It has been reported that six workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been doused with highly radioactive water. While that may be unfortunate it is reason for all of us to be concerned.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said repeated mishaps could be a sign of the harsh work environment.
“Careless mistakes are often linked to (declining) morale,” Tanaka said a regular news conference. “People usually don’t make silly, careless mistakes when working in positive environment and motivated. The lack of it, I think, may be related to the recent problems.”
So why should this concern us? Kurt Cobb explains:
Perhaps the most important energy story on the planet right now is the precarious situation for fuel rods stored in a damaged building at the Fukushima nuclear power station in Japan, site of the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history.
It’s a story that has actually been important for a while because an earthquake–in a place prone to earthquakes–or a severe storm or perhaps another tsunami have the potential to dislodge these rods, expose them to air and begin a reaction that might release a radioactive cloud that would reach around the globe. Figuring out how to get the rods out of harm’s way, however, has proven exceedingly difficult. But shortly, the plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company, is going to try, and any mistake in moving the rods could be very, very environmentally damaging and dangerous to human health.
So we have demoralized workers who are about to perform a critical and dangerous task. Yes that’s scary but it’s not Cobb’s main point – it ‘s our inability as of society to do risk analysis. Insurance underwriters can do it. That’s why they no longer underwrite property damage in Florida and the State has to do it. It’s also why they won’t underwrite nuclear power plants and central governments have to do it.
However, there is another story beyond the immediate danger that tells us something about how we think about risk and why such thinking is wholly inadequate to the risks we face in energy.
While accidents at nuclear power plants may have been rare as Fukushima Daiichi has shown us they can be devastating not just to the immediate area but potentially to the entire world. The owner of the Fukushima Daiichi facility, TEPCO, has proven time and time again they are unable to manage the disaster. But it’s not just nuclear power. Kurt Cobb again:
We could conclude that nuclear power is unsafe or, at least, risky enough that we don’t want to build more potential Fukushimas, and leave it at that. But, we would be remiss in not noting that the rest of the world’s energy system, based primarily on fossil fuels faces risks of unknown proportions as well.
There are the obvious risks of climate change associated with the burning of fossil fuels. The risks are rising, and the consequences could be nothing short of catastrophic.
Once again it’s the insurance underwriters who are taking the lead and trying to warn us about the potential catastrophic impact of fossil fuel induced climate change.