Monday, April 16, 2012

70 Corporations Willing to Accept Disaster Debris, Says Minister of Economy Yukio Edano

From Jiji Tsushin (4/17/2012):

がれき処理、70社が前向き=閣僚会議で報告-枝野経産相

70 Corporations positive on accepting the disaster debris, Minister of Economy Edano reported at the ministerial meeting

 枝野幸男経済産業相は17日のがれきの広域処理に関する関係閣僚会議で、産業界に東日本大震災で生じたがれきの処理への協力を要請した結果、セメント業界や製紙業界など70社から前向きな回答があったことを報告した。

At the ministerial meeting on April 17 on the wide-area disposal of disaster debris, Yukio Edano, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry reported that 70 corporations in the cement industry, the paper industry and others have responded positively to the request for cooperation in disposing the debris from the March 11, 2011 earthquake/tsunami.

This I think is the real deal that the national government has wanted all along. By going the corporate route - industries that use debris as fuel and raw material (ashes for the cement, for example) and the industrial waste management industry, the national government can bypass the municipalities who may have to deal with those pesky residents against accepting and burning the disaster debris at their municipal incineration facilities. The municipal governments will be relieved that it won't be their responsibility to ascertain safety.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

So the cement industry, paper industry and others will have the job of spreading the radiation around.

I assume the workers in these industries know and approve of this.

Anonymous said...

To the 70 corporations and to the other corporations who use material from the 70 corporations:

You are well advised to read all of the following closely. Your future and mine are at stake.

1. First please think for a minute about the fate of TEPCO's board of directors. They are being personally sued because of the devastation of TEPCO's stock value. You also are playing with fire, and you can easily get burned by going along with the government's scheme.

2. The Japanese people have become much more informed about radiation. They are testing their own food. They are sharing information on the internet about what they find. They have come a long way in a year, and there is no sign that they will become any less vigilant. In fact, we are getting smarter.

3. We have already learned that some mushrooms, some leafy vegetables, some products from the sea can be dangerous, and we watch where we buy from. Now imagine how much easier it would be for bloggers to share information about products with slightly higher radiation levels when there are specific companies and products that we can name! "Houses from i*%$# Housing company used cement that was contaminated with 200 Bq/KG of Cesium 137 and 40Bq/KG Cobalt 60 and 3BQ/kg Strontium. The cement was purchased from fffffffKK. The following other housing companies also purchase cement from ffffffKK. Testing is recommended before buying." "g$6#ll Shinbun is made with contaminated ash. The paper tested emitted .3 microseverts per hour gamma, and .001 beta. Their competitor e$%&## shinbun consistently tests ND in our monthly tests." It is SO much easier to identify undesirable products because they have unique names. Your products, or the products that other companies make from your products, can be very easily identified.

4. Is it worth losing 5% of your customers? 10%? 80%? Do you really know how many people will stop buying from you and your customers once consumers know the facts and have options?

5. Do you really trust the government's safety standards? These are the same people who sold us all on the story that nuclear power was safe. Do you trust that they are correct about the health effects of low dose radiation? There are many experts who say they're wrong. Do YOU want to trust them with the future of your company? your community? your country? the Japanese race and culture?

6. Finally you must consider how highly motivated the bloggers are. Do you really want to take us on? For a small one time payoff from a government that will be thrown out of power in the next election? We don't need your advertising. We won't be cowed. Thanks to the INTERNET the truth will emerge and you can't stop it!

In conclusion, JUST SAY NO to this government. If you won't say NO to the government for the betterment of Japan and the Japanese people, JUST SAY NO to the government for your own benefit.

If you do take the radiated materials the current government wants you to use, people will find out that your products contain higher levels of radiation than competitors' products. People will share that information online. Some people may stop buying your products. Your company will suffer. Shareholders (if you're public) will sue your directors for this decision when they find that it puts your company out of business.

Ex-SKF: I hope you will please publish the list of companies if you find them. Many will have customer references on their web sites also. These too should be published before they take them down, although these days we can usually find historic (deleted) pages from an internet archiving site if we have to.

All: let's do what we can to help these companies understand the impact of taking even low dose radioactive waste and blending it into their products.

Anonymous said...

70 corporations.

At the beginning of the year, I made a new years resolution to do at least one thing every day to help stop nuclear power.

Please let us know who the 70 are. Won't take long to get through that list.

Also I would challenge everyone out there to try to do one thing every day: blog, demonstrate, talk with someone, sign a petition. If all of us take up the challenge we will be unstoppable.

kintaman said...

Exactly. We need to name and shame these corporations.

As it is I will never purchase anything "madein Japan" again (to the best of my abilities of course as I know that it will be difficult given that so many parts from Japan go into products from other nations).

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

I'm asking on Twitter if anyone knows who these companies are.

I think I know three.

Taiheiyo Cement
Nippon Paper Industries
Mitsubishi Material

First two are already burning the debris, the third wants to do so in Saitama.

Chibaguy said...

I am on board with distributing the list. This is the loophole of loopholes.

Anonymous said...

So let me see if I get this straight:
First we had (have) TEPCO who wasn't doing so hot on the safety/profitability thing to the detriment of safety. Then we ended up with a radioactive mess. To solve it, we get corporations involved that - naturally - want/need to make a profit.

Why exactly are we supposed to think that safety is the top concern now? And what exactly is the government doing to ensure compliance with safety requirements - as far as any exist?

Please tell me I missed something.

And kudos to anyone and everyone who suggests and gets involved in ways (see posts above) to fight this.
*mscharisma*

Anonymous said...

toyota motors

Anonymous said...

EXSKF: Would you be willing to put up a forum where we can collect information on each of these companies?

I'm thinking one folder per company. In it, keep
1. evidence of their taking contaminated materials (press releases, news stories, etc)
2. list of contact information for company officers (including ethics officer)
3. list of their customers (and contact information for purchasing offices)
4. radiation test results
5. etc

Or can someone else volunteer to set this up?

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