An expert panel’s proposal that the government adopt a major role in dealing with radioactively contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant was left unaddressed by the former Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-led government, it has been learned.
An expert panel to the Cabinet Office’s Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) made the proposal in December 2011, advising that the government take the initiative in preventing water leaks and safe storage and treating of contaminated water at the plant. However, it was revealed Sept. 6 that the government at the time left the proposal virtually untouched. The panel also recommended setting up a third-party body to monitor measures taken by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and to seek dialogue with local bodies, but this suggestion has yet to be implemented.
“We were severely criticized for having promoted nuclear power, and we compiled the proposal thinking that we, too, had a responsibility to ensure safe decommissioning of the Fukushima reactors,” said a senior JAEC official.
A former official in the DPJ-led administration commented, “TEPCO was playing a major role in addressing the nuclear disaster. ... There was no reason the government had to act in accordance with the proposal.” The comment serves as an admission that the government at the time was not placing much emphasis on the JAEC proposal, which was filed on Dec. 13, 2011, about nine months after the onset of the nuclear crisis.
If the previous administration had paid more attention to the recommendation, problems relating to contaminated water might not have been as severe. Even after the current administration led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spelled out on Sept. 3 this year basic government policies such as injecting public funds to deal with contaminated water and stepping up the monitoring of TEPCO’s work, some in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) still point out that the government’s involvement in the issue remains ambiguous.
The JAEC proposal analyzed the U.S. government’s response to the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear accident in March 1979 and estimated that the amount of contaminated water generated at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant — where multiple reactors were damaged — was likely to climb to around 20 times that at Three Mile Island. The proposal noted that Washington didn’t leave the handling of the TMI accident solely to the power company but established a system to share the responsibilities among the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It praised such measures as leading to longtime and safe management and disposal of radioactive waste including contaminated water.
On the financial front, the JAEC proposal pointed out that the U.S. government injected public funds into the development of technology and equipment to decommission the TMI reactor at the center of the accident — including measures against contaminated water — on the grounds of protecting “national interests,” while having the power company perform a key role. The JAEC proposal emphasized the importance of the Japanese government becoming aware of its responsibility and getting involved in the issues at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
With regard to measures to be taken to deal with contaminated water, the JAEC paper expressed concern that it might not be possible to detect the locations of water leaks using cameras or dosage measurements alone. It also urged the construction of impermeable walls and the utilization of both domestic and foreign expertise in the development of technology and equipment as part of measures to safely store and process contaminated water over a long period of time.
Mainichi Shimbun, September 7, 2013