TEPCO risks all at Fukushima

[magical thyme]

10. I did not say that 170,000 is not a catastrophe.

so you can stop putting words in my fingers, so to speak. It's a matter of scale. Instead of apples and oranges, maybe I should have said apples and watermelons.

As far as it not threatening Tokyo, you may want to let Japanese officials know that.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/18/fukushima-nuclear-power-workers-spent-fuel-rod-removal

"Some experts have warned that a collision involving the fuel assemblies, a sudden loss of coolant water or another big earthquake could cause a chain reaction and the release of huge quantities of radiation into the atmosphere***."

"After the explosion, one big challenge was to deal with the spent fuel pool because if the water evaporated it would cause a radioactive cloud stretching all the way to Tokyo, which would have to be evacuated," Yuichi Okamura, deputy manager of the water treatment department at Fukushima Daiichi, told the Guardian on Monday."

"The head of Japan's nuclear safety agency, Shunichi Tanaka, recently warned that removing the fuel involved huge risks, particularly if any attempt was made to force fuel assemblies that have become impeded by debris. "The process involves a very large risk potential," he said. "In a sense, it is more risky than the radioactive water crisis.""


***Note: the last time I checked, stuff that goes up into the atmosphere has a way of traveling over mountains and can even travel quite a long distance before it comes back down to earth.

And then there is this:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/15/fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-cleanup

"Yet as the scale of the challenge has become clearer with every new accident and radiation leak, the men working inside the plant are suffering from plummeting morale, health problems and anxiety about the future, according to insiders interviewed by the Guardian.

Even now, at the start of a decommissioning operation that is expected to last 40 years, the plant faces a shortage of workers qualified to manage the dangerous work that lies ahead.

"Commenting on the leak, the head of Japan's nuclear regulator, Shunichi Tanaka, told reporters: "Mistakes are often linked to morale. People usually don't make silly, careless mistakes when they're motivated and working in a positive environment. The lack of it, I think, may be related to the recent problems.""