In regards to Fukushima, the only thing TEPCO has successfully buried is the Truth.

[Octafish]

TEPCO successfully puts a lid on Fukushima information

Gee. There must be a reason.



One might think TEPCO would want to warn the government and people of Japan about any dangers they knew about.

Japan admits getting nuke updates via media

But, no. Just like in Corporate America: The answer is to throw a TARP over it and expect the people won't notice.

Giant Polyester Sheets To Cover Nuclear Reactor Buildings

The reality, though, won't go away.

Contaminated nuke plant workers going back on job as safety regs go by wayside

Could "Mushroom Management" be a global corporate phenomenon?

Tepco Misleading Public Over Nuclear Crisis

Only a cynical person would say TEPCO's behavior is "just about the money." They're concerned about other things, too, right?

Haughty utility forced to fight for its life as it struggles to control reactors

Fairly certain that TEPCO'll throw a TARP on that, too. Successfully.

[jpak]

1. K&R

It's worse than anyone will admit to

yup

[Octafish]

3. Breaks my heart to write about it, because it causes so much distress and pain...

...for our friends in Japan.



If we don't, however, the public won't get what they need most. That starts with the Truth.

[bananas]

2. Links 1 and 3 are the same - did you intend a different first link?

[Octafish]

5. Thanks, bananas. My mistake...

...I think it's fixed. Wish all mistakes were that easy to rectify.

Here's the link I wanted to head the thing:

Fukushima plant probably began spewing radiation within hours of earthquake: data

I understand the area was in complete chaos following the earthquake and tsunami, but the people of Japan needed the facts in order to take immediate precautions.

[mod mom]

4. rec'd & bookmarked for later.

[Octafish]

6. The story seems to have dropped completely off Corporate McPravda's radar.

And for too many of us: If it isn't on the tee vee, then it didn't happen.

For instance, a plucky anchor might notice: "Gee. That's a plastic bag over the guy's geiger counter.



And they expect us to believe that a plastic tarp will prevent radiation from leaking out of the damaged and destroyed containment buildings?

[robdogbucky]

8. Actually, I think the active suppression and coverup has been going on for a while

Closing Ranks: The NRC, the Nuclear Industry, and TEPCO are Limiting the Flow of Information

A 7:30 minute video about why we are not getting reliable information from TPTB

"Arnie Gundersen discusses inconstancies between what the NRC, TEPCo, and the Nuclear Industry are saying privately and publicly. Documents from the french nuclear firm, Areva, and the NRC reveal what the industry knows about the Fukushima disaster."

http://www.fairewinds.com/updates



The date of that Gunderson report it April 6



Hi ho!

[defendandprotect]

18. Wasn't there an announced organized effort to do just that --

by government?

Thought so -- but it's late and .... !! :)

[robdogbucky]

7. And officials there seem clueless as to what to do

Look, this is one of the most seismically active areas of the planet. They do not nor did they ever have, adequate evacuation and other emergency planning in place for this, and it should have been anticipated. Now we see the typical evasive moves by the private corporation that has profited from the plants' use, now crying uncle and pleading for government bailout. They were informed many years ago and chose to ignore it. They are now going to pay a high price and it's not close to being over yet:


Saturday, May 21, 2011


Public flooding officials with tsunami fears
Kyodo
Sendai KYODO

"Local governments in tsunami-prone areas across Japan have been swamped by thousands of public inquiries related to earthquake safety since the March 11 mega-quake and tsunami disaster.

Nine prefectures expected to suffer serious tsunami damage in the event of strong quakes triggered by ocean trenches from Hokkaido in the north to Miyazaki in the southwest are now faced with easing public concern by reviewing their disaster prevention measures, such as escape routes and location of evacuation shelters.

Most inquiries came from residents along the Pacific coast in central and western Japan, which the government predicts will likely be hit by magnitude-8 quakes in the first half of this century. Concerns mostly focused on the likelihood of tsunami damage to their homes, local officials say.

Among the most widely feared scenarios are the so-called Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes."

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110521b1.htm...


Especially that Tokai earthquake zone, which is overdue and the Japanese citizenry knows it.


They had ample time to address this situation way back when in 2004, as Dr. Moret pointed out:


Sunday, May 23, 2004

Japan's deadly game of nuclear roulette

By LEUREN MORET
Special to The Japan Times

"The 52 reactors in Japan -- which generate a little over 30 percent of its electricity -- are located in an area the size of California, many within 150 km of each other and almost all built along the coast where seawater is available to cool them. However, many of those reactors have been negligently sited on active faults, particularly in the subduction zone along the Pacific coast, where major earthquakes of magnitude 7-8 or more on the Richter scale occur frequently. The periodicity of major earthquakes in Japan is less than 10 years. There is almost no geologic setting in the world more dangerous for nuclear power than Japan -- the third-ranked country in the world for nuclear reactors...

...On July 7 last year, the same day of my visit to Hamaoka, Ishibashi warned of the danger of an earthquake-induced nuclear disaster, not only to Japan but globally, at an International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics conference held in Sapporo. He said: "The seismic designs of nuclear facilities are based on standards that are too old from the viewpoint of modern seismology and are insufficient. The authorities must admit the possibility that an earthquake-nuclear disaster could happen and weigh the risks objectively..."

...If a nuclear disaster occurred, power-plant workers as well as emergency-response personnel in the Hamaoka ERC would immediately be exposed to lethal radiation. During my visit, ERC engineers showed us a tiny shower at the center, which they said would be used for "decontamination' of personnel. However, it would be useless for internally exposed emergency-response workers who inhaled radiation. When I asked ERC officials how they planned to evacuate millions of people from Shizuoka Prefecture and beyond after a Kobe-magnitude earthquake (Kobe is on the same subduction zone as Hamaoka) destroyed communication lines, roads, railroads, drinking-water supplies and sewage lines, they had no answer...

...The Japanese government is no better prepared, because there is no adequate response possible to contain or deal with such a disaster. Prevention is really the only effective measure to consider..."

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20040523x2.html


That Mr. Ishabashi that is quoted is one of the whistleblowers that tried to speak out, like the governor of Fukushima and was another citizen hero that, like others in Japan have tried to warn, was unemployed after being fired for his actions.



Japan nuclear crisis was 'avoidable'

Ex-Fukushima governor says crisis could have been averted had power company taken steps.

Last Modified: 04 May 2011 10:24

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia/2011/05/2011541001713134.html

This is a 2:46 minute video interview w/former governor Sato:

"The former governor of Fukushima - a long-time critic of the nuclear industry – insists that the power company had an opportunity to implement measures that would have averted the crisis.

As frantic measures are under way to cool down the quake-stricken reactors, sentiment on Japan’s streets are heating up. In a country where nuclear power was once synonymous with development and success, vocal opposition to atomic power is gaining momentum."

Al Jazeera’s Divya Gopalan filed this story.


He cites a culture of collusion between the industry and government regulators, with safety being the last of any considerations.





Just more Extreme Enviroweenie Biased Claptrap

[Octafish]

13. TEPCO was warned and took the cheapskate's way out.

Here's a bit to add to the nuclear pile:

Masanobu Shishikura: The Man Who Predicted the Tsunami in 2009.

British scientist 'predicted nuclear power station problem'

Toshiaki Sakai: Utility Engineer Warned of Tsunami Threat at Japanese Nuclear Plant in 2007

PS: Thank you for the great information from your articles. I've especially learned to appreciate that Leuren Moret is one great reporter: She gets the big picture without missing any of the parts or connecting any of the dots. Sort of like you, robdogbucky.

[bluesmail]

9. Thanks Octafish, not many people know/realize how frigging dangerous

this bodes for the entire planet. I'm on the west coast and immediately went out bought liquid iodine, per Dr. Caldicott.

[TheWraith]

10. If someone actually told you to do that, then they're an idiot.

Taking liquid iodine will do absolutely nothing for you, except make you very sick. And the barely trace amounts of radiation detectable in the US do not merit such a high level of hysteria.

[Octafish]

14. EPA stopped monitoring radiation from Fukushima

EPA ends special monitoring for Fukushima radiation despite continued rise in nuclear fallout, increased threats to US

I knew with three wars and the tax breaks for the ultra rich and all that Uncle Sam has hard-up, but really? Can't they find a few bucks to monitor the situation?

PS: Be careful with the iodine -- use only as directed. Here's a PDF on safe practices for handling plutonium and what to do to protect from fall-out.

EXCERPT...

4.2.3 Characteristics of Plutonium Contamination

There are few characteristics of plutonium contamination that are unique. Plutonium
contamination may be in many physical and chemical forms. (See Section 2.0 for the many
potential sources of plutonium contamination from combustion products of a plutonium fire
to radiolytic products from long-term storage.) The one characteristic that many believe is
unique to plutonium is its ability to migrate with no apparent motive force. Whether from
alpha recoil or some other mechanism, plutonium contamination, if not contained or
removed, will spread relatively rapidly throughout an area.

[defendandprotect]

21. That they used PLUTONIUM in these nuclear reactors borders on insanity ....imo...

[defendandprotect]

20. Think we here at DU need to know more about and pay more attention to IODINE and

... wasn't it Miso -- ?

We need more advice on that here, I think -- ?

I've wondered about getting some iodine tablets myself -- but not sure about

what I'd be doing -- whether it has any other ill effects?

[defendandprotect]

11. kr

[Octafish]

15. Erratic information fuels mistrust of TEPCO

A little light from Agence France Press:

Erratic information fuels mistrust of TEPCO

By Hiroshi Hiyama (AFP) – 11 hours ago

EXCERPT...

TEPCO said it had revised earlier information only after it could send workers close enough to the reactors to read gauges but critics argue that independent experts reached similar conclusions much earlier.

"The way TEPCO releases information utterly lacks any sense of crisis," the Nikkei business daily said in a recent front-page analysis.

"Two months after the accident happened, it admitted a meltdown at reactor one. But many experts pointed out that possibility immediately after the accident happened," the newspaper said.

"They do not mention bad news until it is confirmed. Such an attitude has led to mistrust," the Nikkei said.

CONTINUED...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gogBrmAJF4V6Oj9GvYNz5UrhPfdA?docId=CNG.cb370cb25e96ecba584d2568a4f90642.681

Thank you, defendandprotect, for giving a damn. Wish the global Korporat Stadt felt the same.

[defendandprotect]

17. Only governments can be held responsible for such catastrophe ...

We all know that there's no way to make a corporation accountable or responsible

for anything this huge -- just as we understand it in the Gulf.

Yet, corporations are out front -- Tepco and BP -- controlling and running the show.

And most of the decisions about these harmful projects are made behind closed doors

depriving citizens of the information and knowledge and participation they should have.

As if Global Warming weren't bad enough ...

I shudder to think what has actually happened in the Gulf --

and now in the Pacific --

and the poor people on this earthquake-prone island--!!



Thank you, Octafish!

:)

[Mnemosyne]

12. K&R for truth and visibility. n/t

[Octafish]

16. U.S. Was Warned on Vents FIVE YEARS Before Failure at Japan’s Plant

Corporate McPravda seems not to have picked up on this important story.

U.S. Was Warned on Vents Before Failure at Japan’s Plant

By MATTHEW L. WALD
The New York Times
Published: May 18, 2011

WASHINGTON — Five years before the crucial emergency vents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were disabled by an accident they were supposed to help handle, engineers at a reactor in Minnesota warned American regulators about that very problem.

Anthony Sarrack, one of the two engineers, notified staff members at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the design of venting systems was seriously flawed at his reactor and others in the United States similar to the ones in Japan. He later left the industry in frustration because managers and regulators did not agree.

Mr. Sarrack said that the vents, which are supposed to relieve pressure at crippled plants and keep containment structures intact, should not be dependent on electric power and workers’ ability to operate critical valves because power might be cut in an emergency and workers might be incapacitated. Part of the reason the venting system in Japan failed — allowing disastrous hydrogen explosions — is that power to the plant was knocked out by a tsunami that followed a major earthquake.

Copies of Mr. Sarrack’s correspondence with the N.R.C. were supplied by David Lochbaum, a boiling-water-reactor expert who works for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit group based in Cambridge, Mass., that is generally hostile to nuclear power.

“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission cannot claim ignorance about this one,” he said.

CONTINUED...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/science/earth/19nuke.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Thank you, Mnemosyne, for giving a damn.

[defendandprotect]

19. Proven that the vents weren't working properly, but managers/regulators disagreed--!!

Engineer later left the industry in frustration because managers and regulators did not agree.

It would be impossible to "disagree" with recurring problems which prove the problems wit the

design of the vents --

We can only look at pressures on regulators -- or buying of regulators and managers --

And this is a repeating pattern thoughout capitalism and its buying of political power which

is delivering a third world America --

and which has already done great harm to humanity and the planet -- nature.

With much more to come!!

[divvy]

22. Now for the chilling thought

The plant operators thought share holders could sue them if they shutdown at government request. Weird! Their legal system is apparently quite different than in the US. I would say that their nuclear oversight is a lot weaker than in the US, where many many plants have been kept shutdown or ordered to shut down. It doesn't happen very often any more (plants are operated better today - really!), but it was common in the 80's and 90's...

Running the plant while you make the plant safe from total disaster is not the safety culture that exists in the US.

There are some cultural differences that have been mentioned also: See this interview.

Story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-norris-de-montaigu/interview-with-akira-toku_b_863297.html

<snip>

"There is a cultural element in this. The Japanese do not want to be embarrassed". He added that TEPCO is a large entity which only has to answer to the Prime Minister. He added that it is a bit of the "... Only small people pay taxes mentality". The mass media in Japan is only given the information TEPCO and the government want to give them. Labor practices in Japan, he says, are quite brutal and when you get to the bottom of the labor force, those at the top of society do not really care about them."

<snip> end quote

Now for a chilling thought. In the light of these nuclear discoveries (or realities) How do you really feel about Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, or even Saudi Arabia going nuclear? What could happen if any country who could simply afford an nuclear plant, could really own one?

Ahh .... the magic of the market place enhanced with a weak and deregulated government power.