‘I think all the fuel rods have been melted down.’
(UPDATED with the video in question at the end. That he looks like a Tokyo University graduate a-shole. But he says not only the fuels have melted down completely but some of them may already be outside the Pressure Vessels.)
(More on his assessment of the reactor core and the situation at Fukushima I Nuke Plant in my latest post.)
Michio Ishikawa, the former head of the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute and the current “most senior” advisor to the Institute, appeared on an Asahi TV program on April 29 and shared his candid assessment of Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident.
He is known as one of the most ardent proponents of nuclear power generation. The Japan Nuclear Technology Institute was set up in 2005 by Ishikawa in order to represent the interest of the nuclear industry in Japan and promote nuclear energy.
People who watched this Asahi TV program were surprised to hear him contradict the official government “narrative” (I hate that word, but in this case it is exactly what it is, a “narrative” as opposed to reality) about the plant accident, even as he continues to insist nuclear power plants are safe and 100 milli-sieverts cumulative radiation is perfectly safe not just for the plant workers but for everyone.
Here are some of the comments he made during the program, jotted down by a viewer as he watched the program, and supplemented later with tweets by others. He weaves his own narratives like “no one anticipated such an accident” (oh yes many people did). Original in Japanese, my English translation, [my comment in italic in square braket]:
??????????????
“It’s an accident that no one in the world anticipated.”[Uh huh. “Who could have known?” That’s what every crook in a government anywhere says.]
??????????????????????????????
“If an Act of God happens all the time, it’s no longer an Act of God.”[Literal translation of the Japanese word ?? is “calamity from heaven”, a calamity that mere mortals have no control over. The government, the industry, TEPCO are therefore guiltless.]
???????????????????????
“The Fukushima accident never would have happened without tsunami.”[Nice try, Mr. Ishikawa. But it was a power failure caused by the earthquake that triggered the accident, and the only transmission tower TEPCO owned that fell during the earthquake was the one that supplied power to the plant. More later.]
?8???????????????????????????
“If the power was restored within 8 hours, we wouldn’t have the situation we have today.”[Yeah? How could the power have been restored in 8 hours?]
???????????????????????????????
“The accident didn’t happen because of the earthquake or the aging plant.”[Yes it did.]
????30??????60??100???????????
“A nuclear power plant lasts not just for 30 years, but for 60, 100 years.”[And uranium and plutonium will last for “eternity” in human scale.]
??????????????????????????????????????????
“At Fukushima I Nuke Plant, they’ve been applying minor countermeasures as if it is a normal situation. They need the emergency response.”[Thus the bath salt as tracer – the only comical relief in the whole sorry saga.]
??????????????????????????????
Right now, it’s the war with radiation. TEPCO’s response is horrendous.[And where is the government? The response from your own industry, other than trying to win a contract for cleanup jobs? And what do you expect from a utility company?]
?????????????????????
Fukushima I Nuke Plant is at war, it’s a war zone.[That I agree. But the US NRC has now joined the Japanese government and says it’s under control. Hahaha.]
????????????????????????????????
The government announcement is wrong. I think all the fuel rods have been melted down.????????????????????????????????????
Don’t bother with water entombment. Focus on cooling the core as soon as possible.??????????????????????????????????????????????
(Responding to the idea of introducing trailer houses in the earthquake/tsunami affected area, with a smirk on this face) Another tsunami will come.[So he’s expecting another big earthquake that will cause big tsunami?]
?20mSv??????????????????100mSv?????????????????
It’s wrong to evacuate people at mere 20 milli-sieverts. It’s safe up to 100 milli-sieverts, so let them go home.[There we go. Speaking like a true proponent of safe nuclear power. It’s safe up to 100 milli-sieverts for civilians! Maybe he should go up there and cheer up the residents.]
??????????250mSv???????????
Nuclear plant workers are safe up to 250 milli-sieverts.[Mr. Ishikawa, why don’t you take TEPCO’s top management with you to the plant, and scoop out the contaminated water with a bucket and help the workers? No need for protection. It’s safe.]
?????????????????????????????????????????????
(Responding to the question whether it is TEPCO or the Japanese government who has promoted nuclear power) Not TEPCO. It’s the government.???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
No need to stop Hamaoka Nuke Plant [the one on the earthquake faults and in the supposed center of Tokai quake]. It is built strong. Fukushima survived a Magnitude 9 earthquake. [Well, not really.] So, no need to worry about Hamaoka. As long as electricity is available, no need to fear tsunami. [Rrrriiiggghhht. Haven’t you heard the news yet, that the nuke plants in Japan do not have adequate backup power supplies to keep cooling the reactors? ]??????????????????????????????????????
Among my colleagues, there are those who embarked on the career in nuclear power generation as a revenge against the nuclear bombs [dropped on Japan].[Well, that revenge has turned out to be the revenge against their own people. How sad.]
For those who understand Japanese, here’s the video (part 2 of 11) where he discusses the melted core:
Added: 29.04.2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Source: http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/04/fukushima-i-nuke-plant-japan-nuclear.html