Liberal Japan

In my first entry reviewing the news about the Kashiwazaiki-Kariwa Nuclear Plant, I discussed the issue as to whether or not the plant had been designed to meet a quake of the severity that hit on July 16. It is clear the plant was not.

Now, let’s deal with a another issue. Was the plant ready to deal with any fires that might break out as a result of an earthquake?

The nuclear power plant where a radiation leak and transformer fire occurred after the earthquake was told two years ago by the International Atomic Energy Agency that it lacked fire prevention measures … Even though Tokyo Electric Power Co. reviewed the measures after the IAEA’s evaluation that was issued in 2005, the fact that it took two hours to extinguish the fire suggests efforts to improve circumstances were insufficient.
The IAEA sent a team of experts to TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in November 2004. … A report of the examination released in June 2005 criticized the fire control measures, saying:
* There was no section in charge of fire prevention measures.
* Some members of the volunteer firefighters group at the power plant were not trained, and other members are not engaged in periodic safety patrols.
* A fire control committee has not met for two years.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070719dy01.htm

Takahashi told reporters that four plant workers attempted to use the fire-extinguishing system to tend to the fire in the No. 3 reactor. However, damage to a pipe resulted in the water hose only being able to spray water about a meter, as opposed to the normal dozens of meters. Worrying for their own safety, the workers reportedly escaped to a building about 30 meters away from the fire. “We could do nothing but watch the fire from behind the building,” one of the workers said.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070722TDY02005.htm

The power company added that only four workers were available to extinguish the fire after it was discovered.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070718TDY02002.htm

As black smoke belched into the air and flames melted metal parts, workers at the quake-damaged Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant stood by and watched. That is the grim picture being painted by members of the local fire department, who had to arrive at the scene Monday to douse the fire at a transformer caused by the earthquake.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707200575.html

The strong earthquake that damaged Niigata and Nagano prefectures on July 16 has exposed disturbingly poor firefighting capabilities of many nuclear facilities in Japan. The deadly earthquake caused a fire at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). The plant’s response to the fire was delayed by various factors. Alarmed by the ineptitude, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which regulates the power industry, ordered electric power companies and related firms to report on their preparedness for fires at nuclear facilities. The picture that has emerged from the reports submitted to the ministry is quite troubling. Of the 10 companies that operate nuclear power plants, only about half have chemical fire engines and hotlines linked to local fire departments. None of the operators has firefighting squads on duty around the clock at their nuclear power plants.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707240086.html

“One problem was that electric transformers and other facilities weren’t made as quake-resistant as the reactor buildings, which are designed to withstand strong quakes,” the plant’s senior official said. “We need to discuss how best we can learn lessons from this quake when designing future facilities.”
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070723TDY01001.htm

“Other facilities also were damaged, and our instructions were confused,” the company said, admitting its disaster management measures did not go as planned. “Fire engines and ambulances usually are out on call in the event of disasters. Nuclear power plants need to set up a system for putting out fires on their own,” Amari said Tuesday.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070718TDY02002.htm

According to an Kyodo news article in Japanese an investigation into damage at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant revealed that four transformers had been leaking oil and could have easily caused a fire. Five separate fire extinguishing facilities would not have been functional had a fire broken out as they were damaged in the quake.

In short, despite being a nuclear facility thus creating the very real need for fire prevention measures, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant was not ready to put out any fires that might develop as the result of an earthquake.