Re: [Marxism] Paper on Japanese nuclear reactors and earth quakes

[Lajany Otum <lajany_otum@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Inside Story of Hamaoka

- A Visit by Chubu Electric to the Former Chairman of the Coordination 
Committee for Earthquake Prediction -

January 25, 2002
Shukan Asahi (Weekly Asahi Magazine)

Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plants are located in the center of a focal earthquake 
region. The siting of these power plants needs a drastic review.? This warning 
by Dr. Kiyoo Mogi, a former professor of Tokyo University, was carried in the 
editorial of the Shizuoka Shinbun, a local newspaper in Shizuoka prefecture 
where Hamaoka nuclear power plants are located. Dr. Mogi is an authority on the 
seismology. He used to be the chairman of Coordination Committee for Earthquake 
Prediction, a government-affiliated body. Soon after the publication of his 
article in the newspaper, Chubu Electric employees in charge of this issue 
visited his house, anxious to provide their explanation to Dr. Mogi.

It was December 18, 2001, when two employees from Chubu Electric visited Mr. 
Mogi's house in Chiba prefecture with a box of sweets. The two men, offering 
their business cards showing the titles of manager and vice manager in a 
section related to nuclear power plants construction, were about to begin their 
explanation. Then Dr. Mogi started out the conversation with a sarcastic tone. 
"You are the first people from Chubu Electric I have ever met."

Dr. Mogi is the person who pointed out the danger of ? the Great Tokai 
Earthquake? in 1969, prior to anybody else in Japan. Since then, he had been 
the chairman for judging the prediction of the Tokai Earthquake and also the 
chairman of the Coordination Committee for Earthquake Prediction for a long 
time. He is known as an authority among the Japanese seismic society. However, 
Chubu Electric had never asked his opinion in regard to the Hamaoka nuclear 
power plants that were built on top of the focal region.

The events that related came about since the two accidents in Hamaoka 1, where 
a pipe was ruptured and then a leakage was found in the pressure vessel. 
Responding to these accidents, Dr. Mogi concluded that the whole nuclear energy 
science is losing its reliability. Consequently, he gave the following warnings 
in the editorial articles in the Shizuoka Shimbun (Shizuoka's Local Newspaper) 
on Novermber 13 and December 19.

One cannot say that the siting of Hamaoka nuclear power plants cannot be 
justifiable.

Currently, the Tokai area is considered to be the area of most concern for a 
future major earthquake by researchers and political administrators, who have 
been taking various countermeasures. However, in spite of this fact, the 
Hamaoka nuclear power plants were built one after another as if such a 
situation had not existed.

Japan's safety myth in regard to the earthquake-resistant structure was 
collapsed when the highways, etc., were collapsed in the Great Hanshin 
Earthquake. It would be too late if a nuclear accident took place due to a 
major earthquake. We need a drastic review on this problem.

He further commented, "I have been concerned about the Hamaoka nuclear power 
plants but while I was the chairman of the Society for Earthquake Prediction 
[he retired from his post in April 2001], I was too busy with my work on 
prediction of the Tokai Earthquake and ways to release information. I came to 
think about the Hamaoka issue after the two accidents, and I consider this 
issue as very serious. I believe that it is my duty to continue to speak out on 
this problem.

Soon after the second editorial was issued, there was a call from Chubu 
Electric to Dr. Mogi, saying. Please let us explain.? The two employees who 
visited Dr. Mogi made an explanation lasting nearly four hours about the 
situation of investigating the cause of accidents and the earthquake-resistance 
structure of Hamaoka 1. Yet, Dr. Mogi made the following comment.

In the end, I could not be persuaded by them on the safety of Hamaoka nuclear 
power plants. There is not a single country in the world where nuclear power 
plants were built on a place where an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more could 
hit. Moreover, the Hamaoka nuclear power plants are standing on top of the area 
where a magnitude eight class earthquake could hit. This is just extraordinary. 
When I told this to Chubu Electric employees, they whined, ?But we do not have 
any good place for siting nuclear power plants." They were not giving me an 
explanation about the safety, but an explanation to seek my understanding for 
their troubled situation.

Indeed, Chubu Electric had gone through a tough time introducing new nuclear 
power plants. Ashihama nuclear power plants in Mie prefecture, whose original 
plan came before Hamaoka, were consistently opposed by the local people, and 
the plan was finally cancelled after 37 years with the submission of the "Total 
cancellation" by the Mie governor, Mr. Masakiyo Kitagawa. In November last 
year, there was a referendum on whether to establish a nuclear power plant in 
Miyama town in Mie, but right before the referendum, the accidents happened in 
Hamaoka. The opposition counted for more than twice the support, which made an 
outstanding defeat for the promoters's side.

Yet, Chubu Electric had managed to build four nuclear power plants (currently, 
a fifth one is under construction), all of which are standing on top of the 
focal region of the Great Tokai Earthquake.

Meanwhile, there is a strong assumption that the water leakage accident from 
Hamaoka 1 last year was caused by the aging of the plant. Hamaoka 2, which has 
the same design as Hamaoka 1, had its operation suspended. It is predicted that 
restarting the operation of these two plans will be quite a time ahead 
(Translator?s Note: Recently, Chubu Electric announced that the operation of 
Hamaoka 2 will resume in a few months.)

Of course, the Hamaoka nuclear power plants complied with the government's 
Guidelines for Inspecting the Standard of Earthquake Resistance Design, 
established in 1981. Hamaoka 1 and 2, which were built before the establishment 
of the guidelines were examined in accordance with them. The Japanese 
government, as well as Chubu Electric, sought the experts? opinions of experts 
in the fields of seismology and seismic engineering. Accordingly, Chubu 
Electric makes the following assertion.





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