Atomic Plant Collapse

　　There are several atomic power stations in the disaster-stricken area, where Japanese people had launched the first-ever atomic power station in its history in 1965. Those power stations were designed elaborately against severe earthquakes and successfully survived the harsh rocking from the earthquake this time.
　　However, an unbelievable and unforeseen huge tsunami destroyed the emergency power generating system of the plant. They ended up getting short of power in eastern Japan. Tokyo has also been crippled by the accident as I wrote in the entry called "Rotating Blackout".
　　Some people cry out for the abolition of the atomic power stations now, but I don't think so. Cars sometimes cause traffic accidents and passenger planes sometimes crash. Do you think that you should stop using cars and planes? These machines got more and more secure through miserable accidents. I hope atomic power stations will be safer and more reliable.

(Vocabulary)
unforeseen  (状況などが)思いもよらない, 予期しなかった
unforeseen circumstances/events  予期せぬ事態［出来事］
emergency power generating system　非常発電装置
cripple …に打撃を与える, をだめにする, 麻痺(まひ)させる
Asia's economy has been crippled by inflation. アジアの経済はインフレで打撃を受けている．

Comments

[KUMO]

Dear YL

I completely agree with you. The nuclear generation is essential for Japan. I'm going to write about German media in a few days. They are just "fearmongering".

By the way, the word "-monger" was new to me, and thank you for showing this word. It was a good lesson.

[YL]

I spent a good deal of this weekend thrilled at having come across your essays. Although I planned to work on Sunday, I read your blog instead. Thank you for the pleasurable hours.

Although far from being an expert, I felt a need to reflect on your entry regarding the Daiichi plant failure. Japanese scientists and engineers have made giant steps in earthquake-proofing the country. Had not the unprecedented tsunami devastated the Northeastern seashore, I believe the number of victims would have been much, much less. Likewise, the Fukushima plant would probably also have withstood the quake without the hitherto unequaled tsunami. What I fail to understand is how can the critics of Japan's nuclear plants judge the safety of the entire industry based on a fifty-year-old design that failed only when hit by a natural disaster of unparalleled magnitude?

I may be wrong but it seems that nuclear power generation is the only real answer to Japan's energy needs.
The alternative, returning to oil, would not only be more expensive by exposing the country to the vagaries of the OPEC cartell but would also create a deadly strategic vulnerability by allowing a belligerent foreign power threaten Japan with intercepting her oil transports. It happened in the past and Japan's opponents would not hesitate to use it in the future. I also wonder whether the sensationalist fearmongering of the foreign media is fueled by the same opponents' wish to suppress Japan's nuclear industry. Do you have the same thoughts sometimes?