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Japan underestimated the risk that tsunamis posed and needs to closely monitor public and workers' health after the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a team of international safety inspectors said in a preliminary review of the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The report, from an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team led by Britain's top nuclear safety official Mike Weightman, highlighted some well-documented weaknesses that contributed to the crisis at Fukushima when the plant, 240 kilometers north of Tokyo, was hit by a massive earthquake and a tsunami in quick succession on March 11. It outlines a failure to plan for a tsunami that would overrun the 5.7-meter break wall at Fukushima and knock out back-up electric generators to four reactors, despite multiple forecasts from a government agency and operator Tokyo Electric Power Co's own scientists that such a risk was looming. The IAEA team said Japan's crisis offered several lessons for the nuclear industry globally, among others, the need for a regular review of natural disaster risks and for the creation of "hardened" emergency response centers to deal with accidents. "The tsunami hazard for several sites was underestimated," the report's three-page summary said. "Nuclear plant designers and operators should appropriately evaluate and provide protection against the risks of all natural hazards." Goshi Hosono, an aide to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, accepted the report, marking the first step in an effort by Japanese officials to show that the lessons learned from Fukushima can be applied to make its remaining reactors safe. Hosono said the government would need to review its nuclear regulatory framework. Reuters |
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