As the Guardian states : ” The amount of radiation released by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (…) could have been more than double that originally estimated by its operator, Japan’s nuclear safety agency has said. “
” The revelation has raised fears that the situation at the plant, where fuel in three reactors suffered meltdown, was more serious than government officials have acknowledged. “ When you think a situation can’t possibly get worse, it does.
Even if I still support the technology to prevent more catastrophic climate change, I believe the IAEA should really step up rules and regulations to ensure such a catastrophe never occurs again.
The culture of collusion between Japanese officials and the local nuclear industry certainly played a major role in this as the New York Times noted last month.
The Guardian notes something that makes me shiver though :
According to the latest estimates, 770,000 terabequerels – about 20% as much as the official estimate for Chernobyl – of radiation seeped from the plant in the week after the tsunami, more than double the initial estimate of 370,000.
Here is another quote that strongly reinforces my opinion :
Last week, a fact-finding team from the International Atomic Energy Agency criticised Tepco for failing to acknowledge the risk to the plant from a tsunami, despite warnings from government experts and its own scientists.