Panel Slams Japan Government, Power Company for Nuclear Plant Disaster

Posted December 26th, 2011 at 7:45 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

A panel set up to investigate the response to Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant disaster reported Monday that conditions were made worse by incompetence and lack of communication.

In its interim report, the panel said the plant's operator — Tokyo Electric Power — failed to anticipate a massive tsunami. The plant was hit by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that eventually led to the meltdown of three of its reactors.

The report also blamed TEPCO for not having enough trained personnel on the ground when the disaster struck, saying operators made mistakes like misunderstanding the functioning status of the reactors' cooling systems.

Investigators also slammed the government for delaying the release of information to the public – such as radiation data in the area – and for using evasive language to avoid admitting the seriousness of the meltdowns at the reactors.

The panel is due to release its final report about the middle of next year.