Fukushima Nuclear Plant Owner Falsified Inspection Records

[Hissyspit]

Source: The Australian

Fukushima nuclear plant owner falsified inspection records
Alexi Mostrous and Alex Ralph From: The Times March 17, 2011 10:25AM

THE Japanese owner of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant falsified safety data and "dishonestly" tried to cover up problems there.

Tokyo Electric Power Co injected air into the containment vessel of Fukushima reactor No 1 to artificially “lower the leak rate”. When caught, the company expressed its “sincere apologies for conducting dishonest practices”.

The misconduct came to light in 2002 after whistleblowers working for General Electric, which designed the reactor, complained to the Japanese government. Another GE employee later confessed that he had falsified records of inspections of reactor No1 in 1989 - at the request of TEPCO officials. He also admitted to falsifying other inspection reports, also on request of the client. After that incident TEPCO was forced to shut down 17 reactors, albeit temporarily.

- snip -

In a document entitled Lessons Learned from the TEPCO Nuclear Power Scandal, released by the company and seen by The Times, TEPCO blamed its “misconduct” in 2002 on its “engineers' overconfidence of their nuclear knowledge”. Their “conservative mentality” had led them to fail to report problems, the company said, resulting in an “inadequate safety culture”.

Read more: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/fukushima-nuclear-plant-owner-falsified-inspection-records/story-fn84naht-1226023073141

[aquart]

1. I'm sure that would never happen here.

HEAD FOR THE HILLS!!!!

[glinda]

10. Nawww

[cui bono]

2. That damn "conservative mentality" again!

Falsified records "at the request of TEPCO officials". And they gave him cash at the request of, um, himself.

wtf is wrong with people?

[Bozita]

3. I smell a new chapter coming soon to "The Shock Doctrine."

Real soon!

Japan's middle and working classes simply make too much money and have too many benefits.

That needs to end.

Maybe they could privatize some stuff to finance the disaster/rebuilding efforts.

But, ... that wouldn't be enough.

Time for all the workers to share in the pain.

[aquart]

17. Now I'm thinking viral marketing. Really, too much.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. And wikileaks is our enemy?

What a fucked up world we have.

[glinda]

11. Wikileaks is our friend.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

20. certainly more than corporate owned MSM.

No wonder governments are so pissed at wikileaks. They can't keep us ignorant

[Blacksheep214]

5. Is TEPCO a subsidary of BP?

I guess this proves we need LESS regulation of business because without the pesky regulations, they wouldn't have been in violation of anything.

Keep at it conservatives. You'll kill us all yet!

[DeSwiss]

6. Of course they lied....

...they have to lie because all such systems are inherently flawed. They leak, they overheat and they give off radiation -- what did we expect? They all do more harm than any good they could remotely be responsible for. No matter what anyone says. Only a civilization of idiots allows for the creation of electricity by using nuclear fuel source(s).


- We think we're so fucking advanced with this complex machinery when if fact we haven't progressed much at all. We're still just making a steam engine run......

K&R

[glinda]

12. Right. Then they pay fines for what they cannot replace. Idiocy.

[Hardrada]

7. There was a movie with this exact theme!

Jane Fonda was in it.

[wordpix]

8. sounds familiar---the corporate playbook, whether it's oil, coal, nukes or waste storage

Hide the problems and claim it's something that never could have been imagined

[AndyTiedye]

18. It is Something More Fundamental than any "Corporate Playbook"

since much the same happened at Chernobyl and no corporations were involved in that disaster.

It has more to do with the nature of large, hierarchical organizations and
their tendency to crush dissenting views that the "boss" doesn't want to hear.

[crim son]

9. Well, what a fucking surprise. Not.

When will it become clear that human greed and laziness makes them incapable of regulating their own business? When will it become obvious that people will choose money over any other consideration, and cover their own asses before considering the plight of their neighbor?

I am disgusted beyond words. But not surprised, not one whit surprised.

[plumbob]

13. And this very same company wants to partner on building two new

reactors in Texas.

No, thanks!

[Arugula Latte]

15. I am in favor of those two Texas reactors...

but only if they dump all the waste on the Bush family.

[plumbob]

22. Actually, all the waste will go on us out here near Andrews.

While the Bushes and their billionaire pal Harold Simmons live it up in Dallas.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

14. Lets get rid of those pesky regulations that get in the way

of higher profits.

[mysterysoup]

16. Someone will have to commit ritual seppuku.

[SpoonFed]

19. you're joking but...

my friend in Japan says it's only a matter of time, given that every year there is some
scandal related to the government in which somebody important offs themselves as a way
of apology...

he says just wait.

[yodermon]

21. Send him in to Fukushima Daiichi with a watering can. n/t

[RedCloud]

23. preferibly a leak one at that.