The Japan Syndrome
Comments: 4
Via dangerousmeta and guaranteed to scare the bejeezus out of you, Howard French reports in The New York Times on the terrifying state of nuclear reactor safety in Japan.
Safety Problems at Japanese Reactors
The reports of safety lapses, fraudulent repairs and cover-ups at Japan’s largest nuclear power company began with a trickle but have resounded into an industry nightmare.
The details, filled in over the last two weeks by one alarming report after another, show a potentially catastrophic pattern of cost-cutting along with 16 years of cover-ups of serious flaws, apparently in an effort to preserve public trust. The pattern includes the systematic falsification of inspection and repair records at 13 reactors at the company, Tokyo Electric, the world’s largest private electrical utility.
Business as usual, folks. Nothing to worry about.
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Posted to Oh, the Humanity • 2002.09.18 (Wed) • 00:58
Comments
Posted by Christopher Walker 2002.09.18, 03:29
I think I share Douglas Coupland’s fascination with nuclear death - in fact I touched upon the subject just last night in my blog.
I can’t wait to come to Japan now - I leave in just over a week, and since I decided to move I’ve heard nothing but bad news. Maybe it’s me…
Posted by Erynn 2002.09.20, 04:09
You’d think if anyone was going to be sensitive to the effects of uncontained nuclear radiation it would be the Japanese. Although I hear Hiroshima is quite lovely now, and perhaps no longer a stark reminder.
Posted by jh 2002.09.21, 15:11
Christopher — Sorry to be playing a part in scaring the daylights out of you. You must be in Japan now, I think, or any day. I’m sure you’re going to love it. If I concentrate too much at times on the negative aspects of the country, it’s only because I love it so much myself.
Erynn — You make a good point, and it’s one that I’ve never been able to figure out. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still acutely mindful of their histories, but the rest of the company seems to have fallen under the spell of the energy commission’s propaganda (which is plentiful).
I’ve never been to Hiroshima, but Nagasaki is a beautiful city. It’s where I’d live if I hadn’t made my home in Tokyo, no doubt about it. I can’t wait to get back.
Posted by Christopher Walker 2002.09.21, 17:56
I leave for Japan on Wednesday; my final destination is Nagano but I’ll change at Narita for Nagoya for some reason. I would have thought the bullet train would be the quickest way to get where I’m going, but it’s out of my hands.
Oh well. I’m still looking forward to coming to Japan. Besides, I always wanted to be present when the apocalypse happened.
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