Tokyo Electric: “Chill Out, We Got this” – A Case Study in Disastrous Disaster PR

As of 1700 EDT Monday, March 14, Tokyo Electric’s “Press Room” online still lead with the same release that had been posted as of 0200 on monday morning. It reads as follows:

Press Release (Mar 14,2011) White smoke around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 3 (3rd release)

At approximately 11:01am, an explosion followed by white smoke occurred at the reactor building of Unit 3. It was believed to be a hydrogen explosion. According to the parameter, it is believed that the reactor containment vessel remains intact. However, the status of the plant and the impact of radioactive materials to the outside environment are presently under investigation. (previously announced) As of 1:30 pm, 4 TEPCO employees and 3 workers from other companies have sustained injuries (all of them are conscious). 3 ambulances are in operation to care for them and 2 have already dispatched the casualties to the hospital. As of 0:30 pm, the measured value of radiation dose near MP6 was 4μSv/h. The increase of the radiation dose cannot be confirmed at this time. As of 0:30 pm, the measured value of radiation dose at the monitoring post in Fukushima Daini Power Station located approximately 10 km south of Fukushima Daiichi Power Station remains at the same level. In light of the incidents that have occurred at Units 1 and 3, we are considering applying prevention measures to the wall of the reactor building to ventilate the hydrogen gas contained in Unit 2. TEPCO continues to take all measures to restore the safety and security of the site and are monitoring the site's immediate surroundings.

In other words, “You know that white smoke? Well it was an explosion. Chill out, we got this.”

I get it that many people view nuclear energy as critical to solving the climate crisis, and that may indeed be true. Some of you have written to me to express frustration that I am taking some kind of hysterical media bias on the current situation.

Here’s the deal – Tokyo Electric, and the Japanese Government, have done an absolutely textbook terrible job of communicating, leading journalists and news outlets guessing as to what is going on. By going thru hundreds of reports and following the televised news for many hours over the weekend, I’ve been able to piece together a picture of what is happening, but even the most experienced journalists at the leading news sources are not doing much better than I am.

That’s why you can, in the same hour, read a Reuters headline that says:
Japan Nuclear Disaster Risk Seen Receding Fast

and a Washington Post article that leads:
Japan nuclear plant meltdown risk grows as massive rescue operation continues

What I’m teasing out of this is as follows:

There have been two explosions, at Fukishima Daichi Unit 1 and Unit 3, there may be a third in the
making at unit 2.

None of the containments have been breached, two of the massive concrete reactor housing buildings
have been blown apart.

Conditions at Unit 2 may be the most serious of all, with fuel rods completely uncovered.

All of the units have to one degree or another sustained fuel damage. That means the cores have been uncovered and to one degree or another, begun to melt.  The extreme heat creates tremendous pressure within the vessels which makes it more difficult to pump in cooling water.  In addition, damage to the cores may make it more difficult to completely circulate cooling water to all affected parts of the fuel.

Radiation release off site so far has been small, but detectable out at sea, where US servicemen have received significant, though probably not health threatening , exposure.

The unit 3 Reactor contains “Mox” fuel, which is a mixture of uranium and products from nuclear weapons programs, including plutonium, which may, in the case of a meltdown and release, cause more intense radiation issues.

The likelihood of a Chernobyl style release is still a small one, but everything will depend on how cooling
efforts proceed, and whether, in the event of further explosions, the reactor containments hold.

This accident will be extremely costly to clean up, and mean significant upgrades, or even decommissioning for a number of reactors around the world, especially those close in Design to the GE Mark 1 Boiling Water reactor.