Japan Fires Nuclear Industry Shills

"Japan’s nuclear establishment was coming clean only because it could no longer hide the scope of the accident."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/world/asia/09japan.html?pagewanted=all

Asia Pacific: Japan Held Nuclear Data, Leaving Evacuees in Peril

By NORIMITSU ONISHI and MARTIN FACKLER Published: August 8, 2011

Meltdowns at three of Fukushima Daiichi’s six reactors went officially unacknowledged for months. In one of the most damning admissions, nuclear regulators said in early June that inspectors had found tellurium 132, which experts call telltale evidence of reactor meltdowns, a day after the tsunami — but did not tell the public for nearly three months. For months after the disaster, the government flip-flopped on the level of radiation permissible on school grounds, causing continuing confusion and anguish about the safety of schoolchildren here in Fukushima.

Too Late

The timing of many admissions — coming around late May and early June, when inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited Japan and before Japan was scheduled to deliver a report on the accident at an I.A.E.A. conference — suggested to critics that Japan’s nuclear establishment was coming clean only because it could no longer hide the scope of the accident. On July 4, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, a group of nuclear scholars and industry executives, said, “It is extremely regrettable that this sort of important information was not released to the public until three months after the fact, and only then in materials for a conference overseas.”

:(

http://japanfocus.org/-Makiko-Segawa/3516

School Doctor Informs Children “The radiation problem is already finished.”

Following the principal’s speech, the school’s doctor in his white coat stated matter-of-factly that, based on science, people should know that the worst of the earthquake damage had passed and that radiation leakages from the Fukushima Daiichi plant were decreasing and would soon fade away.

“The radiation problem is already finished,” he told the children and their parents. “You can go to school and go outside without any problem. You should not fear malicious gossip.”

While the doctor’s assurance that all major risks have ended would certainly raise eyebrows among most people outside the prefecture, many locals share this belief. We note the difference in perspective between radiation experts and people assessing the issues at a distance and those on the ground facing the destruction of their livelihood. While rumors of the dangers of radiation continue to swirl, many locals are even more afraid that rumors will destroy their businesses and any hope of securing their livelihood and rebuilding their communities.

:(

If it presently matters what any Gaijin thinks … I do not consider that Japan, or the USA should permanently shut down their entire commercial nuclear power plant industry. Japan mandates a cold shutdown every 13 months. This policy has already resulted in the closure of about 2/3 of their nuclear power plants. The ‘Shill Scandal’, jointly conducted by government and industry backfired completely. The Japanese people would understandably like to shut down the entire industry.

While such an action would be emotionally satisfying, it is probably not a realistic or prudent solution for Japan. The better plan is to take narrower and more focused actions. More specifically, the best interests of Japan were deliberately betrayed by the nuclear shills, electrical utilities, E&C contractors, government proponents, financial groups and some media figures. Those who profited, to the obvious detriment of the Japanese people and nation should be subject to dismissal, humiliation, bankruptcy and criminal prosecution. Removing the malignancy from government and industry, should be sufficient. Include the nuclear contractors and lenders in the police roundup.

By my lights, Japan needs nuclear power, to solve the problems created by corrupt figures in government and industry. Recall that the Fukushima relief plan calls for nuclear utilities to bear much of the compensation burden. Few victims care if the electrical utilities go bankrupt, but that would quickly undermine the relief effort and place the entire burden directy on the taxpayer. A better plan is to immediately eliminate MOX fuel and cancel all planned nuclear power plant ‘uprates’.

First, recognize that at least one nuclear explosion occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Do away with fantasy stories that this is impossible. Immediately and permanently shut down every GE Mark1 and Mark-2 reactor. Reduce the continuous power output rating of all Japanese nuclear reactors by at least 10%, These actions, combined with greatly improved safety measures will produce better results than a ‘cold turkey’ withdrawal from nuclear power.