Tokyo Takes Center Role in Japan Nuclear Crisis
By MITSURU OBE
TOKYO—The Japanese government will shoulder much of the responsibility for a nine-month plan to bring the heavily damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant firmly under control, a top adviser to Japan's prime minister said Monday, as he added to criticism of the plant's embattled operator.
The comments Monday by Goshi Hosono, a member of Japan's lower house of parliament and adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the nuclear issue, show in the clearest terms yet the lead role Tokyo is taking at the expense of the plant's operator, as they both work to keep nuclear fuel at the site from overheating and leaking into the environment.
"We were closely involved in the crafting of the road map," Mr. Hosono said at the first combined news briefing between government officials and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. since he took over Friday much of the responsibility for the dissemination of information about the crisis. "We have big responsibility for achieving the road map."
Police stood in a cordon blocking protesters during an anti-nuclear demonstration Saturday in front of the headquarters of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. in Tokyo.
Mr. Hosono, who handled most of the questions, criticized Tepco, as the plant operator is known, for its performance in the early days of the crisis, though he suggested its response time has improved.
"Tepco, as a public utility, apparently did not have the [corporate] culture to take bold action," he said, referring to the company's initial hesitation to take steps such as cooling overheating reactors with seawater and opening vents at the reactor complex when pressure built. "Such a conservative attitude is not acceptable in a crisis situation, and Tepco is no longer behaving like its slow, old self."
Five briefers sat at the podium, with Mr. Hosono taking center stage and a Tepco representative seated on the far right. The Tepco representative didn't respond to Mr. Hosono's remarks.
The 3.5-hour briefing was attended by more than 250 reporters. Mr. Hosono, a 39-year-old, four-term lawmaker, said the haphazard way of explaining the crisis to the public had to change.
Officials at Japan's Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency on Monday described additional hurdles that have appeared at the plant in recent days as workers seek to remove radioactive water from the site. The water—a result of efforts to cool the nuclear fuel—is highly radioactive in some cases and poses a hazard to the environment and to the workers at the site. The agency estimates more than 80,000 tons of water might be at the site.
Highly radioactive water leaked into the ocean three weeks ago, but agency officials said in a report Monday none appears to have leaked out since then. Still, the absence of leakage indicates radioactive water is accumulating inside the plant, underscoring the urgency to find a way to process and store it.
Highly radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi's No. 2 reactor is flooding the basement of the nearby turbine building and a utility trench holding a seawater pipe. More than 30,000 tons of water is believed gathered in the basement and the trench.
An operation to drain these facilities has been under way since April 19. About 1,500 tons of water had been transferred to a storage facility by Monday.
Tepco aims to double the pace of the draining operation, but it faces risks and challenges. High levels of radiation —160 millisieverts—was detected on the surface of the pipe carrying the contaminated water, according to a Tepco analysis, potentially posing a radiation risk to workers engaged in the operation. Japan limits exposure for nuclear workers to a cumulative annual dosage of 250 millisieverts.
Workers at the site also are dealing with debris from the hydrogen explosions that occurred in the first week of the crisis, touched off by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Some of it is highly radioactive, with one chunk of concrete found near No. 3 emitting radiation of 300 millisieverts per hour. Tepco said workers are trying to remove it using remote-controlled equipment and have been using unmanned bulldozers and trucks.
Workers are racing to complete work before the rainy season, which usually begins in June. Rains could further complicate efforts to remove radioactive water and repair reactors damaged by the magnitude-9 earthquake and a subsequent tsunami on March 11.
Wet weather has recently hampered an operation to spray sticky resin over debris to prevent radioactive substances from being carried by winds and dispersed to wider areas.
Also Monday, officials with the nuclear-safety agency said preparations were under way to inject nitrogen into the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, as they did earlier this month with No. 1. Nitrogen can help build pressure within the reactor vessels and avert another hydrogen explosion. Agency officials said those reactors have lower temperatures and are believed to be under less pressure than No. 1 but should get nitrogen injections as a precaution.
