Edition

Culture of Complicity Tied to Fukushima

IN THIS ISSUE: Culture of complicity tied to Fukushima, India to revamp nuclear oversight, trimming nuclear excess, Jimmy Carter says Kim Jong Il wants summit with SKorea, US urges Turkey on Iran sanctions, storms knock out TVA nuclear units and power lines.

Published on April 28, 2011
 

Culture of Complicity Tied to Stricken Nuclear Plant

Norimitsu Onishi and Ken Belson | The New York Times

Fukushima Daiichi Reactors

Given the fierce insularity of Japan's nuclear industry, it was perhaps fitting that an outsider exposed the most serious safety cover-up in the history of Japanese nuclear power. It took place at Fukushima Daiichi, the plant that Japan has been struggling to get under control since last month's earthquake and tsunami.

In 2000, Kei Sugaoka, a Japanese-American nuclear inspector who had done work for General Electric at Daiichi, told Japan's main nuclear regulator about a cracked steam dryer that he believed was being concealed. If exposed, the revelations could have forced the operator, Tokyo Electric Power, to do what utilities least want to do: undertake costly repairs. Full Article  



Follow the Nuclear Policy Program
 RSS News Feed Twitter
Footer information begins here
More from Proliferation News


Amy Kazmin | Financial Times
India is planning an overhaul of its insular nuclear establishment as it gears up for a big expansion of its nuclear energy capacity in the aftermath of the disaster at Japan's Fukushima reactor.     Full Article

Daryl G. Kimball | Arms Control Association
In the 20 years since the end of the Cold War, successive U.S. and Russian presidents have gradually reduced the size and salience of their enormous nuclear stockpiles. Nevertheless, the size of each country's arsenal far exceeds what might be considered necessary to deter nuclear attack. Both sides can and should go lower.     Full Article

 
 
Washington Post
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il wants direct talks with South Korea's leader - an offer unlikely to be accepted until Pyongyang takes responsibility for violence that killed 50 South Koreans last year.     Full Article

Christopher Torchia | Associated Press
Iran could try to exploit growing trade ties with Turkey, a neighbor with a booming economy, in order to circumvent international sanctions aimed at forcing it to stop its suspected efforts to make nuclear weapons, a U.S. Treasury Department official said Wednesday.     Full Article

Reuters
Severe storms and tornadoes moving through the U.S. Southeast dealt a severe blow to the Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday, causing three nuclear reactors in Alabama to shut and knocking out 11 high-voltage power lines, the utility and regulators said.     Full Article
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.