The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #136314   Message #3131449
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
08-Apr-11 - 02:22 PM
Thread Name: BS: Japan Nuclear plant disaster, 2011
Subject: RE: BS: Nuclear plant disaster looming
Toshiba hopes to decommission and dismantle the four Fukushima reactors in 10 years, a somewhat shorter time than previously announced. It filed the plan with the Japanese government and TEPCO, with aid from its subsidiary, Westinghouse Electric Company.
The proposal includes removal of fuel rods in the containers, removal of spent fuel rods in the storage pools, demolish the facilities, and improve the soil condition. [Overly optimistic?]
Japan Times, April 9, 2011.

Blame seems to be heaped exclusively on TEPCO, the operator.
It should be apportioned to the designer, GE, which was responsible for the elevated spent fuel pool design, Hitachi and Toshiba, responsible for constructing this type of reactor, and the Japanese government, which seems to have approved the design and construction without adequate investigation of problems that could develop in an earthquake-tsunami prone area.
Add to this the accepting, get on with business attitude of most Japanese citizens.