Thousands evacuate as Fukishima nuclear emergency is declared

[Jan Klimkowski]

So, what's really going on?

Radiation adviser to Kan to quit over gov't nuke crisis response

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- An adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant told the prime minister's office Friday he will resign in protest over what he called the government's impromptu handling of the crisis.

"The government has belittled laws and taken measures only for the present moment, resulting in delays in bringing the situation under control," Toshiso Kosako, professor on antiradiation safety measures at the University of Tokyo's graduate school, told a news conference.

After the March 11 quake and tsunami triggered the country's worst nuclear accident, Kosako assumed the post on March 16 with the duty of advising Kan on matters related to nuclear power plants and radiation.

It is extremely rare for an intellectual adviser appointed by the prime minister to resign in protest at measures the government has taken.

He told the news conference at the Diet building it is problematic for the government to have delayed the release of forecasts on the spread of radiation from the Fukushima plant, done by the Nuclear Safety Technology Center's computer system, called the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information, or SPEEDI.

He also blasted the government for hiking the upper limit for emergency workers seeking to bring the crippled plant under control to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts after the crisis broke out.

"The prime minister's office and administrative organizations have made impromptu policy decisions, like playing a whack-a-mole game, ignoring proper procedures," the radiation expert said.

He also urged the government to stiffen guidelines on upper limits on radiation levels the education ministry recently announced as allowable levels for primary school grounds in Fukushima Prefecture, where the radiation-leaking plant is located.

The guidelines announced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology "are inconsistent with internationally commonsensical figures and they were determined by the administration to serve its interests," he said.

(Mainichi Japan) April 30, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/2011...8000c.html