Fukushima is the same design and age as Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim Nuclear in Plymouth, MA.

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Radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan has reached parts of the north and west coasts of Alaska. (photo: CBC)

The Fukushima Crisis Comes to the States

By Charles Pierce, Esquire

12 November 13

he catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear power plant -- aka Yesterday's Tragedy -- appears to be ongoing, and Alaska now has become part of the story.

Some radiation has arrived in northern Alaska and along the west coast. That's raised concern over contamination of fish and wildlife. More may be heading toward coastal communities like Haines and Skagway. Douglas Dasher, a researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says radiation levels in Alaskan waters could reach Cold War levels. "The levels they are projecting in some of the models are in the ballpark of what they saw in the North Pacific in the 1960s," he said.

That was when we were blowing up nuclear bombs all over the ocean because Communism. This resulted in an extended game of genetic roulette for the local populations. This was in no way a good thing. Meanwhile, back on site, it appears that local quality control may not have been what it should have been (h/t the C&L gang).

When tons of radioactive water leaked from a storage tank at Fukushima's crippled nuclear power plant and other containers hurriedly put up by the operator encountered problems, Yoshitatsu Uechi was not surprised. He wonders if one of the tanks he built will be next. He's an auto mechanic. He was a tour-bus driver for a while. He had no experience building tanks or working at a nuclear plant, but for six months last year, he was part of the team frantically trying to create new places for contaminated water to go.

What the fk? I mean, seriously, what the fkity fk fk? A tour-bus driver is helping throw together the response to the worst nuclear disaster in 30 years? Was the sous-chef at the local Applebee's busy that day? Uechi and co-workers were under such pressure to build tanks quickly that they did not wait for dry conditions to apply anti-rust coating over bolts and around seams as they were supposed to; they did the work even in rain or snow. Sometimes the concrete foundation they laid for the tanks came out bumpy. Sometimes the workers saw tanks being used to store water before they were even finished.

 

Lovely.

 

It's past time for the world to step in because this problem now is riding on the wind and the tides to places far from Fukushima. Japan has had its chance to manage this disaster, and, despite the best efforts of its tour-bus operators, Japan has failed miserably. For example, there are 1,500 spent fuel rods that the company running the plant doesn't know what to do with. Lovely, again.

Tepco hopes that a smooth start to the removals will help it regain at least some of the credibility it lost in its response to the quake and tsunami that overwhelmed the plant and in the cleanup. A string of blunders by Tepco, including underestimating the potential for large amounts of groundwater to become contaminated and reach the ocean, has some experts wondering whether the company is up to the task. Even minor problems with the fuel removal could strengthen calls for the decommissioning work to be taken out of Tepco's hands. "All I can do is pray that nothing goes wrong," said Yasuro Kawai, a former plant engineer who now heads a group that is independently monitoring the decommissioning process.

Me, too. Also, Alaska.

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Charlie has been a working journalist since 1976. He is the author of four books, most recently "Idiot America." He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.