Japan Failed to Implement World Nuclear-Safety Rules, Report Says - WSJ

[WillyT]

Japan Failed to Implement World Nuclear-Safety Rules, Report Says
By DAVID CRAWFORD in Berlin and MITSURU OBE in Tokyo - WSJ
JUNE 19, 2011, 1:16 P.M. ET

<snip>

Japanese officials failed to implement international nuclear-safety standards designed to mitigate damage from tsunamis and earthquakes at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant that triggered Japan's nuclear crisis, a United Nations nuclear-agency report said.

The report, to be presented in Vienna on Monday at a ministerial-level meeting of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency and its 151 member states, is the most definitive outside review to date of Japan's nuclear accident and subsequent handling. Its findings are expected to help frame an international nuclear community debate at the week-long meeting on how to ensure atomic-power safety in the future.

While praising the handling of the accident by Fukushima plant engineers, the IAEA report was critical of Japan's preparedness and response to the crisis in most other respects. In addition to failing to implement IAEA guidelines to protect nuclear plants against earthquakes and tsunamis, the report said Japanese nuclear officials also failed to quickly evacuate nearby residents in accord with the U.N. agency's standards and didn't build adequate multiple levels of protection to contain damage and radiation leakage in the event of an accident at a nuclear-power plant.

The IAEA report also questions Japanese authorities' advisories during the unfolding crisis, suggesting that local residents living between 20 and 30 kilometers (12 and 19 miles) from the Fukushima site remain in their homes, while closer ones were asked to evacuate. "Long-term sheltering is not an effective approach," the report said.

Instead, the IAEA recommends evacuating local residents living near nuclear accidents according to specific criteria, such as when radiation levels approach dangerous levels. The report, based on Japanese data and the findings of an IAEA fact-finding mission to Fukushima, said its team couldn't determine the level of radiation exposure of residents before evacuation.

<snip>

More: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304887904576395673460547438.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

:kick:

[TheWraith]

1. No shit. You shouldn't have sensitive installations in a tsunami zone.

And if you do, you DEFINITELY shouldn't have your backup diesel generators located in below-ground-level pits.

[amborin]

2. total regulatory capture