Japanese report calls response to TEPCO nuclear meltdown at Fukushima confused, bumbling, AP Says

TOKYO (TR) – A report on the response to the nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant caused by the March 11, earthquake and tsunami paints a picture of confusion, communication failures and workers unprepared to deal with the unfolding crisis, the Associated Press said.

The interim report released Monday and compiled by an independent panel for the government said the risk assessment against a tsunami was grossly underestimated by more than half and workers at the plant were not trained sufficiently to handle the disaster that struck the plant, according to the AP. The report said there was no clear manual to show workers what do in case of such an emergency and those workers waited too long to begin pumping in water to prevent a meltdown after misreading a backup system.

The report also criticized the government of unnecessarily exposing nearby residents to radiation by delaying radiation data in the area and using evasive language in an attempt to avoid admitting to the public the seriousness of the meltdown, the AP said.

Even then, investigators said if the measures in place at the time had worked, the tsunami damage was so great, there is no way to say a nuclear meltdown would have been prevented, the news agency reported. The full report, which will also include suggested fixes to better deal with future disasters, is scheduled for release by mid-2012.

Source: AP

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Posted by Michael Blaskoski on December 27, 2011. Filed under National,Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry