The Fuck-You Shima Disaster could not have happened in 2003

[denem]

Why?

Because all TEPCO plants were mothballed in 2003 after the company admitted in 2002 to 25 years of falsified technical data, inspections, and unreported incidents. 200 failures were uncovered in 2002. All TEPCO plants were allowed back online by the end of 2005.

Wikipedia Summary

August 29, 2002, the government of Japan revealed that TEPCO was guilty of false reporting in routine governmental inspection of its nuclear plants and systematic concealment of plant safety incidents. All seventeen of its boiling-water reactors were shut down for inspection as a result. TEPCO's chairman Hiroshi Araki, President Nobuya Minami, Vice-President Toshiaki Enomoto, as well as the advisers Shō Nasu and Gaishi Hiraiwa stepped-down by September 30, 2002. The utility "eventually admitted to two hundred occasions over more than two decades between 1977 and 2002, involving the submission of false technical data to authorities". Upon taking over leadership responsibilities, TEPCO's new president issued a public commitment that the company would take all the countermeasures necessary to prevent fraud and restore the nation's confidence. By the end of 2005, generation at suspended plants had been restarted, with government approval.

In 2007, however, the company announced to the public that an internal investigation had revealed a large number of unreported incidents. These included an unexpected unit criticality in 1978 and additional systematic false reporting, which had not been uncovered during the 2002 inquiry. Along with scandals at other Japanese electric companies, this failure to ensure corporate compliance resulted in strong public criticism of Japan's electric power industry and the nation's nuclear energy policy. Again, the company made no effort to identify those responsible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Electric_Power_Company#Scandal

One particular misfeasance uncovered was the failure to monitor Toshiba's gauges, which are replaced periodically.

From Firedog Lake

The current crisis appears to have been exacerbated by problems with gauges in the coolant systems. From today’s New York Times: Workers inside the reactors saw that levels of coolant water were dropping. They did not know how severely. “The gauges that measure the water level don’t appear to be giving accurate readings,” one American official said.

There was a vibration.

[truebrit71]

1. That's interesting...

..in a sort of "holy shit" way...

[denem]

2. Yeah. Hence the Fuck You Shima, TEPCO's finger to the world.

It is very China Syndrome.

[BeFree]

3. A little too late...

...to do the right thing now.
At least at that plant.

We still could keep most of the other nuke plants from following this example.
Will we? Or are we destined to more blowback?

[denem]

5. I don't know. (sigh). The China Syndrome emphasized money;

the Japanese Syndrome adds saving face to the mix.

[BeFree]

7. well

I'll do my part to try and save humanity and the planet from this pollution.

At least I can say "I tried".

[denem]

9. If no one does anything,

the result is pretty certain.

[marions ghost]

4. looks like

Japan could have done without them.

Bet they wish they had decommissioned them now.

:banghead:

[denem]

6. Unit 1 was due to be decommissioned February but

TEPCO won a ten year extension on it's operational life.

[defendandprotect]

8. Really shocking -- and unfortunate -- they have a total of 55 nuclear reactors in 17 different areas

[denem]

10. TEPCO are the 3rd biggest Power Utility in the World

but greed and pride are a powerful mix.

[defendandprotect]

11. We have a good amount of the same here -- remember Karen Silkwood...

And the Kerr-McGee plant -- ?

Silkwood was purposefully contaminated --

and later died in a one-car crash --

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/interact/silkwood.html






The Rightwing Koch Bros. Funded the DLC --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414


If you knew this, why didn't you tell us -- ?

If you didn't know this -- pass it on -- !!



:)

[denem]

12. I knew about Karen Silkwood. The DLCoch? Wow.

The Koch Bros are vampires: However much the get, there's more bloody meat to be sucked dry.

[sce56]

13. Fukushima-shima, meaning "good-fortune island"

Is that going to be an oxymoron?

[denem]

14. What does Hiroshima translate into?

[denem]

15. ...

[underpants]

16. Well I am just sure that none of our energy companies put cost cutting above safety

[denem]

17. TEPCO's current reports trustworthy?

I trust the Fukushima 50, that's about it.