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March 19, 2011 11:36 am PDT

WSJ: TEPCO initially resisted using seawater to cool reactors; harm to "valuable power assets" feared (UPDATED)

[ UPDATE: Joi Ito has been blogging about lies, corruption, and safety breaches with TEPCO for nearly ten years. Links to a couple of his 2002-2003 TEPCO posts at the bottom of this Boing Boing item.--XJ ] In the Wall Street Journal, news that critical early efforts to stave off crisis at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were delayed by the operator's concerns over damaging "valuable assets," and by "initial passivity" on the part of Japan's government. Snip from WSJ: Tepco was reluctant to use seawater because it worried about hurting its long-term investment in the complex, say people involved with the efforts. Seawater, which can render a nuclear reactor permanently inoperable, now is at the center of efforts to keep the plant under control. Tepco "hesitated because it tried to protect its assets," said Akira Omoto, a former Tepco executive and a member of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, an official advisory body involved in the effort to tame the plant. Both Tepco and government officials had good reason not to use saltwater, Mr. Omoto added. Early on, nuclear fuel rods were still under cooling water and undamaged, he said, adding, "it's understandable because injecting seawater into the fuel vessel renders it unusable." "Bid to 'Protect Assets' Slowed Reactor Fight" (WSJ) As an aside, this PDF "TEPCO 2020 Corporate Vision Statement" is a little surreal in hindsight, and references an earlier quake-triggered crisis:...


Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/NpQxNaTsaJU/wsj-tepco-initially.html

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