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.htmlThat 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.htmlThis 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