Fukushima operator 'knew of need to protect against tsunami but did not act'

Source: The Guardian

Fukushima operator 'knew of need to protect against tsunami but did not act'

Justin McCurry in Nagasaki
Thursday 18 June 2015 14.11 BST

The operator of Japan’s ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was aware of the need to improve the facility’s defences against tsunami more than two years before the March 2011 disaster but failed to take action, according to an internal company document.

The revelation casts doubt on claims by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) that it had done everything possible to protect the plant, which suffered a triple meltdown after being struck by a towering tsunami.

The nuclear accident, the world’s worst since Chernobyl 25 years earlier, caused massive radiation leaks and forced the evacuation of more than 150,000 people, most of whom have yet to return to their homes.

Tepco executives agreed that building coastal defences to defend the plant against tsunami higher than those previously recorded in the region was “indispensable”, according to the document, which was discussed at a meeting at the plant in September 2008 – two and a half years before the disaster.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/18/fukushima-power-plant-operator-knew-need-protect-against-tsunami-japan-disaster