Bungling, cover-ups define Japanese nuclear power

[steve2470]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iU29-CtBza8xA01r9IzPwksyP1WQ?docId=9e518d4998224fd8b705cc3fe9903eb6

TOKYO (AP) — Behind Japan's escalating nuclear crisis sits a scandal-ridden energy industry in a comfy relationship with government regulators often willing to overlook safety lapses.

Leaks of radioactive steam and workers contaminated with radiation are just part of the disturbing catalog of accidents that have occurred over the years and been belatedly reported to the public, if at all.

In one case, workers hand-mixed uranium in stainless steel buckets, instead of processing by machine, so the fuel could be reused, exposing hundreds of workers to radiation. Two later died.

"Everything is a secret," said Kei Sugaoka, a former nuclear power plant engineer in Japan who now lives in California. "There's not enough transparency in the industry."

[jannyk]

1. And now it's been 4 hours since there was an update on the situation!

[aquart]

2. Oh, just like here!

[nc4bo]

5. Exactly! nt

[malaise]

3. And how would all of that

have prevented this mess after a 9.0 quake and a 30ft tsunami.

[nolabels]

4. "Propaganda From George Soros"

Beck Dismisses Concern Over Japan's Nuclear Emergency As "Propaganda From George Soros"
From the March 14 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:


http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201103140008

[enough]

6. The first sentence is also an accurate description of the nuclear power industry in the US:

An "energy industry in a comfy relationship with government regulators often willing to overlook safety lapses."

[Hannah Bell]

7. its an accurate statement about big corporations generally.