An internal Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) report on the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns released on June 20 heaps blame on the government for worsening the situation, while absolving the firm of nearly all responsibility for the disaster.
Speaking at a news conference on the release of the report, TEPCO Vice President and internal investigative committee chair Masao Yamazaki admitted that there were “some problems” with how the utility responded to the March 2011 meltdowns. Furthermore, the report states that “all parties connected to the disaster, including this company, should reflect deeply on what happened.”
However, Yamazaki maintained that TEPCO had “successfully carried out all prescribed procedures” and “employees did everything they could under difficult circumstances.
“There was trouble with several reactors simultaneously, and it was a very severe situation. Despite a total power failure, aftershocks and multiple tsunami warnings, (TEPCO staff) managed to cope,” he added. The document itself traces the release of radioactive materials from the plant — estimated at the equivalent of roughly 900,000 terabecquerels of radioiodine — but does not address whether TEPCO could have done anything to lessen the severity of the disaster.
Continue reading at TEPCO report on Fukushima nuke disaster dodges blame, points finger at gov’t
