Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Costa Concordia vs. Fukushima Daiichi, Update One Week Later

I compared two disasters, the wreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, severely damaged by sea water. The scale of the two disasters can barely be compared, but a more decisive and vigorous cleanup effort has followed in the aftermath of the Costa Concordia, while Tepco, operator at Fukushima, seems paralyzed by comparison. Another week has gone by and the contrast has become that much more stark.

A dozen tug boats have removed the Costa Concordia from the site where it sank and are taking it to Genoa. The trip is expected to last four days. At BBC News:

It is a much quieter scene at Fukushima Daiichi. A worker, working alone, was surprised by a new nuclear leak in the “undamaged” reactor building 5. The operator, Tepco, considers it a worrying sign of deterioration and concedes it should keep a closer eye on the facility. At The Asahi Shimbun: