Nuclear power in Japan, 1996: already...
Testimony of a Japanese boilermaker who developed cancer
July 26, 2011
Reprinted from
Nuclear Gazette
Testimony of Mr. Hirado Norio, boilermaker, written in 1996 (died of cancer in 1997)
I am not an anti-nuclear power activist.
I worked for 20 years in nuclear power plants. There are always controversies about nuclear power plants, where people say they are for or against, or that it is dangerous or not.
But today, I just want to tell you what happens inside the power plants. You will understand that there is a big difference between reality and the idea you have about it. At the same time, you will discover that nuclear power plants irradiate (contaminate) more and more people every day and are the cause of discrimination.
You will certainly discover things you have never heard of. Please read my texts until the end and think for yourself. When talking about nuclear power plants, many people talk about the construction plans. But no one talks about the actual work done. Without knowing the site, you cannot know the reality of the power plants.
I trained as a boilermaker in industrial complexes and large chemical plants. I was hired to build (participate in the construction of) nuclear power plants at the end of my twenties, and I later worked as a site supervisor. I know almost everything about nuclear power plants, more than any ordinary employee could ever know.
Safety, an illusion
Last year, on January 17, 1995, there was a big earthquake in Kobe. And the Japanese people began to worry whether earthquakes could pose a danger to Japanese nuclear power plants. Would they really withstand all earthquakes? It is not at all certain. The government and the power companies emphasize that the plants are well designed and built on stable ground. But this is an illusion.
The day after the earthquake, I went to Kobe. The many connections between the damage in Kobe and the nuclear power plant issues confused me. Until that day, who could have imagined that the Shinkansen rails and the highway pillars could fall?
Generally, we imagine that the constructions of nuclear power plants, the Shinkansen or the highways are subject to strict administrative controls. But in Kobe, we discovered formworks left in the concrete pillars of the Shinkansen. The highway rebar had been poorly welded: (it had been bonded with the welding metal, but the edges of the rebar themselves had not been fused). They were all displaced by the earthquake.
Why did this happen? Because too much importance was given to the plan, to the office, but the site supervision was neglected. If it was not the direct cause, we can say that this negligence caused the extent of the disaster.
Nuclear power plants built by unqualified people
As with the constructions in Kobe, there are also too many human errors in nuclear power plants. For example, connecting pipes while leaving tools inside. There are not many highly skilled workers. They cannot perfectly follow a well-designed construction plan. This illusory plan is based on the idea that it is carried out by expert workers, but we have never questioned the quality of the workers or their working conditions.
For nuclear power plants as for other construction sites, the workforce and even the inspectors are made up of unqualified people. It is understandable that a serious accident occurs in nuclear power plants, the Shinkansen or on the highways.
The design of the nuclear power plant plans is well done. There are many protective and emergency measures. If something goes wrong, it stops properly. But this is only at the level of the plan. Poorly done construction work weakens this plan.
For example, to build a house, even if the plan is drawn by a top designer, if it is built by unskilled carpenters and plasterers, you will have water leaks and poorly installed partitions. Unfortunately, this house is the Japanese nuclear power plants.
Previously, there was always a foreman called "Boushin" to supervise the work. He had more experience than the site supervisor, who was younger than him. The Boushin was proud of his work and considered accidents and negligence a disgrace. He certainly knew the danger of an accident.
For about 10 years now, there are no more skilled workers.
No experience is required at the time of hiring.
Unskilled workers do not know the danger of an accident. They do not even know what non-compliant and poorly done work is. This is the reality of Japanese nuclear power plants.
For example,
at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant of TEPCO
, we started the plant leaving a piece of wire inside and barely avoided a serious accident that could have had global consequences. The worker knew he had dropped the wire, but he did not know how dangerous the consequences of his action were. In this sense, a brand new nuclear power plant built by these unqualified people is just as dangerous as an old one.
Since there are not many skilled workers anymore, the construction of nuclear power plants has been standardized. This means that they no longer look at the plan, but simply assemble prefabricated parts from the factory, connecting part number 1 with part number 2 like dominoes. Then they no longer know what they are building and how precise these works must be. This is one of the reasons why the number of accidents and failures is increasing in nuclear power plants.
In nuclear power plants, there is also the problem of radiation, which prevents the training of successors. When working in a nuclear power plant, it is very dark and hot, and with the protection, it is impossible to talk. So workers communicate by gestures. How can they transmit their skills under these conditions? Moreover, they send the skilled people first to work, and they are quickly exposed to the annual allowed radiation level and can no longer work, which further increases the incompetence of the workers.
For example, welders strain their eyes while working. After 30 years, they can no longer do precise work and cannot find jobs in the petrochemical industry. And this is how they end up in nuclear power plants.
You may have a false image that nuclear power plants are something very sophisticated. But they are not as safe as you imagine.
I think you have understood why nuclear power plants are built by unqualified people and that it will get worse and worse.
Inspections and...