John Hofilena
Japan Daily Press
Jan. 6, 2014
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the disaster stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, one of them is the continuous leaking of radioactive waste water into the ground beneath the plant and into the Pacific Ocean. A former employee in the facility has come out saying that one of the reasons for the leaks may be the cost-cutting measures being applied by TEPCO, such as using duct tape and wire nets to mend the leaking tanks.
Yoshitatsu Uechi, currently an auto mechanic and tour-bus driver, worked at the devastated nuclear power plant between July 2 and Dec. 6, 2012. He claims that he was one of the workers sent to work at the crippled nuclear plant in 2012, specifically to make new storage tanks for the contaminated waste water – water used to cool the molten down cores damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The 48 year old former TEPCO employee said that in October 2012, Uechi was given a task to cover five or six storage tanks which were missing lids. Uechi said that he was instructed to use only four bolts on the lid that required eight. Adhesive tape was then applied to the other holes. “I couldn’t believe that such slipshod work was being done, even if it was part of stopgap measures,” Uechi said.