Yoshitatsu Uechi, 48, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that he he isn’t surprised at the latest radioactive leaks from the Fukushima plant because of its shoddy repair work, which includes the use of duct tape to “fix” key equipment.
“I couldn’t believe that such slipshod work was being done,” he said. “Even if it was part of stopgap measures.”
We’re seeing a dramatic rise of radiation levels in Southern California and Missouri due to large plumes of steam escaping from reactor 3, as reported in our earlier posts. The government has also recently purchased 14 million doses of potassium iodine.
A Japanese worker who spent six months at the Fukushima nuclear power plant says that he isn’t surprised about the latest radioactive leaks from the plant because of its shoddy construction and repair work, including the use of duct tape to “fix” key equipment.
“White adhesive tape” was reportedly used to cover radioactive water sitting in tanks. Credit: Politas via Wiki
Yoshitatsu Uechi, 48, told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that he and his fellow workers were under such intense pressure to perform repairs as quickly as possible on the devastated plant that adhesive tape was used to “repair” critical equipment and that they even neglected to apply rust inhibitor on the radioactive water tanks.
“I couldn’t believe that such slipshod work was being done,” he said. “Even if it was part of stopgap measures.”
Back in Oct. 2012, Uechi and another worker climbed to the top of a storage tank holding radioactive water in order to bolt a steel lid over its opening.
When they reached the top, he noticed that the opening, one foot in diameter, was only covered with white adhesive tape and that the water level was less than two feet from below the opening.
He was given only four bolts to fasten the lid even though there were eight bolt holes in total.
Uechi also revealed cost-cutting techniques used during the plant’s construction, such as the decision to use wire net to reinforce the concrete foundation under the water tanks instead of much stronger and more commonly used rebar.
Furthermore, waterproof sheets were placed over the joints inside tanks instead of sealing agent, which would have been much more effective at stopping radiation leaks.
Uechi’s experiences add to the already exhaustive evidence that the nuclear disaster is far more deadly than what the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Japanese government suggest.
As we reported today, snow in Missouri has double the normal amount of radiation and a Geiger counter showed five times the safe level of radiation at a beach near San Francisco.
Government officials, however, rejected the possibility that the severe increase in radiation was linked to the Fukushima disaster.
But as we also reported last week, the Department of Health and Human Services has ordered 14 million doses of potassium iodide, which protect the body from radiation poisoning.
