More Nuclear Absurdities: Tepco Denies Physics

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Richard Wilcox, Contributor

Can you believe this? What are these lunatics raving about? Nuclear expert, Arnold Gundersen, recently visited Japan to discuss the dangers of the Unit 4 spent fuel pool at the Fukushima no. 1 nuclear power station. He talked with Japan’s politicians, with Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), and with concerned citizens (1).

Most readers will be aware of the fact that the fuel pool is full of highly radioactive fuel rods, which if exposed to air, will burn and release massive amounts of radiation. This remark in the Japan Times jumped off the page and was like getting smacked on the side of the head with a wet mackerel.

Gundersen: 'I told Tepco that while I realized they hoped and believed that there will always be water in the nuclear fuel pool, I had to ask whether or not they had (already prepared and stationed) any chemicals to put out a nuclear fuel pool fire in the event they were wrong. Tepco's response was that there was nothing in the fuel pool that could burn, a statement I find appalling.' (emphasis added)

Their statement is not appalling: it is 100 percent totally absurd. 

If that is what they believe, why do they bother to have water on the fuel rods in the first place? This response from the psychopaths at Tipkill was not “lost in translation” and Gundersen’s Japanese interpreter had impeccable language skills.

I hesitate to make the following charge, and I may be wrong (I hope I am), because one does not want to generalize or falsely accuse. But having lived in Japan for many years I believe that Tepco was making a racist slur against Gundersen personally. Such a ridiculous answer on their part cannot be taken seriously, thus, they were telling Arnie, “why don’t you row your boat back to Amerika, whitey.” Middle-age Japanese men, in particular, can have exclusionary attitudes toward outsiders.
Of course, Japan itself is under the racist, imperialist occupation of the United States military, so I don’t mean to be a hypocrite. But anyone who has studied Arnie Gundersen’s character knows that he is a kind-hearted and intelligent man who has only the best intentions for the Japanese people. But do the criminal thugs at Tepco have Japan’s welfare in mind?

The same convoluted logic applies to Tepco’s previous failure:

Why should we spend money to build a seawall tall enough to stop a tsunami in a tsunami-prone region? 

We can’t think of any reason at the moment” (March 10, 2011).

Gundersen was also stumped at Tepco’s attitude to ignore international calls for improving the Fukushima nuclear situation, and the generous offers of help from international experts. He noted that

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and Tepco claim they are getting outside expertise from the International Atomic Energy Agency, but Article II of the IAEA's charter states its mission is to promote nuclear power. There is a real need for experts who think outside the box.

I suggest readers have a look at this German documentary made some time ago which helped to galvanize concern about the Unit 4 situation (2). Inspect the faces of these sad gentlemen when questioned by the interviewer about the safety of Unit 4 (click the captions icon for English, at the 5:40 minute mark). Note the frowns, clasped hands and worry, as well as the unbearable tension in the room.

Perhaps the reason that Japan is not allowing independent advisors or inspectors to help save the Pacific Ocean (now Japan’s private dumping ground) could be that Japan, like many nations, retains the right to build nuclear weapons, whether secretly or according to law.

As my colleague Tony Boys pointed out, based on his own research and the research of Yoichi Shimatsu, former editor of the Japan Times Weekly, Reactor 4 may have been a secret nuclear weapons production site (3).

Although Japan has no stated production program, it is publicly admitted by those who support the idea that having plenty of nuclear bomb material on hand is prudent. 

Having nuclear plants shows to other nations that Japan can make nuclear weapons (4; 5).

Strictly speaking, if other countries are going to develop nuclear weapons, it is logical for states to want to develop them for defensive purposes (i.e. the arms race). But shouldn’t Japan be more honest about this, and if the country is going to be destroyed by its own nuclear accidents how do nuclear weapons offer “security” and protection for the country?

Of course, whatever the Japanese people themselves think about these issues is irrelevant. A recent government poll, funded by the taxpayers, found that 90 percent of the 90,000 people that participated in the poll want to abolish nuclear power. However, the poll was just a public relations ruse, a cynical joke to profit government think tanks and university professors, and never was meant to be taken seriously. Apparently the people who voted are “biased” and therefore their votes were disqualified! In the end the rulers will decide Japan’s future and stick with nuclear power whether the people like it or not (6; 7; 8).
References:
1. Global help urged to avert reactor 4 pool fire
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120908f1.html
2. The Fukushima Lie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rFqhKhtB7Q&feature=player_embedded
3. Tony Boys: Reactor 4 May Have Been A Secret Nuke Weapons Production Site - Audio
http://rense.gsradio.net:8080/rense/special/rense_Wilcox_073012.mp3
http://rense.com/
4. Nuclear Arms Talk Accompanies Japan Atomic Power Phaseout Debate
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/japan-atomic-power-phase-out-debate-has-weapon-dimension/
5. Japan defense chief Morimoto sees nuclear plants as deterrent, favors 25% option for energy mix
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120906b4.html
6. Japan's Future Reliance on Nuclear Power: Noda Administration Chooses "15%" Anyway, Despite 90% of 90K Public Comments Wanted "0%"
http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2012/09/japans-future-reliance-on-nuclear-power.html
7. NISA's New Safety Standard May Allow Nuclear Reactors on Top of Active Faults to Continue Operation
http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2012/08/nisas-new-safety-standard-may-allow.html
8. Japanese Government's Energy Policy (Reliance on Nuclear Power in 2030) May Go the "Fourth Way", Not Even Presented to the Citizens in Opinion Surveys
http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2012/08/japanese-governments-energy-policy.html

Richard Wilcox has a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from a social science, holistic perspective. He teaches part time at a number of universities in the Tokyo, Japan area. His articles on environmental topics including the Fukushima nuclear disaster have been published at Counterpunch, Global Research, Dissident Voice and Rense.com. His interview with Jeff Rense is available at the websitewww.rense.com. Many of his articles are archived here: http://environmentalarmageddon.wordpress.com/?s=Richard+Wilcox

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