Monday, September 12, 2011

TEPCO Did It Again - Blacked-Out Table of Contents

of the severe accident manual that was demanded on September 6 by a Diet committee.

On instruction from the regulatory agency Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, TEPCO submitted an almost completely blacked-out document. Not satisfied, to say the least, the committee asked for re-submission.

NISA accordingly instructed (the link is in Japanese, PDF) TEPCO again on September 8, telling the company to "report to the agency by 6PM as to what conditions are necessary for the disclosure of the information, if any".

On September 12, TEPCO submitted the front cover and the table of contents of the document "Operation Manual for Reactor 1 (Severe Accident)", 3 pages total, with 48 lines out of 50 were blacked out. All the lawmakers in the committee could read was "fire extinguishing line" and "inert gas".

TEPCO's Matsumoto explained that the manual is a company's internal document and not for public consumption, and the company has to protect intellectual properties and the physical protection of nuclear facilities. (Information from Asahi Shinbun, 9/12/2011)

We can blame TEPCO all we want. But again, the company is following instruction from NISA, and NISA makes no effort to have the information disclosed.

The Diet committee is asking for re-re-submission.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Remember, TEPCO mission is to make profit, not to protect people. It is the role of the gouvernment to protect people. We can't blame TEPCO to ignore people as long as the gouvernment allows it to happen. TEPCO needs to be forced to care for people by raw physical, legal or financial force or however. Otherwise it has no incentive to protect people before it takes action for its primary activity -which is to seek profit and more and more profit, regardless if people dies or not. The gouvernement sets the limit to this genocide, not TEPCO.

Anonymous said...

Tepco shows again why things have gone so wrong in Fukushima Daiichi. This arrogance shows they think they are untouchable because of their government defenders. Quite possibly that viewpoint is true.

The day of reckoning has not yet arrived. The taboo word for Tepco (corium) has yet to sing the grand finale.

Anonymous said...

I read today something about Fukushima Daiichi no.1 being used in a clandestine nuclear bomb development program.

(http://rense.com/general94/proof.htm)

When we think along these lines, it suddenly starts to make sense: the black out of information by the japanese government and Tepco.

Actually it seems to be something common: here in Brazil, a nation that gets most of its energy supply by hydroelectric plants, we have two "useless" nuclear reactors for power generation, but since they were built, the country dominates *every* aspect of nuclear power - from uranium mining to enrichment -, with a few improvements made since then.

There is no coincidence in nuclear power, I guess.

Anonymous said...

@ Anon 2:02

That rense article is a pile of manure it is just more poorly thought out conspiracy drivel. I didn't find one bit of actual evidence just a lot of conjuncture presented as fact. Like most conspiracy theories this one relies on only telling half the story. They cite an article in the Atlanta Constitution by reporter David Snell claiming a Japanese nuclear test but they neglect to mention this story was roundly discredited.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_nuclear_weapon_program#Claims_of_a_Japanese_weapon_test

The blackout of information has to do with operating a old rickety reactor that was just re-licensed as "safe" for another 10 years of operation that failed.

Anonymous said...

It maybe a conspiracy but I remember to hear from people in Japan that, they had a nuclear weapon which they could assemble in hours hidden in the plants.

Maybe the Rense article isnt very clear as Tepco reports, but having North Korea and China so close to Japan, I think this guys who do not care about their own citizens, wouldnt mind to have a weapon ready to attack their neighbours.

is just common sense, common what we are learning with this 311 drama should be the premise to understand what they do not tell us, or do we want to be believe only what they share with us?

Anonymous said...

(cr here)

Perhaps if the Diet committee, (if they, politicians, really cared about Japan's children and environment - ha ha) threaten to
take some soldiers, and disguise the TEPCO executives as subcontractors and order they stay onsite and not be allowed to leave,
or,
perhaps if they offered any lowly office worker who hands over a clear copy
evacuation out of Japan for themselves and their family, (with free lifetime medical care; paid for out of retired TEPCO executives ill-gotten gains),
the information being withheld (it's only the "severe accident manual; what is needed is the actual radiation levels now in all Japan, and, still emmitting from the coriums, made public) will 'leak' out?

The longer no one is forthcoming the more people will wonder 'why not?'-
if they don't want the world to speculate, honestly confess what TEPCO's already done wrong.

It is so evil
to be contaminating Japan
(and the ocean, and the whole Northern Hemisphere) like this and be taking the,
"Lie, Deny," and then later,(when everyone finds out anyway) "Act Surprised" route.

Anonymous said...

@Anon 1:11

It is a poorly crafted conspiracy theory and nothing more. So you heard some some Japanese people claim Japan has nucs ready to assemble that doesn't mean it is true. When you have a Mordechai Vanunu type person come forward then you will have some hard evidence otherwise you're in tin hat territory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu

I will concede that just about any nation with "peaceful" nuclear power could develop nuclear weapons but the burden of proof falls on the accuser. This conspiracy theory has no facts to support it, it is all based on poorly interpreted circumstantial third hand information.

@Anon 3:29

Unfortunately a majority of the world isn't thinking about the Fukushima disaster at all much less making wild speculation. 99.5% of the US population thinks the problem in Fukushima is over and everything is OK because no news is good news. This perception will be cemented after the destroyed reactor buildings are tented. Ignorant speculation is how medieval doctors figured out that stomach aches were caused by gnomes in your stomach and all you needed was a good bleeding to remove the "ill humors". If you don't have absolute irrefutable proof of a grandiose claim then be prepared to be marginalized and ignored by a majority of the general population. It is ridiculous to think the officials in charge are the least bit worried by this claim. They probably concocted the original story just to add to the confusion and give them something to easily refute.

Atomfritz said...

I confess I was unable to imagine that Tepco would be so "self-confident" to insult the Diet again.

Had really to think a lot about this.

First, I am not really sure what is meant with "manual". I was used to interpret "manual" as handbook, guideline, just like "user manual".
But, maybe I misunderstand this, and "manual" in this context means somewhat like "accident log".

Either way, what is happening is extremely suspicious.

If "manual" means somewhat like "emergency user manual" then I cannot imagine any reason for not publicizing it, except the need to cover up something terribly bad.
These emergency manuals for nuclear reactor operators are part of the documents that the nuclear overseeing authorities need to be in possession of to be able to permit a reactor to operate, at least in USA and Germany.

On the other hand, if "accident manual" can be translated like "accident log", then I can imagine only one reason for blackening it.

As we all know, the earthquake strength exceeded the guaranteed seismic "resistence" of the 1F plants.

The official explanation is that the Tsunami caused the reactors to melt down.

But, as many other people suspect for a long time already, the LOCAs were caused by quake-induced breaking of the primary circuits that were not designed to withstand such strong motions.

If this happens to be true, then all Japanese reactors have to be considered as time bombs that can go off at the next big earthquake.


This would imply that they inevitably would fail true "stress tests".

Could there be another sensible cause for blackening the manuals than to cover up that the accident was due the quake itself and not due to the tsunami, as officially suggested from beginning?

a female Faust said...

there could be. if it checks out that there were other considerations of nat'l sec.... of course others as well. am i barking up the wrong tree? if the us-nuke-transfer scenario is impossible, preposterous, erroneous or just in error, i want to know....

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