"Two-and-a-half years after the tsunami-induced triple meltdown at Fukushima, Japan’s once-vaunted nuclear industry remains a shambles. Just two of 50 reactors are operating. The effort to decommission the stricken Fukushima plant continues to resemble an episode of the Keystone Kops. A rat gnawed through a cable, causing a dangerous power outage. In July, after months of obfuscation, Tokyo Electric Power, the semi-nationalised operator, admitted the plant was leaking radioactive water into the ocean. This month the government stepped in to contain the leak with an untested process to freeze the ground around the plant. Current estimates suggest it will take decades and cost more than $10bn to decommission Fukushima. So much for cheap nuclear fuel. Some reactors, including those built above faultlines, should never be reopened. If the government wants to restart others, it must force a radical shift in corporate culture at utilities and further bolster the power and independence of the regulator. Public trust in the industry has been torn to shreds. The government could start by bolstering the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s staff, currently just 80. The regulator must be left to conduct robust, independent stress tests of reactors even if that means it shuts some down permanently. In the long run, Japan should seek to shift further to other power sources. Before that, a return to nuclear may be inevitable. But it cannot be business as usual." FT 12th Aug 2013 ft/cms/s/0/23aeed60-033e-11e3-b871-00144feab7de.html
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 18:26:20 +0000