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2011 December 14 - 20 TOP3 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

PM’s declaration of nuclear crisis under control is being questioned

Evacuees of the Fukushima nuclear accident cast skeptical eyes on Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko’s declaration that the accident has finally been brought under control.

Regarding the nuclear accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, the PM on December 16 at a news conference said, “Three crippled nuclear reactors at the plant are in cold shutdown. As a stable state of the reactors has been achieved, great fear is removed. Now, the government will move on to the next step to decommission the reactors.” He also said that the government will make the utmost efforts for radiation decontamination, Fukushima residents’ health management, and compensation for damages.

TEPCO President Nishizawa Toshio also said, “The crisis has ended.”

However, at the three nuclear reactors in which a meltdown of a reactor core occurred after the 3.11 earthquake, the situation involving melted fuel rods is still uncertain. Furthermore, the level of radioactive contaminated water in a storage facility is increasing and a leakage of radioactive materials from the reactors is continuing. The government has no prospect of giving the go ahead for evacuees to return to their homes.

Japanese Communist Party member of the Fukushima’s Namie Town Assembly Baba Isao said, “The present status of Nos 1-3 reactors is uncertain. The spent fuel pool of No.4 reactor is in the open. Under these circumstances, the PM’s declaration is groundless. Of course, it is necessary to put an end to the crisis without delay. However, this careless declaration will be certain to rub the evacuees of Namie and Fukushima residents the wrong way. The government and TEPCO must be forced to provide accurate information concerning the accident and ongoing crisis.”

Nuclear and Energy Related-Information Center Secretary General Tateno Jun said, “I can hardly see the crisis as being under control. I think that the government just wants to take the next step to resume operations of nuclear reactors currently under suspension or under regular inspection. The government should release technologically-accurate information on water contamination, the risk of hydrogen explosions, and the possibility of re-criticality.”

A 56-year-old evacuee from Namie Town in Fukushima City’s temporary housing facility said, “The townspeople of Namie were exposed to high levels of radiation for four days because the government and TEPCO hid radiation dose data. So, I don’t believe their declaration this time either.”

A man whose house is located only 7 km from the damaged Fukushima plant said angrily, “Storage sites to dump radioactive waste have not been determined yet. How can the government tell us it’s the end of the crisis!”