Proponents of the nuclear industry may cite
the relatively minor incidents of contamination
in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture and Shika
City, Ishikawa Prefecture, as examples of
how the use of fissile materials for the production
of electricity is far safer than the military
usage of nuclear energy as witnessed in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in 1945.
March 1981: While repairing the Tsuruga Nuclear
Power Plant in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture,
workers are exposed to daily doses of radiation
far above the standard safety limits.
Nevertheless, the level of radiation causes
no immediate injuries and only increases their
chances of developing cancer by a fraction
of a percent.
On the International Nuclear Event Scale,
the incident rates a 2, which indicates significant
failures in safety provisions but with no
actual consequences.
June 1999: During an inspection of the Shika
Nuclear Power Plant in Shika City, Ishikawa
Prefecture, three emergency control rods accidentally
disengage, and for the next 15 minutes, the
reactor remains in a dangerously critical
state.
The incident results in no injuries or fatalities,
and like the 1981 problem at Tsuruga, the
event is rated a 2 on the International Nuclear
Event Scale.
However, the event is covered up until March
15, 2007, and so when the truth is discovered,
the reactor is immediately shut down by order
of the president of the Hokuriku Electric
Power Company.
Continue to listen and learn about more serious
nuclear incidents that have occurred in postwar
Japan.
