The
post-tsunami catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station: While the fire is out for now, badly compensated
workers, a complex hodge-podge of contractors, and
continuing
contamination leaks, are cause for global concern.
Short of Manpower, TEPCO Boosts Pay
for Fukushima Workers (MinyuShimbun,
Japan)
"TEPCO will build a large lounge
for workers to take breaks as well as decontaminate more of the site, so over a
larger area, workers will be able to work without full face masks, which are thought
to lower efficiency. The company will also raise the daily bonus for workers
from 10,000 yen [$100] to 20,000 yen. ... this newspaper has continued to publish the comments of workers and report on the reality of TEPCO's nuclear plants, where the working environment is atrocious and the commission of error constant."
With
regard to the decommissioning [fuel rod removal] at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear
Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has
published emergency safety measures focused on improving the working
environment. TEPCO will build a large lounge for
workers to take breaks as well as decontaminate more of the site, so over a
larger area, workers will be able to work without full face masks, which are thought
to lower efficiency. The company will also raise the daily bonus for workers
from 10,000 yen [$100] to 20,000 yen [$200].
The
thought behind the plan is to accelerate the decommissioning process and raise
the morale of employees. One pressing issue is contaminated water: starting in mid-November,
fuel rods have begun to be removed from the storage pool in the No.4 reactor
unit. On-site radiation is high resulting in constant tension. TEPCO must ensure the safety of the site if it wants steady
progress on the decommissioning.
As
a result of human error, the Daiichi power station has been plagued by
radioactive water leaks, prompting a meeting on October 28 between Chairman
Shunichi Tanaka of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, who is from Fukushima City
himself, and TEPCO President Naomi Hirose. Mr. Tanaka
sought improvements to the working environment and criticized TEPCO’s failure to halt the radioactive leaks.
The
NRA has already suspended the safety review [prior to reopening] of the No.6
and No.7 reactors at the KashiwazakiKariwa Nuclear Power Station
because of insufficient measures taken by TEPCO to
deal with the contaminated water issue. A senior official from the regulatory
authority, Katsuhiko Ikeda, who was also at the October 28 meeting, indicated
that safety assessments were contingent upon TEPCO
actively working to prevent leaks.
TEPCO has announced it will publish a summary
of the emergency safety measures taken in light of the radioactive water problem
and feedback received from the NRA. The state's prompting of TEPCO to take action is a matter of course, but we would
like to point out to TEPCO that safety measures
should not simply be a way to resume a safety review of the KashiwazakiKariwa Nuclear Power Station.
Through
our series Nuclear disaster - in the Shadows
of 'Recovery' this newspaper has continued to publish the comments of
workers and report on the reality of TEPCO's nuclear
plants, where the working environment is atrocious and the commission of error constant.
With
its announcement of added safety measures, TEPCO has for
the first time revealed the amount of additional compensation offered
employees. The decommissioning operation involves a complicated structure of often
highly skilled and paid contractors, and there has been criticism of the way this
arrangement has squeezed and in some cases slashed the wages of workers.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
TEPCO says that publishing the bonus amounts will
help prevent them from being reduced further. Because of the need to manage the
amount of radiation workers are exposed to, they are unable to work for
extended periods, so securing enough workers is a vital issue. While clarity on
bonuses is a necessary step to lifting morale, it is also necessary to take a
hard look at the many layers of contractors.
TEPCO has also announced the closure of all
ten of its branch offices in the area, and has moved around 1,000 employees to
an office dedicated to reconstruction efforts in the prefecture. We hope that
by centralizing personnel with experience and technical knowledge, TEPCO will be able to focus more of its attention on the
decommissioning operation.
