Two-and-a-half years after the tsunami-induced triple meltdown at Fukushima, Japan’s once-vaunted nuclear industry remains a shambles. Just two of 50 reactors are operating. The effort to decommission the stricken Fukushima plant continues to resemble an episode of the Keystone Kops. A rat gnawed through a cable, causing a dangerous power outage. In July, after months of obfuscation, Tokyo Electric Power, the semi-nationalised operator, admitted the plant was leaking radioactive water into the ocean. This month the government stepped in to contain the leak with an untested process to freeze the ground around the plant. Current estimates suggest it will take decades and cost more than $10bn to decommission Fukushima. So much for cheap nuclear fuel.
海啸引发的福岛(Fukushima)核电站三重熔融事故过去已两年半，日本国内曾一度备受推崇的核工业依然一片混乱。50座反应堆中，运行中的只有两座。试图让瘫痪的福岛核电站退役的努力，仍然像滑稽喜剧片《基斯顿警察》(Keystone Kops)里的一幕：老鼠咬断了电缆，导致危险的断电。今年7月，经过数月的含糊其辞后，半国有化的运营商东京电力公司(Tokyo Electric Power)终于承认福岛电站受到辐射的废水正向海洋中渗露。本月日本政府开始介入，冻住电站周围的地面来阻止泄露，不过此方法尚未经过测试。目前的估计显示，福岛核电站退役需要耗时数十年，花费高于100亿美元。对于廉价的核燃料，这样的代价可谓不菲。