Topic: Tepco

Peter Franken, co-founder of SafeCast, explains his open-source radiation monitoring project. During the interview, Amy Goodman expresses personal nervousness about radiation levels in Tokyo, though Franken clarifies that levels are relatively low compared to the Fukushima prefecture.

The Japanese government has approved a 10-year business plan for TEPCO that centers on restarting nuclear reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The plan aims to return the utility to profitability and eventually lower electricity fees for consumers.

A lawsuit filed by U.S. Navy sailors against TEPCO alleging radiation sickness from the Fukushima disaster is analyzed. A segment from Thom Hartmann's program is critiqued for claiming 71 sailors have cancer and were poisoned by desalinated water. Scientific counter-arguments suggest the radiation exposure levels were extremely low—equivalent to 25% of annual natural background radiation—and that the lawsuit was previously dismissed for lack of medical evidence.

The BBC reports a massive spike in radiation at the Fukushima nuclear plant, claiming it could kill a person in four hours. The hosts debunk the report, noting that the radiation is 100% beta particles, which can be shielded by paper and only travel a short distance. They characterize the news as disinformation designed to promote alternative energy sources like natural gas.

Reports that 300 tons of radioactive water are leaking daily from the Fukushima plant are analyzed as exaggerated propaganda. Calculations based on data from a nuclear expert suggest that the levels of Strontium-90, while 30 times drinking water standards, would still result in a radiation dose far below normal background levels. The hosts argue this narrative is used to discredit nuclear energy as a renewable resource.

An independent panel report on the Fukushima nuclear disaster concludes that the meltdown was avoidable. The analysis suggests that operators failed to act because they were waiting for permission from the CEO and the Prime Minister, highlighting a flaw in Japanese corporate hierarchy.

TEPCO detected record-high radiation levels of 10,000 millisieverts per hour at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, a lethal dose for humans. Additionally, 700 tons of highly radioactive water containing cesium-134 and cesium-137 were discovered in the basement of the facility, indicating ongoing containment failures.