Are the nuclear catastrophes unfolding at the Fukushima nuclear power complex the result of acts of Mother Earth or are they the result of deliberate fraud on the part of contractors that built the plants?
According to Greg Palast, former lead investigator in several U.S. government nuclear plant fraud and racketeering investigations, for decades lead contractors falsified inspection reports on several key components to cut construction and commissioning costs of nuclear power plants. Could TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, have also committed fraud?
All nuclear plants are required to pass an SQ, or “Seismic Qualification,” before they are operational. The SQ is based on the worst-case earthquake or attack and detonation of an improvised or targeted explosive device. The least expensive way to pass the SQ is to lie. Here in the U.S. this happens all too often. Engineers working for Stone and Webster, the nuclear unit of Shaw Construction, were asked to change SQ test records at the Shoreham Plant in New York from failed to passed because the necessary mitigation measures would have cost $1 billion.
Recently the Obama administration asked Congress for $4 billion in loan guarantees to build two nuclear power plants in East Texas. Stone and Webster is slated to collaborate with TEPCO in construction of these plants. Ultimately the plan is to invest $56 billion to build plants nationwide.
Perhaps the $56 billion would be better spent de-commissioning our existing inventory of nuclear plants while safely disposing of our current spent fuel supply.
Eric Teegarden
Brier
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