Posted on 11/25/2011 3:35:13 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
TEPCO: Radioactive substances belong to landowners, not us
By TOMOHIRO IWATA / Asahi Shimbun Weekly AERA
During court proceedings concerning a radioactive golf course, Tokyo Electric Power Co. stunned lawyers by saying the utility was not responsible for decontamination because it no longer "owned" the radioactive substances.
“Radioactive materials (such as cesium) that scattered and fell from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant belong to individual landowners there, not TEPCO,” the utility said.
That argument did not sit well with the companies that own and operate the Sunfield Nihonmatsu Golf Club, just 45 kilometers west of the stricken TEPCO plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
The Tokyo District Court also rejected that idea.
But in a ruling described as inconsistent by lawyers, the court essentially freed TEPCO from responsibility for decontamination work, saying the cleanup efforts should be done by the central and local governments.
Although the legal battle has moved to a higher court, observers said that if the district court’s decision stands and becomes a precedent, local governments' coffers could be drained.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajw.asahi.com ...
Another news from ‘The Land of Rising Radiation.’
“Radioactive materials (such as cesium) that scattered and fell from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant belong to individual landowners there, not TEPCO,” the utility said.
That is some mighty fancy lawyerin and crafty PR work I must say.
Ha! That’s gonna fly like a toolbox.
How benevolent of TEPCO for giving away free Cesium.
They think they have radiation problems now.
That site went China Syndrome, wait until the molten core gets to the water table and causes a steam detonation.
Yeah, it’s what makes Rudolph’s nose glow in the dark. Merry Christmas, Japan.
Fundamental law of aeronautics: put enough power behind it, and you can make ANYTHING fly.
...and thus we got the F-4 Phantom, more of a brick though as the tools all got strapped to the outside.
Well, I am pretty sure the landowners should be arrested and fined for possessing cesium without the proper permits and safety precautions...I wonder if TEPCO owns the other isotopes that are likely present but not tested for? If not then the landowners should be indicted for each isotope present and failing to contain them properly.
TEPCO doesn’t have that kind of power these days. The entire company was very close to being nationalized in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
The DPJ is running the government, not the LDP, and they have a very strong anti-corporate streak to their makeup. That means TEPCO’s usual protectors in the bureaucracy are busy scrambling to save their own necks and are not going to go far out of their way to shield them.
Finally, a lot of the affected are extremely wealthy people or powerful corporate players themselves, and are not likely to take this sitting down.
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