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Re: Gov't to mediate on Tokaimura nuke compensation claim
WOW! I thought the US had a corner on the "Stupid Lawsuits" market. Last
I heard there was NO significant contamination released from that accident.
If the product was removed from the shelves 'immediately after the
accident' I think the company should look to the government or the
merchants for compensation. There was no reason why current stock should
have been removed. ANI, take notice!
"My opinions, not the states"
P
"Sandy Perle"
<sandyfl@earthlink To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
.net> cc:
Sent by: Subject: Gov't to mediate on Tokaimura nuke compensation claim
radsafe@romulus.eh
s.uiuc.edu
08/26/2000 13:44
Please respond to
radsafe
Gov't to mediate on Tokaimura nuke compensation claim
MITO, Japan, Aug. 26 (Kyodo) - Governmental mediators will take on a
compensation claim made by a fermented soybeans maker against JCO
Co., operator of a plant where Japan's worst nuclear accident
occurred last fall, sources close to the case said Friday.
The soybeans maker in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, is seeking more
than 1 billion yen in damages and asked the mediation board to
intervene as talks between the company and JCO had stalled, the
sources said.
The 10-member board, set up under a 1961 law on compensation over
nuclear accidents, will start mediation work -- the first involving
the Tokaimura nuclear accident -- on Monday.
The soybeans company, located within 10 kilometers of JCO's uranium-
processing plant, where a nuclear fission chain reaction occurred,
had its products removed from shelves at supermarkets across Japan
immediately after the accident.
In the past negotiations, JCO offered to pay compensation for the
firm's losses in the three months after the Sept. 30 accident, but
the company demanded the payment should cover a longer period as
sales of its products continue to be stagnant, the sources said.
By the end of July, JCO had paid 12.29 billion yen in compensation to
local residents and firms in the village, settling some 97.5% of the
disputes related to the accident. However, 175 cases reportedly still
remain to be worked out.
Negotiations have hit a snag in several dozen cases. A lawyer for one
of the companies which filed compensation claims expressed anger,
saying JCO is ''insincere,'' as it refuses to talk with the firm.
The 10-member mediation board was set up in October last year
following the accident.
Parties seeking compensation can take their cases to court if
mediation by the board consisting of lawyers and radiology experts
does not satisfy them.
JCO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.
Two JCO workers -- Hisashi Ouchi, 35 and Masato Shinohara, 40 -- have
died from exposure to a huge amount of radiation in the accident.
The accident took place when Ouchi, Shinohara and another JCO worker
poured a large amount of uranium into a tank not designed to hold the
radioactive substance.
At least 439 people, including 207 residents in Tokaimura, were found
exposed to radiation, mostly in minor doses.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division Fax:(714) 668-3149
ICN Biomedicals, Inc. E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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