Comments on Safe Workplace and Safety News: Japanese Earthquate & Safety

I expect this will be the final comment on this su...

2007-08-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

I expect this will be the final comment on this subject.

An article in the Daily Yomiuri reports that the world news media sensationalized the effect of the earthquake on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant.

Link to additional news:No Damage To Kashiwazaki K...

2007-07-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Link to additional news:

No Damage To Kashiwazaki Kariwa Fuel, Tepco Confirms

As can be expected, more detailed news about the d...

2007-07-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

As can be expected, more detailed news about the damaged nuclear power plant has been coming out. The most comprehensive story I've seen is at:

MSNBC

The latest report concerning leaks states:

"The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency found radioactive iodine had leaked from an exhaust pipe at the plant, Kyodo News agency and national broadcaster NHK reported."

"NHK said the material had been leaking into the atmosphere until Wednesday."

"The inspectors, however, concluded the leak was too small to harm the environment or public health, the reports said. Officials at the agency said they could not immediately confirm the reports."

What I find disturbing is not what is happening at the power plant in Japan. Yes, they have made some mistakes, but in a disaster such as this it is difficult to respond to everything that is happening without making some mistakes. Those problem areas need to be identified (as is happening), evaluated, and changes made to address them.

What is disturbing is that some bloggers are calling this a "Chernobyl type disaster". There is no comparison between what happened at Chernobyl and what happened at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant. Let's stick to the facts.

Additional information, and corrections to earlier...

2007-07-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Additional information, and corrections to earlier news, is now available. An article in the English newspaper, the Guardian Unlimited is available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,,2129237,00.html

A new fact that is of particular importance is that this facility lies on the fault that caused Monday's earthquake. The article reports:

"The world's biggest nuclear power station faces an uncertain future after it emerged today that it may lie directly above the fault line that triggered this week's earthquake..."

The article also reports that some of the information that was released immediately after the quake was not accurate:

"...the Tokyo Electric Power company [Tepco], which operates the plant, said the amount of radioactivity in water that leaked into the sea during the earthquake was 50% higher than it originally said. The firm blamed a calculation error and said the levels were still well within safety standards."