Here is news so new it has tomorrow's date on it! (Really: 7/21/2007;
it is tomorrow in Japan -- get used to it.) Apparently the
Kashiwazaki nuclear power plant operators were inept and could not
deal with the first. Here is an article in English:
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707200575.html
It is almost as if the people in charge of this industry are secretly
trying to destroy it.
QUOTES:
As black smoke belched into the air and flames melted metal parts,
workers at the quake-damaged Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant
stood by and watched.
That is the grim picture being painted by members of the local fire
department, who had to arrive at the scene Monday to douse the fire
at a transformer caused by the earthquake. . . .
The only members available to go to the nuclear power plant were five
employees who were called in for emergency work even though they had
the day off. . . .
When firefighters arrived around 11:30 a.m., more than an hour after
the earthquake struck, black smoke was rising from the column and the
fire had melted metal parts.
Four firehoses that had been connected by plant workers lay useless
near the fire. Only two of the hoses actually released water, but the
water pressure was so weak the liquid spurted out only about a meter.
"The plant workers could only stand by and watch," a firefighter said.
Although plant workers are supposed to take the initial steps to
extinguish fires before firefighters arrive, the four workers did not
complete their tasks in the two hours before the fire was completely
extinguished. . . .
- Jed
