[quote=Arraya]BBC is now reporting a whistleblower statement by Masashi Goto, nuclear engineer, that Toshiba (plant builder) knew that the engineering specs were not adequate for a disaster of this magnitude. Looks like this is a classic cost-benefit scenario, where engineers tell management what is necessary, and management makes the decision about the risks they can live with – in order to get the project margin up.[/quote]
Well, the interesting part though is that Toshiba didn’t build all three reactors…
Unit No. 1 is a General Electric Co. (GE) model that can generate 439 megawatts of power and began commercial operation in 1971, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The No. 2 reactor was built by GE Toshiba and the No. 3 by Toshiba Corp.
I doubt anyone really planned for a 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami that would cut off backup power, and backup to backup power to the cooling systems…