Blame

A recent simple Google search for "Japan disaster blame" returned 11,600,000 results, so it is safe to say that plenty of blame has been going around regarding the recent disaster in Japan. I was struck by a short opinion in the Los Angeles Times with the headline "Who's to blame for Fukushima?", which bypasses the question of whether or not blame should be assigned at all and instead immediately begins looking for someone to lay the blame on.

The article brought up an interesting point of which I was not aware: "Japanese law ... limits liability to the operator, not the designer, of a nuclear power plant." This is interesting to me, because in an area prone to earthquakes and tsunamis it seems like it should be the designer's responsibility to ensure that all of the bases are in covered. Indeed, it was the designer who initially built the "tsunami-proof" reactors and safety system, which obviously has some major flaws. So, based on these laws, the shares for General Electric have fluctuated by less than $1 since the disaster, while prices for shares of TEPCO have fallen by more than 70%. Not much incentive for General Electric to rethink their plant designs.

The article also brought up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which I have discussed briefly in an earlier post. In the states it was very important to the public and media that BP accept "blame" for the incident, and then give restitution to all affected parties. In the US a massive media campaign was launched (and I believe commercials still air sometimes) saying "we are BP, we are here [in the Gulf], and we are working to help those affected and fix our mistake." In the US, it was the operator's fault, not the designer who initially designed the "emergency shut-off valve." This article does not make any comment regarding the restitution the author believes should come out of the Fukushima disaster, but they mention the $20-billion fund set up by BP "to help those whose livelihoods were destroyed by the disaster." It will be interesting to compare this fund to any restitution that comes out of Fukushima.