TEPCO claims that its soaring profits in 2014 are due to increased electric fees. But how is it justifiable that the same company which used radiation detectors that gave low readings in order to lie about the true levels of contamination at Daiichi should be nearly doubling its profits as they continue to pollute the world with radioactive waste?
According to recent reports, TEPCO is enjoying a staggering profit over the first half of the year with a 243 billion yen gain, reported on 12/8/2014. This is an increase of 71.4% since the same time last year.
The ordinary profit of the first half year was -166 billion yen in 2012. In 2013, it grew to be 142 billion yen.
Further reports suggest that TEPCO’s profits have been rising since 2012.
Reports of more radiation leakage, and ‘total meltdown’ leak from Japan almost every week, yet we are to trust this company, who is actually profiting while they continue to contaminate our oceans, air, and land, with the restart of the world’s biggest nuclear plant?
TEPCO’s institutional lying is cause for deep concern. Niigata Prefecture Governor, Hirohiko Izumida has cautioned:
“If they don’t do what needs to be done, if they keep skimping on costs and manipulating information, they can never be trusted.”
Not only is TEPCO hiding the true levels of radiation that are still being dumped into the ocean daily, they are now being accused of hiding worker injuries as well. Journalist Ryuichi Kino has documented a large number of injuries to workers in 2014 that TEPCO has not made public.
Expert: US Being Hit by ‘Twice As Much’ Radiation as Originally Reported
Furthermore, as suggested previously by experts, the true ramifications of the Fukushima fallout are going to become apparent only over time. Children that previously screened as normal for thyroid cancer, are now showing positive on subsequent tests.
As Japanese officials only now admit that radiation levels are 4 times what they previously claimed, how is the world to trust TEPCO with running a nuclear power plant at all?
This is also cause for concern considering the UK wants to build new nuclear plants, and the US could experience a similar disaster to Fukushima if even a small quake hits the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Site in California, since it has been called ‘riddled with defects’ that the state has never addressed.
The nuclear gamble simply isn’t worth it considering all the new green technologies available for generating energy. If we can send the Rosetta space probe into space to utilize solar energy, then why not power our homes and businesses similarly?