While this editorial from Japan’s Minyu Shimbun doesn’t mention the United States, it highlights TEPCO’s obstinate refusal to call in outside help from the U.S. and elsewhere in containing radiation at its Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. According to the editorial, the company has decided to raise bonus pay for workers operating in high-radiation areas by $100 a day, and will install a larger lounge for them to ‘relax.’ Unfortunately, according to the newspaper, these measures will do little to contain large amounts of radioactive water from leaking into the groundwater and ocean.
The disturbing Minyu Shimbun editorial starts out this way:
With regard to the decommissioning [fuel rod removal] at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has published emergency safety measures focused on improving the working environment. TEPCO will build a large lounge for workers to take breaks as well as decontaminate more of the site, so over a larger area, workers will be able to work without full face masks, which are thought to lower efficiency. The company will also raise the daily bonus for workers from 10,000 yen [$100] to 20,000 yen [$200].
The thought behind the plan is to accelerate the decommissioning process and raise the morale of employees. One pressing issue is contaminated water: starting in mid-November, fuel rods have begun to be removed from the storage pool in the No.4 reactor unit. On-site radiation is high resulting in constant tension. TEPCO must ensure the safety of the site if it wants steady progress on the decommissioning.
As a result of human error, the Daiichi power station has been plagued by radioactive water leaks, prompting a meeting on October 28 between Chairman Shunichi Tanaka of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, who is from Fukushima City himself, and TEPCO President Naomi Hirose. Mr. Tanaka sought improvements to the working environment and criticized TEPCO’s failure to halt the radioactive leaks.
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