ID :
207419
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 18:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/207419
The shortlink copeid
Japan nuclear agency chief regrets lenient crisis management approach
TOKYO, Sept. 15 Kyodo -
Japan's nuclear safety agency chief has voiced regret that its crisis management approach was too lenient in light of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident.
''Our approach on crisis management had been lenient,'' Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Director General Hiroyuki Fukano said in a recent interview with Kyodo News, after his predecessor who was dismissed in August over his handling of the meltdown accident.
When the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, the plant lost electricity sources due primarily to the large tsunami, leading to meltdowns of three reactor cores, explosions at three reactor buildings and widespread radioactive contamination.
''We should have taken a realistic approach to the possibility that all electricity sources could be lost for real,'' Fukano said.
''If we had taken a realistic approach, we could have made a difference in training, human resources development and the plant operator's preparedness,'' he said.
Fukano also said the government's disaster preparations ''had been insufficient in many ways.'' ''As we had taken much time to assess quake resistance, we had lagged in taking anti-tsunami measures,'' he said.
He indicated that the presence of as many as six reactors at the plant made it difficult to effectively address the accident in which all six suffered damage. ''It was very difficult to secure sufficient human resources and equipment such as power-supply vehicles,'' he said.
The government plans to create a new nuclear safety agency under the Ministry of Environment next April to take over the nuclear regulatory operations of Fukano's agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and other government bodies.
''A major challenge for the new agency would be to develop human resources with 'frontline' expertise such as knowledge about the real operations of a nuclear plant,'' he said. ''We will provide anything as required to allow the new body to become a firm regulatory organization and avoid any similar failures.''
Japan's nuclear safety agency chief has voiced regret that its crisis management approach was too lenient in light of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident.
''Our approach on crisis management had been lenient,'' Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Director General Hiroyuki Fukano said in a recent interview with Kyodo News, after his predecessor who was dismissed in August over his handling of the meltdown accident.
When the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, the plant lost electricity sources due primarily to the large tsunami, leading to meltdowns of three reactor cores, explosions at three reactor buildings and widespread radioactive contamination.
''We should have taken a realistic approach to the possibility that all electricity sources could be lost for real,'' Fukano said.
''If we had taken a realistic approach, we could have made a difference in training, human resources development and the plant operator's preparedness,'' he said.
Fukano also said the government's disaster preparations ''had been insufficient in many ways.'' ''As we had taken much time to assess quake resistance, we had lagged in taking anti-tsunami measures,'' he said.
He indicated that the presence of as many as six reactors at the plant made it difficult to effectively address the accident in which all six suffered damage. ''It was very difficult to secure sufficient human resources and equipment such as power-supply vehicles,'' he said.
The government plans to create a new nuclear safety agency under the Ministry of Environment next April to take over the nuclear regulatory operations of Fukano's agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and other government bodies.
''A major challenge for the new agency would be to develop human resources with 'frontline' expertise such as knowledge about the real operations of a nuclear plant,'' he said. ''We will provide anything as required to allow the new body to become a firm regulatory organization and avoid any similar failures.''
