Embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co. pledged to disclose all data on radiation levels at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after it was taken to task for delaying by nearly a year in reporting the state of contaminated rainwater.
Embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co. pledged to disclose all data on radiation levels at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after it was taken to task for delaying by nearly a year in reporting the state of contaminated rainwater.
Responding to criticism from outside experts about its failure to reveal variations in levels of radioactivity in a drainage ditch at the crippled plant, TEPCO said March 30 the information could be available on its website as early as April.
“The willingness to disclose information has yet to permeate the entire organization (of the utility),” stated a report from the experts, who had been tasked with investigating the leakage of radioactive water from the facility into the sea outside the enclosed harbor.
The utility will appoint John Crofts, a former executive of the British Atomic Energy Authority, as one of its directors on April 1 to strengthen nuclear safety and information disclosure. As part of its new openness, TEPCO will also allow regular checks from outside experts.
It also issued strict warnings to three employees, including Naohiro Masuda, head of an in-house organization to promote decommissioning of the nuclear plant. The three were linked to delays in disclosing information.
The utility started to measure radioactivity in the drainage ditch at the facility in April 2014. Later, it found that the concentration of radiation became higher whenever it rained. However, it did not reveal this fact until February.
During the intervening period, TEPCO employees did not even investigate whether it was necessary to disclose the data. They also failed to submit the data to an in-house division in charge of releasing information to the public.
As the concentration of radiation was lower than that in other contaminated water, the employees did not think the data was important.
“Unconsciously, (TEPCO employees) held a different view from that of regular people in society,” said the report.