Stabilising nuclear plant to take years
Japan’s quake-crippled atomic power station will take years to fully stabilise but officials hope to prevent any further deterioration of the plant and stem the leakage of radioactive material into surrounding areas within a matter of weeks.
Workers are battling to contain radiation from the power station amid signs it may be continuously leaking into the sea. The huge earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan’s north-eastern coast on March 11 knocked out the plant’s cooling systems.
Asked how long it would take to end the crisis, Mr Edano said that achieving “full stability” of the plant and its dangerously overheated spent fuel rods was generally recognised to be a multi-year task.
Tokyo Electric Power, the utility at the centre of the worst nuclear accident in 25 years, could face claims of as much as Y11,000bn ($133bn) if the crisis lasts two years, according to estimates by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Moody’s, the ratings agency, has twice downgraded the operator’s long-term issuer rating in two weeks.
During a brief visit to Tokyo on Wednesday, Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, agreed with Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan to work together to develop new international nuclear safety standards.
The damage to the atomic plant and other infrastructure inflicted by the tsunami and earthquake has exacerbated worries about the economic impact of a disaster feared to have killed over 27,000 people. Japanese manufacturing activity sank to a two-year low in March, with the seasonally-adjusted Markit/JMMA purchasing managers’ index marking its steepest decline since the index was first compiled in 2001.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant’s problems have sparked speculation that Tepco, the operator, could be nationalised and Japan’s atomic energy sector radically restructured.
Mr Edano, who as the government’s top spokesman has won plaudits for his matter-of-fact explanations of the complex situation at the plant, said ministers and officials had not had time to “reflect fully” on the causes of the crisis or how the industry might be reformed.
However, Mr Edano stood by the government’s decision to impose a 20km exclusion zone around the plant and to advise people living with 30km to stay indoors or leave voluntarily, saying residents should face no health risk if such advice was followed.
