How quickly the earthquake rattled through a Japanese power plant on July 17, shaking the foundation of nuclear power’s unrestrained renaissance. But, Mother Nature’s reminder came too late to halt the inclusion of $50 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear plants passed by the U.S. Senate in June.

Hit by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant released radioactive waste into the environment and sent U.S. nuclear advocates scrambling to assure the public that such an accident could never happen here.

The Japanese reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa were designed to withstand one type of quake, but the earth didn’t follow the nuclear engineers’ predictions or their geologists’ theories. The quake moved differently than the facility was engineered to withstand. The result? A significant radioactive release and indefinite shutdown of the world’s largest atomic power complex. And, an international blow to the industry.

On July 17, twelve hours after the earthquake hit, Japan’s nuclear industry reported that 315 gallons of radioactive water were released into the Sea of Japan, 100 barrels of low-level waste were knocked over and, there was “no danger to public.”

That same day, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that iodine, chromium (Cr-51) and cobalt (Co-60) had been released to the atmosphere from the main exhaust stack of unit 7. TEPCO indicated that the release had stopped, but subsequently admitted that iodine (I-131, I-133) continued to leak until July 18.

On July 18, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) admitted that about 400 barrels containing low-level radioactive waste were knocked over and that the leak of radioactive water into the Sea of Japan was actually 50 percent greater than initially announced.[1]

As of July 21, TEPCO had identified a total of 63 problems. Fifteen of these involved radiation. The spent fuel pools of all seven units overflowed, although only unit 6 released radioactivity to the environment. The exhaust stacks ducts in five of the seven reactors were displaced. Officials also discovered a pool of radioactive water that had leaked from damaged pipes in the fire extinguishing system of unit 1.

On July 24, the Kyodo press reported that 2000 gallons of water flowed into a building housing one of the reactors. TEPCO officials stated that “no radioactive substances have been detected,” even after the water leaked from the first basement floor eventually reaching the fifth and bottom basement floor of the reactor building. Was it precaution or deception that underlay Tokyo Power’s announcement that it would dispose of all the water at the bottom of the reactor ‘as if’ it were radiation contaminated?[2]

On that same day, a small fire broke out at a partly constructed nuclear power station in northern Japan – the third blaze at the new plant during July. This news came a week after an earthquake caused radioactive spillage at yet another Japanese atomic plant.[3]

The health consequences of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa catastrophe may take years to measure, but the economic fallout will be felt much sooner. Already, stocks have fallen and Japan will be without 7000 MW of generation “indefinitely,” necessitating the purchase of replacement power at a premium. The company is losing revenue daily, and has sharply cut its income forecasts for FY2007. Net income was downwardly revised by some 79 percent. And even though the radioactive release is said to be minor, the tourist industry is suffering, which will likely continue for years.

According to an industry overseer, it is not yet clear how much of the disaster the insurers will cover. However, one news report projects that TEPCO will foot the bill for replacement power and to fortify the reactors. In the United States, we know who pays: taxpayers and ratepayers fund insurance for nuclear facilities through federal subsidies and local utility fees.

For years there has been debate about California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, which lies two and a half miles from an active earthquake fault. One question has risen to the top of the agenda: were the reactors at Diablo Canyon constructed to withstand the type of ground motion that rocked Japan on July 17?

Some reactors in California and New York are closer to earthquake faults than Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, and these are capable of generating greater magnitude earthquakes. Yet, with unrepentant hubris, industry moguls pursue the mythology of a technological magic wand. The industry’s boom or bust fever obscures the risk of natural disaster along with the also unforeseeable timing of terrorist attacks aimed at the on-site storage of highly-radioactive waste.

Mother Nature has never been predictable, and technology has never been infallible. Yet, the myth persists that nuclear power is the panacea for our global energy dilemma. The July accident is a reality check, showing once again how an unanticipated nuclear disaster throws an economic and political wrench into an otherwise balmy forecast. In one instant, the glib promise of “clean, cheap and safe” no longer applies.

[1] Company says radioactive leak was bigger By ERIC TALMADGE Associated Press Writer

[2] http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=327305

[3] Fire at Japanese nuclear power plant Haroon Siddique and agencies Tuesday July 24, 2007 Guardian Unlimited

by Rochelle Becker
Executive Director, Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility
PO 1328
San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
858 337-2703