Zee Media Bureau
Tokyo: Japanese officials dealing with Fukushima leaks faced criticism for acting too slowly in the aftermath of tsunami disaster as a former American nuke regulatory chief attributed the worsening situation at the crippled nuke plant to sluggish action.
Talking in a news conference in Tokyo, Gregory Jaczko, ex-US chief of NRC (Nuclear regulatory commission) said that the possibility of leak from the Fukushima plant after massive amounts of water were used to cool molten reactors, was known very early to US and Japanese officials, yet they acted very late.
Gregory Jaczko expressed surprise saying how it took Japan so long to start tackling the situation.
The first confirmation by Japan about the leaks came in July and the recent disclosures that the Fukushima plant is still leaking radiation and struggling to handle contaminated water used to cool its reactors have heightened the fears.
Workers were pumping out water from areas near tanks storing radioactive water, from which leaks are believed to have seeped into groundwater.
Around 300 tonnes of mildly contaminated groundwater is entering the ocean every day having passed under the reactors, according to TEPCO.
Japan is once again without atomic energy as its only operating nuclear reactor went offline Sunday for refueling and maintenance, and other plants remain closed for intensified safety checks following the 2011 meltdowns at the tsunami-stricken plant in Fukushima.
