After seeing the devastation from last month’s earthquake and tsunami in Northeast Japan, officials in Tokyo are re- evaluating their current disaster plan. The huge 9.0 quake on March 11th that occurred over 200 miles from Japans capital made them realize they weren’t prepared for the worst-case situation. Japan has been working for over 40 years to make their country safer from devastating earthquakes. Earthquake engineering is a normal part of the construction process in Japan. City leaders were confident they had prepared for worse-case scenarios; until the quake…
Read MoreTag: Fukushima nuclear plant
The liability name game over Fukushima nuclear disaster
General Electric (GE) is getting bad press for their part in the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan; but they’re not being sued, as of yet. GE designed the containment systems inside the nuclear reactors of the Fukushima power plant. The power plant and its nuclear reactors were damaged almost a month ago when a massive earthquake hit Japan. The quake was immediately followed by a powerful Tsunami; causing additional destruction in the region. There have been reports that the reactors leaked radiation into the air. The latest news tells us…
Read MoreU.S. Nuclear Plants…how exposed are we?
The people of Japan knew they were at risk for a large scale earthquake, and even a tsunami. They took painstaking measures to prepare for this possible, “once in a lifetime” event. We watched the tragedy and devastation that was taking place, in one of the most prepared countries in the world. One hundred twenty seven million people experienced an event of historical proportions. All the planning and scenarios had been done for a “worst case disaster.” But as one disaster turned into two, and then two turned into three,…
Read MoreRead carefully…insurance policies carry nuclear exclusions
Insurance companies are reeling from the possible cost of the disaster in Japan. It will be weeks before the entirety of the damages can be put into any kind of perspective to be tallied. It isn’t just the property damage and the economic loss; the lives that were lost will also be a factor. Another aspect of this disaster is the nuclear contamination from damaged reactors. Most traditional policies exclude coverage for nuclear accidents. There is more to assessing damage than people might realize. You have to determine what was…
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