Fukushima: 8 years. March 2011 – 2019

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There are quite a few postings on this site about the Fukushima nuclear disaster that began on March 11, 2011.

This posting is being put up on the 8th anniversary of the beginning of the ever-ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan to remind us that this horrific disaster is still having far-reaching impacts on the people of Japan – & the world.

Also on the ocean, of course. (Water kinda gets around, doesn’t it?)

Nuclear disasters have a beginning date … but they never actually end.

They go on forever.

(No, I’m not just saying that. Look at this mind-blower item about the Chernobyl disaster – which occurred on April 26, 1986 – if you think these monstrous “accidents” (much too mild a term) ever “stop.” They. Just. Don’t.)

Recent Update Items:

OTher RECENT ITEMS

RECENT BOOK OF INTEREST PERHAPS?

Confessions of a Rogue Nuclear Regulator, by Gregory Jaczko, former head of the U.S. NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) – an agency like Canada’s so-called nuclear “regulator,” the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. There are many reviews of the book on-line. Here is one just published today.

An earlier book – Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster – is discussed in this August 2015 posting Fukushima: What Really Happened?

Can’t Happen Here, though … right?

“A major factor that contributed to the accident was the widespread assumption in Japan that its nuclear power plants were so safe that an accident of this magnitude was simply unthinkable. This assumption was accepted by nuclear power plant operators and was not challenged by regulators or by the Government. As a result, Japan was not sufficiently prepared for a severe nuclear accident in March 2011.” [August 2015 Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Foreword by the Director General]

Toshimitsu Homma of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency stated in April 2013 at an international conference on Emergency Management (held in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) that the most important lesson of Fukushima was that before the accident, “There was an implicit assumption that such a severe accident could not happen and thus insufficient attention was paid to such an accident by authorities.”

“The earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 were natural disasters of a magnitude that shocked the entire world. Although triggered by these cataclysmic events, the subsequent accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant cannot be regarded as a natural disaster. It was a profoundly manmade disaster – that could and should have been foreseen and prevented. And its effects could have been mitigated by a more effective human response.” – Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Chairman of The official report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (Pg. 9)

“A “manmade” disaster: The TEPCO Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident was the result of collusion between the government, the regulators and TEPCO, and the lack of governance by said parties. They effectively betrayed the nation’s right to be safe from nuclear accidents. Therefore, we conclude that the accident was clearly “manmade.” We believe that the root causes were the organizational and regulatory systems that supported faulty rationales for decisions and actions, rather than issues relating to the competency of any specific individual. (see Recommendation 1)” — from The official report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (pg. 16)

“The government, the regulators, TEPCO management, and the Kantei lacked the preparation and the mindset to efficiently operate an emergency response to an accident of this scope. None, therefore, were effective in preventing or limiting the consequential damage.” — from The official report of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (pg. 18)

“The Commission has verified that there was a lag in upgrading nuclear emergency preparedness and complex disaster countermeasures, and attributes this to regulators’ negative attitudes toward revising and improving existing emergency plans.” – from The official report of The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (pg. 19)

** these quotations have been lifted from this page on Emergency planning / Causes of the Nuclear Disaster

Other RELEVANT QUOTATIONS

“Nuclear energy is unnecessary, uninsurable, uneconomic, and most importantly, unsafe. The fact that it continues to exist at all is a result of a ferocious lobby, enlisting the autocratic power of government, that will not admit that its product is unfit for use in the modern world. Let us not allow the lessons of Fukushima to be ignored.” – Ralph Nader