationalize the Fukushima site. Yes it will be messy, sure it will cause a tempest in financial circles when investors and creditors fight over money and indeed it will put Japan’s government into uncharted territory. But Tepco isn’t up to the task of managing life-and-death matters in what’s arguably the world’s most seismically-active nation. Each time I read quotes by one of their executives explaining how the company learned from its mistakes and is being reborn, I check and make sure I’m not reading TheOnion.com…….

So better late than never, Mr. Prime Minister. We Tokyoites are glad you are finally on the case. But please excuse us for having our doubts that a year from today, things in Fukushima will be any safer. Welcome to our nightmare.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-07/japan-s-nuclear-nightmare.html

August 8, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2013