TEPCO Has Scandal-Plagued Past

photo: yoppy on Flickr

FDL

TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company), which operates the failing nuclear power plants at Fukushima, has a history of scandals associated with its nuclear power operations.   In 2002, one set of such scandals became so severe that the president, vice president and chairman of the company all resigned in disgrace.  Most disturbing in this regard is that the scandal related to TEPCO hiding evidence of cracks in the containment vessels of their nuclear reactors.  Also possibly related to the current crisis is one report I have found of Toshiba providing faulty gauges that are used in monitoring the reactor coolant systems.

TEPCO is widely reported to be the largest utility company in the world that is not owned by a government entity.  According to this undated profile and history, it had annual revenues of nearly $60 billion in 2004 and over 50,000 employees.  The Fukushima Daiichi complex where the current crisis is underway was TEPCO’s first nuclear facility:

TEPCO located its nuclear power plants far from the crowded capital region, on the coast of Fukushima prefecture to the north, the service region of its longtime partner, the Tohoku Electric Power Company. By 1979, five further BWR reactors had been added to the Fukushima No. 1 complex. The company now used its own technology and contracted construction to other Japanese corporations that were experts in the field. Despite potential earthquake hazards that could result in catastrophic events at nuclear power facilities, nuclear power began gaining ascendancy, mainly to reduce air pollution. In 1970, the government legislated severe controls on air, land, and water pollution. An Environmental Agency on the American model emerged in 1971. The oil crisis of 1973 to 1974 reinforced commitment to a nuclear future.

Then, after further expansion of nuclear production, scandal struck:

TEPCO completed construction on the largest nuclear plant in the world in 1997. This was achieved despite public sentiment in Japan, which remained hostile towards the development of nuclear power due to several fatal accidents and scandals. According to a March 2000 Business Week article, nuclear power accounted for nearly 35 percent of Japan’s electricity. In fact, for much of the 1990s, Japan’s industry had aggressively focused on shifting from expensive and polluting coal-fired plants to nuclear power. Due to concerns over the safety of these nuclear facilities, Japan’s government was forced to rethink its expansion efforts, cut back on its nuclear development plans, and find alternative sources of power. Nevertheless, it hoped nuclear power would be supplying over 40 percent of Japan’s energy needs by 2011.

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