More lies during the Fukushima meltdown

by David Safier

It's never a surprise when a corporation or the government lies to cover its ass. Happens all the time.That's one more reason why nuclear power plants are so dangerous. The short and long term health problems related to problems with the plant are too serious to be left to people who want to cover them up.

Latest case in point: People in Namie, a town near the Fukushima power plant, fled to the north, led by their town officials. It seemed like a good idea, since winter winds tend to blow to the south. It wasn't until two months later the town officials learned the wind was blowing toward where they fled. Bureaucrats in Tokyo knew it — they had computer models — but they kept the information to themselves, because, well, for a number of reasons, all of which had to do with pretending things were safer than they were.

“From the 12th to the 15th we were in a location with one of the highest levels of radiation,” said Tamotsu Baba, the mayor of Namie, which is about five miles from the nuclear plant. He and thousands from Namie now live in temporary housing in another town, Nihonmatsu. “We are extremely worried about internal exposure to radiation.”

The withholding of information, he said, was akin to “murder.”

Whenever anyone in the nuclear industry or the government tells you not to worry, nuclear plants have all kinds of redundant safety features and evacuation plans, don't believe them. Remember Fukushima.