Fukushima Leaks Prompt Government to ‘Emergency Measures’

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Takashi Hirokawa, Jacob Adelman, Peter Langan and Yuji Okada - Aug 26, 2013

Japan’s government will lead “emergency measures” to tackle radioactive water spills at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, wresting control of the disaster recovery from the plant’s heavily criticized operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501)

“We’ve allowed Tokyo Electric to deal with the contaminated water situation on its own and they’ve essentially turned it into a game of ‘Whack-a-Mole,’” Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters today at Fukushima. “From now on, the government will move to the forefront.”

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is led by Motegi, “is working to draw up, by some time in September, both emergency measures and more fundamental steps to eliminate the roots of the contaminated water problem, as well as measures to be carried out going forward,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a response to written questions.

More than two years after the March 2011 nuclear disaster, Tokyo Electric’s recovery effort has taken a turn for the worse. Japan’s nuclear regulator last week questioned the company’s ability to deal with the crisis, echoing comments earlier in the month by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-26/fukushima-filter-shutdown-adds-to-tepco-water-management-woes.html

[Purveyor]

1. Related: Russia Offers Fukushima Cleanup Help as Tepco Reaches Out

By Yuriy Humber and Jacob Adelman - Aug 26, 2013

Russia repeated an offer first made two years ago to help Japan clean up its accident-ravaged Fukushima nuclear station, welcoming Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501)’s decision to seek outside help.

As Tokyo Electric pumps thousands of metric tons of water through the wrecked Fukushima station to cool its melted cores, the tainted run-off was found to be leaking into groundwater and the ocean. The approach to cooling and decommissioning the station will need to change and include technologies developed outside of Japan if the cleanup is to succeed, said Vladimir Asmolov, first deputy director general of Rosenergoatom, the state-owned Russian nuclear utility.

“In our globalized nuclear industry we don’t have national accidents, they are all international,” Asmolov said. Since Japan’s new government took over in December, talks on cooperating between the two countries on the Fukushima cleanup have turned “positive” and Russia is ready to offer its assistance, he said by phone from Moscow last week.

After 29 months of trying to contain radiation from Fukushima’s molten atomic cores, Tokyo Electric said last week it will reach out for international expertise in handling the crisis. The water leaks alone have so far sent more than 100 times the annual norms of radioactive elements into the ocean, raising concern it will enter the food chain through fish.

‘Last to Realize’

The latest leak of 300 metric tons of irradiated water prompted Japan’s nuclear regulator to label the incident “serious” and question Tokyo Electric’s ability to deal with the crisis, echoing comments made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month. Zengo Aizawa, a vice president at Tepco, as the Tokyo-based utility is known, made the call for help at a press briefing in Japan’s capital on Aug. 21.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-25/russia-offers-to-help-clean-up-fukushima-as-tepco-calls-for-help.html

[jtuck004]

2. Not "‘Whack-a-Mole,’. It's a game of "Let's make excuses while we kill everything, slowly,

within a radius of several hundreds of miles, and see how long we can keep our paychecks. Screw everyone, and everything, else"

Russia is correct - these are not just national problems.

[FredStembottom]

3. NOW it's an emergency!?!?

Tepco maybe shouldn't go it alone NOW!?!?
WTF!?!?

[Baitball Blogger]

4. +1000

[greiner3]

10. Me thinks;

The controlling interests of TEPCO is Japan's 'answer' to the Koch brothers.

[daleo]

5. Meanwhile, the west prepares to pick sides and join a civil war in another country

Imagine if we pooled our resources to prevent and/or rehabilitate environmental catastrophes like this, that threaten our common future, rather than go to war, war, war.

[blackspade]

6. Seems to me that 'Emergency Measures' were called for years ago!

It should never have been left to TEPCO to figure out.
They already proved themselves to be incompetent.

[ConcernedCanuk]

7. Too little, too late methinks.

.
.
.

North Korea has done less damage to the environment with its nuclear program.

Japan, and the rest of the World should consider that.

CC

[silvershadow]

8. I nominate this for a DUzy! (Just based on the headline). In related news,

Japanese Government discovers the earth is round.

[Purveyor]

9. I'd love to win a DUzy! Try hard but never quite get there. Thanks for the nomination! ;) eom