The puzzle that is Fukushima nuclear plant
A report issued by a third-party investigation commission on Thursday suggests a massive cover-up of the Fukushima nuclear power plant nuclear leak by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
The report says that under the pressure of the office of then Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan, Masataka Shimizu, then president of the Fukushima plant's operator Tepco, ordered his executives to not use the term "meltdown" to describe the condition of the fuel rods in the reactors in the days immediately after a massive earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 11, 2011. Tepco referred to the "meltdown" as "core damage" (a less serious classification) till May 2011.
Widespread radiation leaks forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from areas near the plant, and it will take decades to clean up the plant and rid the areas of radiation.
