TEPCO 'failed to heed warnings about tsunami risks'; Japan govt body detailed risks: documents

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http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC110516-0000220/TEPCO-failed-to-heed-warnings-about-tsunami-risks

TEPCO 'failed to heed warnings about tsunami risks'
04:46 AM May 16, 2011

TOKYO - A government body conducted analyses on the damage tsunamis of various scale would inflict on a nuclear power plant, according to documents made public yesterday, adding to allegations that Japan and its largest utility failed to heed warnings.

The latest revelation, reported by the Mainichi daily, emerged as the government prepares to help the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) compensate victims of the crisis at the tsunami-crippled nuclear Fukushima Dai-ichi plant.

The government and TEPCO have repeatedly described the combination of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing 15m tsunami as beyond expectations.

The institution affiliated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, however, analysed the dangers of tsunamis ranging from 3m to 23m in a report originally published in December.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/15/us-japan-nuclear-study-idUSTRE74E0M320110515

Japan govt body detailed tsunami risks before March 11:documents

TOKYO | Sun May 15, 2011 4:18am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - A government body conducted analyses on the damage tsunamis of various scale would inflict on a nuclear power plant, according to documents made public on Sunday, adding to allegations that Japan and its largest utility failed to heed warnings.

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The government and TEPCO have repeatedly described the combination of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the ensuing 15m tsunami as beyond expectations.

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"Our analysis shows that a tsunami of a certain height (some 7 meters in the absence of a seawall and some 15 meters if one were present) or higher would have almost a 100 percent chance of damaging the reactor core...," the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization said in the report.

"We presume a tsunami of at least 7 meters would destroy the functions of a seawater pump and that of at least 15 meters would destroy outside equipment such as an electrical transformer."

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(Reporting by Rie Ishiguro; Editing by Ron Popeski)