Persistence of radioactive caesium in ocean floor near Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Accident: Cesium contamination persists in ocean floor near Fukushima Daiichi site http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X1530031X Journal of Environmental Radioactivity Volume 148, October 2015, Pages 92–110
Highlights
- • The majority of radiocesium is transported in the particulate fraction.
- • The contribution of the dissolved fraction is only relevant in base flows.
- • Significant transfer of particulate-bound radiocesium occurs during heavy rainfall.
- • Radiocesium deposited in floodplains may be remobilized, inducing contamination.
- • Transdisciplinary approach is required to quantify radiocesium transfers.
- Abstract The devastating tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 inundated the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) resulting in a loss of cooling and a series of explosions releasing the largest quantity of radioactive material into the atmosphere since the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Although 80% of the radionuclides from this accidental release were transported over the Pacific Ocean, 20% were deposited over Japanese coastal catchments that are subject to frequent typhoons. Among the radioisotopes released during the FDNPP accident, radiocesium (134Cs and137Cs) is considered the most serious current and future health risk for the local population.
- The goal of this review is to synthesize research relevant to the transfer of FDNPP derived radiocesium from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean. After radiocesium fallout deposition on vegetation and soils, the contamination may remain stored in forest canopies, in vegetative litter on the ground, or in the soil. Once radiocesium contacts soil, it is quickly and almost irreversibly bound to fine soil particles. The kinetic energy of raindrops instigates the displacement of soil particles, and their bound radiocesium, which may be mobilized and transported with overland flow. Soil erosion is one of the main processes transferring particle-bound radiocesium from hillslopes through rivers and streams, and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean. Accordingly this review will summarize results regarding the fundamental processes and dynamics that govern radiocesium transfer from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean published in the literature within the first four years after the FDNPP accident.The majority of radiocesium is reported to be transported in the particulate fraction, attached to fine particles. The contribution of the dissolved fraction to radiocesium migration is only relevant in base flows and is hypothesized to decline over time. Owing to the hydro-meteorological context of the Fukushima region, the most significant transfer of particulate-bound radiocesium occurs during major rainfall and runoff events (e.g. typhoons and spring snowmelt). There may be radiocesium storage within catchments in forests, floodplains and even within hillslopes that may be remobilized and contaminate downstream areas, even areas that did not receive fallout or may have been decontaminated.
- Overall this review demonstrates that characterizing the different mechanisms and factors driving radiocesium transfer is important. In particular, the review determined that quantifying the remaining catchment radiocesium inventory allows for a relative comparison of radiocesium transfer research from hillslope to catchment scales. Further, owing to the variety of mechanisms and factors, a transdisciplinary approach is required involving geomorphologists, hydrologists, soil and forestry scientists, and mathematical modellers to comprehensively quantify radiocesium transfers and dynamics. Characterizing radiocesium transfers from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean is necessary for ongoing decontamination and management interventions with the objective of reducing the gamma radiation exposure to the local population.
Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty backs Iran nuclear agreement
Esty supports Iran nuclear agreementhttp://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Local-congresswoman-announces-support-of-Iran-6464745.php, August 25, 2015 Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, D-5, announced Tuesday her support of the Iran nuclear agreement.
Esty said she thoroughly reviewed the deal negotiated between the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany that aims to curb Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon in exchange for sanctions relief before making her decision.
“I have attended classified briefings, examined classified materials, and sought answers,” Esty said. “I have met to discuss the agreement with my constituents, Jewish leaders throughout Connecticut, national security and nuclear energy experts, and Israeli leaders during my recent trip to Israel…After careful consideration, I believe implementing this agreement — which is far from perfect — gives us the best chance to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”
Esty said the deal limits Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon, and also contains provisions that allow sanctions to return if the agreement is violated.
“This agreement is not ideal, but is the best available option,” Esty said. “I have listened to critics and constituents raise legitimate concerns — concerns that I believe will help guide the United States in our duty to enforce Iran’s compliance with the agreement and ensure that they meet not just the letter of the agreement but also its spirit.”
Tepco bid to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant stymied by governor
Japan Times, 25 Aug 15
BLOOMBERG Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s road back to becoming a nuclear power utility remains uncertain amid staunch local opposition to restarting the facility at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Niigata Prefecture. …. (subscribers only) http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/24/national/tepco-bid-restart-kashiwazaki-kariwa-nuclear-plant-stymied-governor/#.VdzatiWqpHw
Another mysterious death, of sailor exposed to Fukushima radiation
Third US Navy sailor dies after being exposed to Fukushima radiation
Monday, August 24, 2015 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer (NaturalNews) At least three of the U.S. Navy sailors exposed to radiation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan have now died from mysterious illnesses, according to Charles Bonner, an attorney representing approximately 250 of the sailors in a class action lawsuit against companies involved in running the Fukushima plant.
Bonner said in a July 21 update on the case that more than 250 sailors have come down with illnesses and three have died. “We had one of the sailors who came home and impregnated his wife. They gave birth to a little baby born with brain cancer and cancer down the spine, lived for two years, and just died in March of this year.”…….http://www.naturalnews.com/050902_Fukushima_US_Navy_sailors_radiation.html
In lead-up to its license review, Indian Point nuclear company targets its propaganda to women
Reisman: Indian Point’s information war to counter nuke plant mishaps http://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/columnists/phil-reisman/2015/08/21/nukeplant–mailers-license-renewal/32130213/ Phil Reisman, preisman@lohud.com10:48 a.m. EDT August 22, 2015
Columnist Phil Reisman looks into the information campaign by Entergy Corp. to counter bad Indian Point publicity. The corporate owners of the Indian Point nuclear power plant are trying to win the hearts and minds of the citizenry.
Not long ago, two slickly produced fliers from Entergy Corp. came to my house — and I assume also to thousands upon thousands of other homeowners who live within a 50-mile radius of the controversial plant.
The cover of one flier shows a smiling woman lifting her head to a blue sky, taking in the air. Her eyes are closed. She appears to be blissfully lost in an intoxicated swoon.
“Breathe Easy,” it says. “Clean Energy Means A Cleaner Environment.”
Inside the flier, the environmental theme is carried further. Nuclear power reduces greenhouse gases, it says, citing research that 1.8 million lives have been saved because nuclear power doesn’t pollute the air like fossil fuels do.
The other flier features a woman in a business suit holding a red pen. “New Yorkers need affordable energy sources to create jobs,” reads the copy. Claims are made as to the economic benefits of Indian Point — among them an annual infusion of $1.6 billion to the regional economy, 1,000 local jobs and $75 million in property taxes.
Both pieces of mail seemed to be aimed at women, and perhaps chiefly suburban soccer moms who may not be totally convinced that Indian Point is “safe, secure, vital.” Some polls show a gender gap on the issue of nuclear energy.
That the fliers were also addressed to my wife adds credence to the supposition.
Targeting a specific demographic audience is hardly unusual. Earlier this summer, it was reported by Time Warner Cable’s News NY 1 that Entergy had mailed fliers to a section of Brooklyn with a large African-American population.
The content of that mailing included a statistic that 4.5 million African-Americans suffer from asthma and that 71 percent of blacks live in places with high air pollution — the idea, of course, being that, without Indian Point, the air would be dirtier and more people would suffer from respiratory illness.
This has been an especially bad year for the creaky nuke complex, which had several unplanned shutdowns, raising serious concerns about the plant’s age, safety and maintenance standards. It experienced its third transformer explosion and fire in eight years in May, a mishap that caused thousands of gallons of oil to spill into the Hudson River
Against that backdrop the public relations campaign seems obvious. But none of the technical woes at Indian Point are mentioned in the slick Entergy fliers.
Nor is it stated anywhere that the federal license for the perpetually troubled Unit 3 reactor expires in December. In its report, NY 1 interviewed Assemblyman Nick Perry of Brooklyn, who observed, “Every once in a while, the nuclear folks in Westchester get concerned about their license, and they try to pump up some support for their operation there.”
Well, Perry hit the nail on the head.
After the transformer fire, there were renewed calls for the permanent shutdown of Indian Point.
In his blog, Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay pounded the energy facility when he wrote: “We must face facts regarding the Indian Point nuclear plant. Its infrastructure is aging, its safety is dubious, and most everyone knows it.”
Gallay cited the usual concerns about radioactive waste and Indian Point’s proximity to an earthquake fault. But he seemed to be directly answering one of the Entergy fliers, which pulled a quote from Mike Bloomberg, who said that, when he was New York City mayor in 2011, “There is no alternative to the energy that we get from Indian Point.”
In contradiction, Gallay said new technologies are being developed that will allow the nuclear plant to be replaced “at little cost to taxpayers.”
License review and renewal is within the purview of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But that doesn’t leave state and local politics completely out of the equation. Entergy officials know that public opinion matters, which is why they spent what must have been a small fortune on the fliers, which resemble campaign material for political candidates.
They are telling everyone to “breathe easy,” while holding their breath all the way to December.
Sandia Corporation has to pay back tax-payer money used for nuclear lobbying
Lockheed Martin Nuclear Subsidiary Fined for Paying Lobbyists with Federal Funds, TIME, Patrick Malone Center for Public Integrity Aug. 24, 2015
The Sandia Corporation has agreed to reimburse the Energy Department after allegedly spending federal funds on lobbying instead of national security’
The payment by the Sandia Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin that operates Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, resolved claims that the corporation violated two laws that bar such a use of federal funds.
It followed by nine months a restricted-access report by the Energy Department’s inspector general that accused Sandia of improperly trying to win a new contract without competition by lobbying senior Obama administration officials and key lawmakers with funds taken from its existing federal contract.
In his report, Inspector General Gregory Friedman described the company’s tactics as “highly problematic,” “inexplicable and unjustified,” and recommended that the Energy Department pursue reimbursement of the funds. A heavily-redacted copy of the report wasobtained by The Center for Public Integrity in June under the Freedom of Information Act.
“The money allocated by Congress for the Sandia National Laboratories is designed to fund the important mission carried out by our national laboratories, not to lobby Congress for more funding,” Benjamin C. Mizer, chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a six-paragraph news release late Friday announcing the settlement……..
The settlement leaves open the door for the Justice Department to file criminal charges associated with the investigation, according to the eight-page formal agreement signed by representatives of Sandia and the Justice Department, which was obtained by the Center.
Sandia and Lockheed documents cited by Friedman described an extensive lobbying plan that targeted then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu, his family, friends and former colleagues at another nuclear lab, as well as key members of Congress. The effort, which occurred between 2008 and 2012 according to the Justice Department, was meant to block other companies from competing for a $2.4 billion a year contract to manage and operate Sandia National Laboratories. Its contract was set to expire in 2012.
The Justice Department barred Sandia Corporation from paying its multi-million dollar settlement and associated legal costs from its direct federal contract revenues. But Clark said the corporation planned to pay the fine from award fees – essentially bonuses for good performance – that it has previously received from the federal government. The amount represents 8 percent of the bonus payments Sandia Corporation received while the lobbying effort was under way, according to federal contract records………http://time.com/4007950/nuclear-weapon-sandia-lockheed/
IAEA needs more funds to monitor Iran’s nuclear installations
Nuclear watchdog requests funding boost for Iran inspections http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/nuclear-watchdog-requests-funding-boost-for-iran-inspections/article/2570784
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano spoke at a news conference after the agency’s board voted to formally implement the deal, along with the confidential side agreements that detail how Iran will resolve questions about past nuclear work widely believed to have been focused on developing a weapon.
He said the additional money would go to hire more inspectors to work in Iran, along with additional equipment necessary to meet what he called “the most robust safeguard regime in the current world.”
“We will need more inspectors,” but “it will not be a dramatic increase,” he said. “Verification is not done only by inspectors. We have the cameras, we have the seals and we have advanced technology.”
IAEA opening new nuclear fuel bank in Kazakhstan
New nuclear fuel bank a welcome development, Japan Times, 25 Aug 15 BY GARETH EVANS “………(on Aug. 27), Kazakhstan is establishing a major new international fuel bank, which it will operate on behalf of the IAEA. The new facility should once and for all remove the main excuse that has been advanced, sincerely or not, for building and maintaining homegrown enrichment capability.
Scheduled to commence operations in 2017, the Kazakh fuel bank will store up to 90 tons of LEU, sufficient to refuel three typical power-producing light water reactors. While Kazakhstan will physically operate the bank, the uranium will be owned and controlled by the IAEA, and made available to non-nuclear-weapon states if, for any reason, they cannot secure the LEU they need from the commercial market.
Provided the state in question is in compliance with its comprehensive non-proliferation safeguards agreement with the IAEA, it can draw the required fuel from the bank and transfer it to a fuel fabricator to make fuel assemblies for the reactors involved…….
The bank has been funded by voluntary contributions, including $50 million from the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a U.S.-based NGO, $49 million from the U.S. government, up to $25 million from the European Union, $10 million each from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, and $5 million from Norway…… http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2015/08/25/commentary/world-commentary/new-nuclear-fuel-bank-a-welcome-development/#.VdzQBSWqpHx
New measures to promote rooftop solar, by President Obama
US President Barack Obama unveils measures to encourage solar power use,SMH, August 25, 2015 GARDINER HARRIS. The Obama administration has announced a slew of small measures designed to encourage the use of solar power in the US hours.
The measures included making an additional $US1 billion ($1.4 billion) in loan guarantee authority available in an existing federal program for the kind of residential rooftop solar projects that have become popular in places like California.
But none of the announced measures would provide the impact on the solar industry of the Clean Power Plan, which was announced this month and requires states to cut carbon emissions by an average of 32 per cent. That plan provides strong incentives for much of those reductions to come from the development of renewable energy resources – exactly what executives at the conference in Nevada are looking to sell.
“We’re going to make it even easier for individual homeowners to put solar panels on their roof with no upfront cost,” President Barack Obama told the summit. “A lot of Americans are going solar and becoming more energy-efficient not because of tree huggers — although trees are important, just want you to know — but because they’re cost-cutters.
With the nation’s new electrical needs growing only modestly, renewable power executives are depending on electric utilities finally retiring their aging coal-fired power plants and replacing them with renewable power sources. That process is happening anyway, but the administration’s power plan is expected to accelerate it……..http://www.smh.com.au/environment/us-president-barack-obama-unveils-measures-to-encourage-solar-power-use-20150825-gj71e8.html#ixzz3jsRuU7g4
Three Exelon nuke sites fail to clear PJM auction….bye, bye Quad Cities?
Bye, bye, Quad Cities. The site’s failure to clear the PJM capacity auction is likely to presage its permanent shutdown. And that can’t come too soon for these aging Fukushima-clone reactors.
Exelon’s troubled nuclear fleet ran into still more trouble Friday, when three of its nuclear sites–totaling four reactors–failed to clear the PJM capacity auction for 2018, despite PJM’s efforts to bolster big-time nuclear and coal generators.
The three losers were the two Quad Cities reactors, Three Mile Island and Oyster Creek. Another Exelon reactor that is bleeding money is Clinton, in downstate Illinois, which is not part of the PJM service area.
Failing to clear the auction does not necessarily mean that these reactors will close, nor, for that matter, that they are even uneconomical. Although, in this case, they are either losing money or barely breaking even.
The capacity auction is held by PJM to ensure a reliable…
View original post 1,024 more words
More woes for Exelon as DC PSC rejects its takeover of Pepco
It hasn’t been a very good week at Exelon headquarters near Chicago. First, four of its reactors–from New Jersey to Illinois, couldn’t clear the PJM capacity auction, putting their future in jeopardy. And this morning came the worst news of all for the company: The Washington DC Public Service Commission unanimously rejected its attempt to take over the local utility Pepco.
Even though four states and FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) had already approved the deal, approval from all jurisdictions involved is essential to allowing the deal to go through, so DC’s action–if it stands–will kill the deal entirely.
In Maryland, where the PSC voted 3-2 to approve the deal, with conditions, a few months ago, Attorney General Brian Frosh is continuing a legal case to attempt to force the PSC to reconsider its decision. The DC decision may give new impetus to that case, and may give grounds for…
View original post 1,012 more words
Fishermen OK Tepco’s plan to dump Fukushima plant water into sea
FUKUSHIMA – Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture on Tuesday approved a plan by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to take contaminated groundwater continuously flowing into the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and dump it into the ocean after removing almost all radioactive materials from it.
The plan is one of Tepco’s key measures aimed at curbing the amount of toxic water buildup at the complex. Local fishermen had long opposed the plan amid concern it would pollute the ocean and contaminate marine life.
“I don’t know if it’s acceptable for all fishery operators, but stable work of decommissioning (of the Fukushima plant) is necessary for the revival of Fukushima’s fishery industry,” Tetsu Nozaki, chairman of the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, told reporters after a board meeting.
He also called on Tepco to ensure it will only discharge water which does not contain radioactive materials exceeding the legally allowed limit.
The amount of toxic water is piling up every day. Tainted groundwater is seeping into the reactor buildings and mixing with radioactive water generated through cooling the reactors that suffered meltdowns following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
By pumping up water through drainage wells and dumping it into the ocean after treatment, Tepco said it will be able to halve some 300 tons of contaminated water being generated each day.
In exchange for approving the plan, the Fukushima fisherman’s association on Aug. 11 demanded among other things that the government and Tepco continue paying the fishermen compensation for as long as the nuclear plant damages their business.
On Tuesday, the National Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations also gave the green light to releasing the treated water into the sea.
Tepco has been struggling to resolve the problem of toxic water buildup at the plant since 2011, with radiation leakages into the environment still occurring regularly at the Fukushima complex.
The company is also behind schedule on a project to build a huge underground ice wall, another key measure to prevent radioactive water from further increasing at the site.
Source: Japan Times
Panel blames TEPCO’s negligence for delay in information disclosure
An outside panel of experts accused Tokyo Electric Power Co. of not living up to its responsibility to promptly release all available data on the contaminated water leaks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The third-party panel said that up until February this year, plant operator TEPCO had been negligent in releasing information about radioactive water leaks, although it had data confirming the leaks.
Contaminated water had been confirmed leaking into the ocean every time it rained since TEPCO started monitoring the radioactive levels in drainage systems in April 2014.
When leaks of contaminated water into the plant’s harbor first came into light in summer 2013, the utility pledged to promptly report the radiation levels whenever it obtained monitoring data.
But workers at the plant had not been informed of the policy nor were they assigned specific tasks related to the policy.
The panel’s report concluded that TEPCO showed a tendency to prioritize responding to recurrent troubles at the plant over actually implementing effective countermeasures.
“There is an organizational culture at the company for officials to avoid clarifying where responsibility lies and implementing planned countermeasures,” the report said.
After its shoddy record of reporting information on radiation levels drew fire, TEPCO retraced past data and made it available to the public. It has disclosed all monitoring data on radioactive materials at the plant since Aug. 20
Source: Asahi Shimbun.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201508250044
Seawater leak found at Sendai nuclear plant
The operator of the Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, says it found seawater used to cool steam has leaked from some pipes.
The trouble occurred at a condenser for the plant’s No.1 reactor last Thursday. Officials at Kyushu Electric Power Company found elevated salt levels in the machine.
The condenser uses seawater to turn the steam from the power turbine back into water. The reactor has 3 condensers, and each one is equipped with 26,000 thin pipes to carry seawater.
Utility officials have been checking these pipes. They say they found cracks in 5 pipes in one condenser and that seawater had leaked from them.
The officials stopped the flow of seawater by putting plugs in the 5 pipes. They are now checking the other tubes. The utility firm says they will keep running the reactor.
The trouble occurred 9 days after the operator restarted the reactor on August 11th. It was the first to go back online under new regulations introduced after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011.
The utility was due to raise the reactor’s power output to 100 percent on Tuesday. But the problems are expected to delay the scheduled work by about one week.
Source: NHK
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150824_31.html
Fukushima operator’s mounting legal woes to fuel nuclear opposition
IWAKI: Four and a half years after the Fukushima disaster, and as Japan tentatively restarts nuclear power elsewhere, the legal challenges are mounting for the crippled plant’s operator.They include a judge’s forced disclosure of a 2008 internal document prepared for managers at Tokyo Electric Power Co warning of a need for precautions against an unprecedented nuclear catastrophe.
Also, class actions against Tepco and the government now have more plaintiffs than any previous Japanese contamination suit and, overruling reluctant prosecutors, criminal charges have been leveled against former Tepco executives for failing to take measures to prevent the 2011 meltdowns and explosions.
Radiation from the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 forced 160,000 people from their homes, many never to return, and destroyed businesses, fisheries and agriculture.The criminal and civil legal cases do not threaten financial ruin for Tepco, which is now backstopped by Japanese taxpayers and faces far bigger costs to decommission the Fukushima plant and clean up the surrounding areas.
Rather, the cases could further increase opposition to nuclear restarts – which consistently beats support by about two-to-one – as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government pushes to restore nuclear to Japan’s energy mix to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuel.
“The nuclear plant disaster has upended our way of life,” evacuee and former beekeeper Takahisa Ogawa, 45, testified recently in a court in Iwaki, near the Fukushima power station. “We’ve lost the support we counted on.”
Ogawa and other plaintiffs are seeking 20 million yen ($160,000) each in damages from Tepco. More than 10,000 evacuees and nearby residents have brought at least 20 lawsuits against the utility and the government over the handling of the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant 220 km (130 miles) north of Tokyo.
The biggest class action, with 4,000 plaintiffs, seeks to dramatically increase Tepco’s liability by proving negligence under Japan’s civil law, rather than simply proving harm and seeking compensation, said lead attorney Izutaro Managi.
Japan recently approved increasing the amount of compensation payments through a government-run fund to 7 trillion yen ($56 billion).
Prosecutors twice declined to charge former Tepco bosses over their handling of the disaster, citing a lack of evidence, but a citizens’ panel overruled them last month. It’s unlikely the three former executives, who will be summoned to give evidence in court, will be convicted as it is hard to prove criminal acts in this type of case, said Nicholes Benes of The Board Director Training Institute of Japan.A first trial is not expected to start until next year at the earliest.
The legal actions against Tepco are “serious for the industry” as it seeks to gradually bring some of Japan’s 43 idled nuclear reactors back online, said Tom O’Sullivan, an independent energy consultant and former investment banker.
“With potentially up to 25 reactors coming online, board members of other electric power companies must be quite nervous about what could happen if something goes wrong,” he said. “Most reactors have been switched off for four years so switching them back on is going to be potentially problematic, not to mention the risk of natural disasters.”
It’s unclear what bearing the various lawsuits against Tepco might have on one another, but a common thread is that it should have anticipated the possibility of a devastating quake and tsunami and taken steps to reduce the impact.The company maintains that the severity of the 9.0 magnitude quake and 13-meter wave could not have been predicted.
But the document introduced as evidence in the shareholders’ suit after a judge forced Tepco to produce it, appears to challenge that. The “Tsunami Measures Unavoidable” report, dated September 2008, was filed with the Tokyo District Court in June, but has not been widely reported.
The unnamed authors prepared the report for a meeting attended by the head of the power station and marked the document “to be collected after discussion.” It’s not clear whether senior executives in Tokyo saw the report at the time.
The report called for Tepco to prepare for a worse tsunami than it previously assumed, based on experts’ views.
“Considering that it is difficult to completely reject the opinions given thus far of academic experts on earthquakes and tsunami, as well as the expertise of the (government’s) Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion, it is unavoidable to have tsunami countermeasures that assume a higher tsunami than at present,” says the report.
“This is prime evidence that Tepco recognized the need for tsunami measures,” said Hiroyuki Kawai, lead attorney in the shareholders’ suit. “This will have an important impact on the lawsuit.”
Tepco, in a court filing, counters that the document “does not mean there was a risk that a tsunami would strike and did not assume any specific tsunami countermeasures.”
Asked to comment further on the internal report and the range of legal problems facing the company, Tepco spokesman Kohji Sakakibara told Reuters, “We cannot answer these questions because they pertain to lawsuits and because they suppose a hypothetical determination of negligence. However, the company is making appropriate assertions in the lawsuits and expects that in the end the courts will render fair judgments.”
The shareholder lawsuit, filed in March 2012, seeks to establish responsibility for the disaster and demands 5.5 trillion yen ($44 billion) in damages from current and former executives. A verdict is not expected for at least a year.
“This is likely to become a long battle where lawsuits go on for several decades or half a century,” said Shunichi Teranishi, a professor emeritus of environmental economics at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, comparing it to the Minamata mercury poisoning disaster in the 1950s, where lawsuits continue to be filed to this day.
Source: Daily Times
1 This Month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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