Has performance of maintenance, and thus the security of equipment, become a variable for adjustment? Tepco has not hesitated to do this in the past. Between September 2002 and April 2003, the multinational was constrained to shut down its 17 nuclear reactors. This was a consequence of revelations concerning the falsifications of some thirty inspection reports on three nuclear power plants in the group. It involved, among other aspects, the electro-nuclear giants act of disguising three incidents that had occurred in the nuclear facilities in Fukushima and Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.
This scandal implicating Tepco is not an isolated one. In March 2007, to cite but one example, the company Hokoriku Electric Power admitted having knowingly hidden a nuclear incident that occurred at the plant in Shikamachi eight years earlier, on 18 June 1999.
-
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Read what Eric Francis has to say about your zodiac sign:
Aries Taurus Gemini 
Cancer Leo Virgo 
Libra Scorpio Sagg. 
Capr. Aquarius Pisces
Sign up for free updates
from Planet Waves.
Not a product subscription -- an update list.
Order Your 2012 Reading by Eric Francis
Member & Subscriber Login
Become a Planet Waves Site Member
Customer Feedback
Links to our Friends
Video Selections
Birthday Readings by Eric Francis
About Eric Francis
Astrology Resources
Tracy's Astrological Resources -
Vets of Iraq and Afghanistan (and currently serving members of the armed forces) are welcome to free subscriptions to Planet Waves and the Reality Check annual edition. Please call Chelsea at (877) 453-8265. -
More hiding coming to light:
Heads up, all. If this is happening here it is likely happening elsewhere there are nuclear power plants. Presumably this info is coming to light due to the recent mess in Japan. They are considering using mox, because the US wants to get rid of their weapons grade plutonium which makes it cheaper??? but they wanted to keep this quiet. Well, too bad.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014539881_plutonium19m.html
By Sandi Doughton
Seattle Times science reporter
The operator of Washington’s only nuclear-power plant is considering use of the plutonium fuel that has raised special concerns about one of Japan’s damaged nuclear reactors.
Officials at the Columbia Generating Station, on the Hanford nuclear reservation, have been quietly discussing the use of so-called mox fuel for at least two years — but had hoped to keep the fact out of the news.
In the case of an accident, some experts say fuel made from highly toxic plutonium can produce more dangerous fallout than standard uranium fuel. Plutonium fuel is also harder to control, said nuclear scientist Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research.
The nuclear-watchdog group Heart of America Northwest sued the plant’s operator this week, alleging that Energy Northwest improperly withheld information about the proposal requested under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
Spokeswoman Rochelle Olson said Energy Northwest and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have been discussing the use of mox, or mixed oxide fuel, but don’t know if they will conduct a feasibility study. “We have made no decisions,” she said. “The first priority for us is the safe operation of our nuclear-generating station.”
Use of plutonium reactor fuel could help draw down stockpiles from weapons production and dismantling of nuclear warheads, Olson said. And because the country is anxious to find an application for it, plutonium fuel could be cheaper.
No U.S. nuclear plants currently use the plutonium fuel….
….
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is building a $4.8 billion plant to turn weapons-grade plutonium into fuel at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River site in South Carolina. But so far, few utilities have expressed interest in using it.
Hanford’s nuclear experts are experienced in handling weapons-grade material, Olson said. “It makes sense for us to study the technology to see if it’s feasible.”
But officials wanted to keep their studies quiet. “I assume this info will stay between PNNL and DOE NNSA,” said a December 2009 e-mail released last year to the environmental group Friends of the Earth under a public records request. “Just don’t want any unexpected press releases about burning MOX fuel in (Columbia Generating Station).”…
….