Tepco Comes Clean: Fukushima Was Avoidable

Recent news from Japan informs us that, more than one year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster took place, Tokyo Electric Power Co. has stated that, as far as they are concerned, this catastrophe could have been prevented.

More precisely, they agreed that it was the nuclear plant's lacking proper safety standards that caused the accident to happen.

Granted, the earthquake-triggered tsunami that hit the three nuclear reactors also had a say in the matter, yet the fact remains that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco, for short) could have made more efforts to secure the plant and make sure its reactors were able to better cope with such unexpected situations.

According to Inhabitat, Tepco's President, Naomi Hirose, pointed the finger at Japan's lacking a so-called “safety culture,” yet having more than enough “bad habits” to make up for it.

In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, presently listed as the worst incident of this nature since Chernobyl, Japanese citizens have been doing their best in trying to convince the country's government to quit using nuclear power in order to meet national energy demands.

Thus, they have staged several protests and have showed that they are more than determined to eventually have it their way.

For the time being, only two of Japan's nuclear power plants are up and running, and the country's high officials hope that, by the end of the year 2030, nuclear power will have been completely phased out in this part of the world.

Still, several analysts have argued that giving up on nuclear power within such a limited time frame makes little sense financially-wise.

“The plan is worth trying, but sooner or later it will be realized it isn't possible. To eliminate nuclear power by the 2030s, [we] will need breakthroughs in renewable and energy-efficient technologies,” a specialist working with Mizuho Investors Securities Co. argued back in September.