Learn lessons from world's worst nuclear disaster
Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union, the worst nuclear disaster in history.
As Tokyo Electric Power Co. struggles to bring the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control, we should learn lessons from the Chernobyl disaster.
The Chernobyl accident was caused by an operational error that led to an explosive nuclear reaction inside a reactor and a fire. Large quantities of radioactive substances were released into the environment over Europe and other areas.
Twenty-eight workers died after being exposed to massive amounts of radiation. Children living near the plant developed thyroid gland cancer, and concern about the accident's effect on human health mounted.
At the time, the Japanese government regarded the Chernobyl crisis as a "man-made disaster," caused by a violation of operational regulations and the structural defects of the Soviet-type nuclear reactor. It has stressed that Japanese nuclear plants are safe.
As it turned out, this assessment was optimistic.
The Fukushima accident is different from the Chernobyl disaster and the amount of radioactive substances released is far less. But both accidents had serious impacts both at home and abroad. We have to recognize that there is no perfect technology.
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Global safety standards
Compilation of international standards is being studied to improve the safety of nuclear power plants. Japan, for its part, should provide data on the Fukushima No. 1 plant promptly.
The Soviet Union collapsed five years after the Chernobyl accident. One reason for its demise is said to be the Communist Party's clumsy handling of the disaster, particularly the concealment of information that increased the people's distrust in the government.
Criticism has been voiced both at home and abroad about the lack of public disclosure of information about the Fukushima plant accident. The government must not be reticent about giving precise details of the accident.
Problems also arose in dealing with the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.
It is not yet known when the damaged reactor can be dismantled. It was encased in a so-called sarcophagus, a concrete shell that has become so aged that rain leaks into its cracks. The contamination of subterranean water continues.
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'Negative legacy'
A new sarcophagus is scheduled to replace the existing one at an estimated cost of 1 billion dollars.
No one is permitted to enter an area within a 30-kilometer radius of the Chernobyl plant. Radioactive contamination extends beyond this zone.
The Fukushima No. 1 plant should not lend itself to a "negative legacy" like that. The first task is to get the cooling system up and running again, but the government must urgently study the dismantling and removal of the damaged reactors.
The main lessons to be learned are that nuclear accidents cause an enormous amount of damage and it takes a long time to restore everything to its original state.
Greater efforts are needed to enhance nuclear safety, and there should be no limit to investment for this purpose.
Report by JR West, victims a milestone
Monday marked the sixth anniversary of the derailment on the Fukuchiyama Line in Hyogo Prefecture that claimed the lives of 106 passengers.
The bereaved families and West Japan Railway Co. (JR West), the operator of the line, made public the same day a report on their joint investigation into the causes of the accident.
This was the first time that railway accident victims and the company responsible for the disaster had sat at the same table to discuss what happened.
JR West should use this joint undertaking as a springboard for its efforts to prevent accidents and regain public trust.
Both sides examined whether JR West's train schedules and its failure to install an automatic train stop system at the scene of the accident were appropriate. They held 16 meetings over 1-1/2 years.
JR West admitted its schedules "left little leeway for getting operation schedules back to normal [if a train was delayed] because intervals between train runs had been cut," according to the report.
Significantly, JR West acknowledged its excessively tight train schedules might have been one factor behind the accident.
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Info leaks caused distrust
As to its failure to install an ATS system at the accident site, JR West expressed regret over its "lack of technological ability to detect the risks posed by the curved section of track." JR West, however, fell short of admitting there was "a need to have the ATS system installed" at the curve where the derailment occurred.
The meeting did not bring to light any new pieces of evidence about the causes of the accident. The former JR president who was in charge at the time of the accident has been indicted for professional negligence resulting in death and injury over the accident. Given this, JR West might have been wary of producing a report that could influence the former president's trial.
The joint meetings were launched after information leaked from the Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission, a Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry panel investigating the accident. It was later revealed that JR West executives had leaned on the panel, now the Transport Safety Board, to reveal the contents of their report on the accident before it was made public.
The joint meetings were aimed at mitigating bereaved families' distrust of the investigation and creating a forum where JR West could answer victims' questions.
The bereaved families have rated the report 60 out of 100. This indicates that although they were not completely satisfied with the report, it did point to important lessons that could prevent future railway accidents.
The victims, in collaboration with experts, proposed that investigations by the ministry's panel be "kept separate from investigations by police and prosecutors."
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JR West scandals continuing
The proposal noted that the current system, under which the panel's investigation results can be used as evidence in a criminal trial over an accident, can deter a railway company from being fully open with the truth for fear of being held heavily responsible. The ministry's panel has started studying this proposal. We urge the panel to make good use of the proposal based on valuable lessons learned from the Fukuchiyama accident.
Preliminary arrangements for public court hearings will soon start for three former JR West presidents who an inquest of prosecution committee twice decided warranted forcible indictment. Understandably, the bereaved families hope the three former presidents will tell the truth about the accident in court.
JR West has been jolted by a string of scandals after the Fukuchiyama accident. Recently, a train driver played a video game while driving, and a conductor was arrested for removing a fuse from a train's emergency radio system.
The derailment victims were resolute in getting the report completed. We urge JR West to wholeheartedly reconstruct its entire safety procedures by making full use of the report.
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