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<The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP: The World Ponders>
- Q1The accident at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reached Level 7. Why wasn't the damage minimised?
- Q2What do you think about responses to the accident by TEPCO, NSC, NISA, and the government?
- Q3Did the government and TEPCO correctly release information on evacuation orders and spread of radioactive substances?
- Q4What challenges does decommissioning bring?
- Q5When a plant is decommissioned, what other problems are caused by the disposal of highly radioactive waste?
- Q6What should the world do to avoid serious nuclear disasters in future?
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Q2 What do you think about responses to the accident by TEPCO, the Nuclear Safety Commission, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and the government?
Although it seems that each commander in chief on site made the best efforts, Prime Minister Kan's self-centered behaviors must have delayed the initial reaction for the measures, I suppose.
As many have pointed out, their responses were haphazard. It must be because of the absence of the manual expecting such accidents they and training. I think that they made every possible effort in the situation. Meanwhile, I've heard that TEPCO would withdraw, which is extremely irresponsible.
They should have make judgment immediately whether they could handle the situation with their own ability. When it is such a state after one year, they can't complain if they are asked the responsibility.
Due to the buck-passing of their own organization respectively, their responses were inconsistent and I felt a tendency that they were lacking in the attitude to work in collaboration.
It seems that they are merely working for self-protection respectively, which is rather causing another confusion.
When I hear interviews TEPCO and others, their sincerity is not felt at all. They should give more sincere response to the people, I suppose.
I only have distrust in them. As the country might have fallen into a panic if they told the people each response they took just after the earthquake, they must have been in the situation to be careful of the information disclosure. But the news that their words got overturned in sequence day after day just created a sense of mistrust. And how can something bogus like "absence of the minutes" occur? I think the situation is even an excuse for hiding the existing minutes which cannot be actually announced.
They weren't able to build relations as TEPCO's main office didn't function, the politicians couldn't utilize the Nuclear Safety Commission well and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency didn't give sufficient lecture to the politicians beforehand.
No sense of unity is there at all. Also, I can't find who was responsible with the past crisis control.
There is nobody who can make clear judgment and give instructions. They are only thinking about self-protection.
I had an impression that they were taking the situation as the other people's affairs. I feel that they are lacking in concerns as the parties involved.
Q2
No.0058
USA
Mark Hibbs
Senior associate, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
http://carnegieendowment.org/experts/?fa=expert_view&expert_id=478You will leave the NHK website when you access this link.
Q2
No.0057
Switzerland
Wolfgang Kröger
Executive Director of Risk Center, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
http://www.lsa.ethz.ch/people/prof/wkroegerYou will leave the NHK website when you access this link.
Q2
No.0055
Denmark
Preben Maegaard
Director, Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy
http://www.folkecenter.net/gb/You will leave the NHK website when you access this link.
Q2
No.0054
To be honest, TEPCO, Nulcear Safety Commitee, and other governmental organizations could not take a appropriate measures. They just handed down only white papers and datas at media briefing. They behaved horribly at those briefing sessions. But it was a disaster of massive eartyquake, radiation issue at the nuclear plant, and all the system and infrastructure of the capital was stalled. So i think anybody would have a difficulty giving right direction under such a terrible situation. There was a lack of manpower, financial ability, and resources. There are so many similar companies like TEPCO exit in Japan. It was not only a fault of Nuclear Safety Commitee and the government, it was a fault of the whole Japanese society itself which resulted the disaster. It was a reslut of each of Japanese people could not make any speculation for countermeasure. We can not just blame for TEPCO and the government for what happened, we must analyse the accident on March 11th 2011 deeper with a broad view.
Q2
No.0053
Most of organizations and agencies could not come up with appropriate measures. And I do not think anybody did a fine job tackling to the devastated situation. Why was the accident response so slow? It is because they did not make any specualtion about potential disasters. There was actually a manual for the accident but it was totally useless. Evacuation drills are often held to be mentally prepared for the potential accidents because those fire or earthquake accidents are likely to happen. However, TEPCO did not assume of such a massive disaster to occur. TEPCO should not have built nuclear plants too close to the villages. If they were able to make an assumption of the disaster, the damage could have been minimized. But TEPCO cleary did not make any speculation so that is why they failed to amend the situation.
Although TEPCO should take the responsibility for the accident caused, it is outrageous for them to try to abandon it, which made me feel still doubt the company. The fact that the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency belongs to the METI is strange. They must monitor the plants with stern eyes, otherwise, the local areas won't be able to feel relieved. Regarding the accident this time, although they had to bear the leadership role, it is hard to say that they properly served their role. It just won't do to constitute such organizations with only people parachuting from the atomic energy village. You could say there was no help for it in terms of the government as they aren't experts and haven't got the experience like this before without any know-how. However, when you think about verifying this accident and make use of the information next time, they should accept the blame for the error that they didn't keep the record of all the details of what had occurred. Also, I wonder why they couldn't gather up the experts immediately to seek for their proposals for the measures.

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