Utility company finally accepts the blame over Fukushima plant disaster
TOKYO — The utility that operates Japan’s crippled atomic plant said Friday that it deserved most of the blame for the country’s nuclear crisis, in the company’s strongest remarks about its own shortcomings.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. acknowledged in a report that it was not prepared to deal with the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeastern Japan in March 2011. The twin disasters cut power at TEPCO’s Fukushima DaiIchi plant, causing meltdowns at three reactors. Massive radiation leaks at that time contaminated air, water and soil around the plant, forcing about 160,000 residents to evacuate.
“Our safety culture, skills and ability were all insufficient,” TEPCO President Naomi Hirose said “We must humbly accept our failure to prevent the accident, which we should have avoided by using our wisdom and human resources to be better prepared.”
The report said TEPCO’s equipment and safety measures were not sufficient and the meltdowns should have been avoided. It also said TEPCO didn’t try to inform the public of risks and troubles at the plant.
The acknowledgment is a major reversal from TEPCO’s initial investigation report.
In the June 2012 report, TEPCO maintained that the tsunami was mostly to blame.
After the company’s reluctance to come to terms with its responsibility triggered public outcry, it launched an internal reform task force, led by Hirose, to reinvestigate the crisis. The task force was overseen by a five- member panel of outside experts, including former U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chief Dale Klein.
In October, TEPCO acknowledged it underestimated the tsunami risk and could have mitigated the impact of the accident if it had diversified power and cooling systems by paying closer attention to international standards and recommendations, and trained employees with practical crisis management skills.
Critics have raised doubts as to whether TEPCO is seriously trying to change, and an extended blackout at the plant last week was a reminder that the crisis is not over.
The blackout occurred after a rat short- circuited an outdoor switchboard, but TEPCO waited three hours to make an announcement. The interruption left four fuel pools without cooling functions for up to 30 hours. TEPCO officials denied Friday that the incident posed safety threats outside of the plant, but acknowledged they lacked sensitivity about how Fukushima residents felt about the loss of power and cooling.
“We learned that it only takes one rat, not even an earthquake or tsunami, to paralyze the plant,” said Yukihiro Higashi, an Iwaki Meisei University engineering professor who is on a government nuclear regulatory panel overseeing Fukushima Dai- Ichi safety.
“People in Fukushima are under constant fear of another serious incident that requires evacuation,” Higashi said.
The full cleanup of the plant, still running on makeshift equipment, is expected to take decades.