Shingo Hashitani / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
FUKUSHIMA--"Why can't I evacuate with my two daughters?"
Akiko Sato, 24, a resident of Iitatemura in Fukushima Prefecture, was complaining to a community administrative assistant who had come to her house to explain the village's subsidy system for evacuees leaving due to radiation leaks from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The village is designated by the central government as being within the planned evacuation area.
The Iitatemura village government is subsidizing residents' evacuation costs in light of the high concentration of radioactive substances detected in the local water and soil.
However, the subsidy system's inconvenient conditions have prompted criticism from the villagers because those most eager to utilize it--such as families with babies--are effectively prevented from benefiting.
Under the system, the village pays an accommodation fee of 5,000 yen a night (including three meals) to Iitatemura residents who evacuate to outside hotels and ryokan inns that contracted with the village. The subsidies are paid from prefectural coffers.
Those who qualify fall into two categories. One is pregnant women. The other is children under 3 years old accompanied by just one guardian.
Sato, a part-time worker, was angry as the system would separate her family of four--Sato, her husband, 30, and daughters Hina, 5, and Aoi, 2.
If Sato elected to receive the subsidy to evacuate with Aoi, Hina would have to stay home alone when her husband is at work. The system does not cover lodging expenses for her husband and Hina. The subsidy is appealing, she said, but unacceptable because she cannot allow her family to be separated.
Late last month, high levels of radioactive iodine-131 were detected in the village's tap water. The Satos evacuated to her parents' home located outside the village. At that time, the families of Sato's brother and sister also evacuated to the home. "We couldn't stay there too long, and it was stressful for my daughters," Sato said.
Consequently, the Satos returned to their home in the village after a week.
She said her family has decided to remain in their house for the time being.
"We're scared of radiation, but it's important that our family lives together. The nuclear plant has affected everything that was part of normal life," Sato said.
Five months pregnant, Misuzu Abe, 21, shares the same problem as Sato. Abe cannot go outside with her 1-year-old Raiki, for fear of radiation risk to the boy and her unborn baby.
After thinking it through, Abe decided to evacuate with Raiki while leaving her husband alone in the village, and then applied to the village government on April 9. However, she thought twice and retracted the application as she "was worried to be without her spouse especially when pregnant."
The Abes rented an apartment outside the village and moved there with Raiki. But the move has rendered the family ineligible for the Iitatemura evacuation subsidy.
The Fukushima prefectural government set up a subsidy system without any conditions on the age or number of people residing together for all cities, towns and villages located within a 30-kilometer radius of the nuclear plant. However, the system does not cover most of the areas in Iitatemura, which lies only partially within the 30-kilometer limit. As a result, of the 125 qualified villagers, only 37 applied for the subsidy before the April 11 deadline. Like Abe, some submitted but then withdrew their applications, and in the end, only 28 residents actually had evacuated the village as of Sunday.
(Apr. 19, 2011)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
19/04 Heat stroke adds to TEPCO workers' woes
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Heat stroke is posing yet another threat to workers dealing with already hazardous working conditions at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant.
Some workers have suffered heat stroke while working in heavy protective suits in radioactive areas with no air conditioning.
As a countermeasure, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is considering setting up air-conditioned prefabricated buildings as makeshift rest stations for workers.
According to the Fukushima Local Meteorological Observatory, the highest temperature in areas around the nuclear power plant complex in April was 22.5 C on Saturday. Weather data were missing for several days in April due to communication problems.
On March 11, the day the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan, the temperature near the nuclear power plant was 9.3 C, meaning temperature rose more than 13 C.
Workers in charge of checking power supply and clearing debris inside and around turbine buildings wear protective suits and full-face masks.
Because they are not allowed to take off the masks during work, they cannot even drink water. Temperatures inside the suits rise sharply after only 30 minutes of exertion. Most of the air-conditioning system at the plant was made unusable by the tsunami. Only one structure at the plant is air-conditioned, a quake-resistant building where about 250 workers stay at night.
On Friday, a 20-year-old worker suffered heat stroke and went to see a doctor. Later, TEPCO began discussing setting up prefabs in places where radiation levels are low. The company plans to spray a chemical agent on the ground around the prefabs to prevent radioactive substances from being stirred up.
(Apr. 19, 2011)
Heat stroke is posing yet another threat to workers dealing with already hazardous working conditions at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant.
Some workers have suffered heat stroke while working in heavy protective suits in radioactive areas with no air conditioning.
As a countermeasure, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is considering setting up air-conditioned prefabricated buildings as makeshift rest stations for workers.
According to the Fukushima Local Meteorological Observatory, the highest temperature in areas around the nuclear power plant complex in April was 22.5 C on Saturday. Weather data were missing for several days in April due to communication problems.
On March 11, the day the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan, the temperature near the nuclear power plant was 9.3 C, meaning temperature rose more than 13 C.
Workers in charge of checking power supply and clearing debris inside and around turbine buildings wear protective suits and full-face masks.
Because they are not allowed to take off the masks during work, they cannot even drink water. Temperatures inside the suits rise sharply after only 30 minutes of exertion. Most of the air-conditioning system at the plant was made unusable by the tsunami. Only one structure at the plant is air-conditioned, a quake-resistant building where about 250 workers stay at night.
On Friday, a 20-year-old worker suffered heat stroke and went to see a doctor. Later, TEPCO began discussing setting up prefabs in places where radiation levels are low. The company plans to spray a chemical agent on the ground around the prefabs to prevent radioactive substances from being stirred up.
(Apr. 19, 2011)
19/04 Tsunami devastated hoya, salmon fisheries
Yasushi Kaneko / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
SENDAI--Hoya sea squirt and coho salmon farms in the Sanriku region of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, which account for more than 95 percent of their respective markets in this country, were destroyed by the colossal tsunami that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Local hoya farmers are devastated because the tsunami wrecked their plans to ship the products this year. It usually takes three to four years to breed hoya, and so far there are no prospects that breeding efforts can or will resume.
According to fishery cooperatives in the two prefectures, tsunami caused by the March 11 quake obliterated hoya farms belonging to 25 local fishery cooperatives in the two prefectures. In Samenoura Bay in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, from which about 800 tons of hoya are shipped annually, breeding rafts washed ashore and remain piled up with other debris. Only the skeletal frame remains of a hoya storage structure near the water.
Hoya are bred by attaching larvae to oyster shells hanging from rafts in the bay for three to four years. Hoya, an invertibrate also known as "sea pineapple," had been growing well this season before the tsunami struck.
"We were just about to harvest the hoya that we had bred for four years," said a disappointed Keiichi Abe, 66, who has been breeding hoya for about 30 years.
Miyagi Prefecture accounted for 8,986 tons of the 10,937 tons of hoya harvested across the country in 2009, and Iwate Prefecture accounted for another 1,485 tons. The combined figure is 96 percent of the nation's total output.
Because hoya from the two prefectures could not be harvested, hoya became scarce in Tokyo's Tsukiji wholesale market and prices rose accordingly.
Meanwhile, production of "Date no Gin" (Date's silver), a coho salmon variety cultured in Miyagi Prefecture, accounting for 99 percent of the country's coho salmon output, also was devastated by the March 11 tsunami.
Coho salmon bred as Date no Gin is popular because of its light taste compared with imported varieties. It is delicious when eaten raw.
It is impossible to say how long it will take to rebuild the salmon culturing industry.
Shigeru Kimura, 61, who has bred the silver salmon for 30 years in Onagawacho in the prefecture said: "All I've got left is my debts. It's impossible to resume [coho salmon breeding] by myself."
(Apr. 19, 2011)
SENDAI--Hoya sea squirt and coho salmon farms in the Sanriku region of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, which account for more than 95 percent of their respective markets in this country, were destroyed by the colossal tsunami that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Local hoya farmers are devastated because the tsunami wrecked their plans to ship the products this year. It usually takes three to four years to breed hoya, and so far there are no prospects that breeding efforts can or will resume.
According to fishery cooperatives in the two prefectures, tsunami caused by the March 11 quake obliterated hoya farms belonging to 25 local fishery cooperatives in the two prefectures. In Samenoura Bay in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, from which about 800 tons of hoya are shipped annually, breeding rafts washed ashore and remain piled up with other debris. Only the skeletal frame remains of a hoya storage structure near the water.
Hoya are bred by attaching larvae to oyster shells hanging from rafts in the bay for three to four years. Hoya, an invertibrate also known as "sea pineapple," had been growing well this season before the tsunami struck.
"We were just about to harvest the hoya that we had bred for four years," said a disappointed Keiichi Abe, 66, who has been breeding hoya for about 30 years.
Miyagi Prefecture accounted for 8,986 tons of the 10,937 tons of hoya harvested across the country in 2009, and Iwate Prefecture accounted for another 1,485 tons. The combined figure is 96 percent of the nation's total output.
Because hoya from the two prefectures could not be harvested, hoya became scarce in Tokyo's Tsukiji wholesale market and prices rose accordingly.
Meanwhile, production of "Date no Gin" (Date's silver), a coho salmon variety cultured in Miyagi Prefecture, accounting for 99 percent of the country's coho salmon output, also was devastated by the March 11 tsunami.
Coho salmon bred as Date no Gin is popular because of its light taste compared with imported varieties. It is delicious when eaten raw.
It is impossible to say how long it will take to rebuild the salmon culturing industry.
Shigeru Kimura, 61, who has bred the silver salmon for 30 years in Onagawacho in the prefecture said: "All I've got left is my debts. It's impossible to resume [coho salmon breeding] by myself."
(Apr. 19, 2011)
19/04 Tsunami scattered slates meant for Tokyo Station
The Yomiuri Shimbun
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi--The March 11 tsunami swept away about 60,000 slate tiles meant to be used for the restoration of JR Tokyo Station and stored at a warehouse in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
The claystone slates were scheduled to be used on the roofs of the historic Marunouchi side of the station building. As the reconstruction is scheduled to be completed in March next year, workers collected the slates scattered in the disaster rubble one by one, hoping the station will be completed as scheduled.
East Japan Railway Co., operator of Tokyo Station, announced Friday that it plans to send inspectors to Ishinomaki to determine whether the collected slates are still usable.
Kumagai Master Thatchers Co., a construction company in Ishinomaki that specializes in traditional roofing materials, including those of national treasures and important cultural properties, is located about four kilometers upstream from the mouth of the Kitakamigawa river in northern Miyagi Prefecture.
Tsunami that rushed upstream from Oppa Bay engulfed the company. Sadanori Takeyama, an employee of the company who witnessed the scene from an evacuation center, said in a tone of frustration, "Debris and muddy water continued to sweep the slates away."
The Ogatsu district in Ishinomaki and the neighboring city of Tome are leading slate production centers in Japan. Slates produced in the Ogatsu district were used on the domed roofs of Tokyo Station when it was built in 1914. When the station was rebuilt in 1947, after severe damage in World War II, slates produced in Tome were used on its new, more pyramidlike roofs.
The station is designated a national important cultural property. In the reconstruction now under way, its dome-shaped roofs and other historic parts are to be restored.
It was originally planned that about 30 percent of the slates required for its approximately 8,000 square meters of roof would be domestically produced, with Spanish slates making up the rest.
The Ishinomaki company removed 200,000 slates, each measuring about 30 centimeters by 18 centimeters, from the old roofs. It was reprocessing them in time for the scheduled end of the station's reconstruction in March next year.
However, the tsunami left debris on the company's grounds and scattered the stored slates over a distance of two kilometers. If heavy machinery were used to clear the rubble, the slates would be broken. So company employees had to collect slates one by one by hand. They gathered about 45,000 slates over two weeks and washed the dirt off of them.
Company President Akio Kumagai, 46, said, "We'd like to participate in the reconstruction of the station with these slates and make them a symbol of recovery [from the disaster]."
Some members of Aka-renga no Tokyo Eki o Aisuru Shimin no Kai (Association of citizens who love Tokyo Station with red bricks) based in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, on Friday presented a petition to JR East, including the names of 3,037 members, urging that the slates be used. An official of JR East said, "We'd like to check the slates to see whether they have been affected by seawater or otherwise damaged by the tsunami."
(Apr. 19, 2011)
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi--The March 11 tsunami swept away about 60,000 slate tiles meant to be used for the restoration of JR Tokyo Station and stored at a warehouse in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
The claystone slates were scheduled to be used on the roofs of the historic Marunouchi side of the station building. As the reconstruction is scheduled to be completed in March next year, workers collected the slates scattered in the disaster rubble one by one, hoping the station will be completed as scheduled.
East Japan Railway Co., operator of Tokyo Station, announced Friday that it plans to send inspectors to Ishinomaki to determine whether the collected slates are still usable.
Kumagai Master Thatchers Co., a construction company in Ishinomaki that specializes in traditional roofing materials, including those of national treasures and important cultural properties, is located about four kilometers upstream from the mouth of the Kitakamigawa river in northern Miyagi Prefecture.
Tsunami that rushed upstream from Oppa Bay engulfed the company. Sadanori Takeyama, an employee of the company who witnessed the scene from an evacuation center, said in a tone of frustration, "Debris and muddy water continued to sweep the slates away."
The Ogatsu district in Ishinomaki and the neighboring city of Tome are leading slate production centers in Japan. Slates produced in the Ogatsu district were used on the domed roofs of Tokyo Station when it was built in 1914. When the station was rebuilt in 1947, after severe damage in World War II, slates produced in Tome were used on its new, more pyramidlike roofs.
The station is designated a national important cultural property. In the reconstruction now under way, its dome-shaped roofs and other historic parts are to be restored.
It was originally planned that about 30 percent of the slates required for its approximately 8,000 square meters of roof would be domestically produced, with Spanish slates making up the rest.
The Ishinomaki company removed 200,000 slates, each measuring about 30 centimeters by 18 centimeters, from the old roofs. It was reprocessing them in time for the scheduled end of the station's reconstruction in March next year.
However, the tsunami left debris on the company's grounds and scattered the stored slates over a distance of two kilometers. If heavy machinery were used to clear the rubble, the slates would be broken. So company employees had to collect slates one by one by hand. They gathered about 45,000 slates over two weeks and washed the dirt off of them.
Company President Akio Kumagai, 46, said, "We'd like to participate in the reconstruction of the station with these slates and make them a symbol of recovery [from the disaster]."
Some members of Aka-renga no Tokyo Eki o Aisuru Shimin no Kai (Association of citizens who love Tokyo Station with red bricks) based in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, on Friday presented a petition to JR East, including the names of 3,037 members, urging that the slates be used. An official of JR East said, "We'd like to check the slates to see whether they have been affected by seawater or otherwise damaged by the tsunami."
(Apr. 19, 2011)
19/04 Challenges abound to control crippled reactors
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Can Tokyo Electric Power Co. bring the four troubled reactors at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control within six to nine months as it announced Sunday? What challenges must it overcome before achieving its avowed goals?
Under the announced timetable, TEPCO aims to bring the crippled reactors to a stable condition known as a "cold shutdown"--a situation in which water temperatures inside the reactors are stabilized below 100 C--within six to nine months.
It will take this amount of time to achieve cold shutdown because the reactors, fuel rods and containment vessels are all in terrible conditions, experts said.
In the aftermath of a series of accidents at the Fukushima Prefecture power plant that was triggered by the March 11 earthquake and a massive tsunami, TEPCO studied measures such as purifying ever-increasing amounts of contaminated water and using it to cool the reactors and cooling water inside the reactors through heat exchangers by running seawater through narrow pipes.
But under its new timetable, the utility decided to give precedence to a method of pouring water to fill reactor containment vessels to cool pressure vessels as suggested by U.S. nuclear experts.
This water-filling method is able to bring about a cooling effect within a short period, TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto said, adding that the utility determined that filling containment vessels with water would be "the fastest way to cool fuel rods."
Under the timetable, the water-filling operation for the Nos. 1 and 3 reactors requires three months for completion. As for the No. 2 reactor, TEPCO is aiming to finish related work within six to nine months because it is also necessary to repair the damaged pressure suppression chamber.
Each containment vessel has a water capacity of about 6,000 to 7,400 tons. Experts have pointed out risks such as the vessels breaking down after being loaded with such an enormous amount of water or being unable to withstand a series of aftershocks.
If it takes a long time before the reactors are cooled to a state of cold shutdown, the amount of radiation-generated hydrogen will gradually increase, boosting the possibility of a hydrogen explosion, experts said.
TEPCO Vice President Sakae Muto told a news conference that if the amount of water to be poured into the No. 2 reactor's containment vessel increases, so will the chances of radiation-contaminated water leaking.
===
New water treatment facilities
As for the handling of contaminated water, there are plans to establish new water treatment facilities and create new reservoirs, according to TEPCO's timetable.
However, TEPCO has admitted the risk of possible delays in establishing such facilities and that they may not work as planned.
When transferring high-level contaminated water, careful handling is required to prevent the water from leaking from hose joints.
Meanwhile, it is highly likely that contaminated water is leaking from the No. 2 reactor, where a pressure suppression chamber is feared to have been damaged. Radiation levels around the reactor are too high for workers to approach and "seal" the reactor building.
At the No. 4 reactor, it is necessary to reinforce the structure below the temporary storage pool for spent nuclear fuel rods to prevent any possible spillage. However, this task is also expected to be fraught with difficulty.
===
A race against time
The Fukushima crisis requires a much longer timeframe compared with previous nuclear power plant accidents to achieve cold shutdown.
In case of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident in the United States, it took the reactors about a month to reach this state.
In the 1986 Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union, a radioactive fire caused by an explosion ended after 10 days. Construction of a concrete-walled "sarcophagus" to enclose the nuclear reactor was carried out over a six-month period.
According to TEPCO's timetable, Step 1 is expected to continue for about three months and radioactive substances will need to be discharged to the atmosphere and sea.
It also will take at least three months for the company to be able to control the leak of radioactive materials during Step 2.
The Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission has estimated that even in April, up to 1 terabecquerel per hour of radioactive substances are spreading into the air. Even if TEPCO's operations proceed as scheduled, several thousand terabecquerels of radioactive substances will be emitted by the time the situation is brought under control.
It is especially crucial during the first three months to suppress radioactivity by using underwater curtains and giant reactor building covers equipped with special filters. It is also feared that the upcoming typhoon season will impact on plans to enclose the damaged reactor buildings.
===
Specialists skeptical
Specialists are skeptical of TEPCO's timetable for bring the reactors at the Fukushima plant to cold shutdown within nine months.
"Cooling the nuclear reactors should be the top priority, but TEPCO's timetable shows they will instead be doing many things at once," said Michio Ishikawa, a top advisor to the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute. "I'm worried that realizing the timetable might be pie in the sky."
Ishikawa emphasized that setting up new heat exchangers to cool the reactors was the most important step. Referring to TEPCO's plan to externally cool the reactors by filling the containment vessels with water, he said, "Cooling the reactors with impounded water is not such an effective strategy."
"Judging from difficulties experienced thus far [in efforts to bring the situation at the plant under control], I doubt that TEPCO can stabilize the reactors within nine months," said Ishikawa. "I think TEPCO also needs to review its organization, for example, by having someone who can exert strong leadership [to spearhead the timetable's implementation]."
Shojiro Matsuura, former chairman of the Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission, pointed out some difficulties involved in blanketing the reactor buildings with special covers.
"Temperatures and humidity will rise toward summer. It's already difficult to work wearing protective gear and the situation will be even worse in covered buildings," Matsuura said. "TEPCO needs to take measures against possible heat stroke [among workers]."
TEPCO also has said its goal is for evacuees to return home once the situation is stabilized.
However, Atsushi Kasai, former chief researcher at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, expressed concern over soil contaminated with radioactive substances.
"I'm concerned about soil contamination by radioactive cesium--it has a long half-life of about 30 years," Kasai said. "These are highly contaminated areas. Careful consideration must be given as to whether residents be allowed to return home so early."
(Apr. 19, 2011)
Can Tokyo Electric Power Co. bring the four troubled reactors at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control within six to nine months as it announced Sunday? What challenges must it overcome before achieving its avowed goals?
Under the announced timetable, TEPCO aims to bring the crippled reactors to a stable condition known as a "cold shutdown"--a situation in which water temperatures inside the reactors are stabilized below 100 C--within six to nine months.
It will take this amount of time to achieve cold shutdown because the reactors, fuel rods and containment vessels are all in terrible conditions, experts said.
In the aftermath of a series of accidents at the Fukushima Prefecture power plant that was triggered by the March 11 earthquake and a massive tsunami, TEPCO studied measures such as purifying ever-increasing amounts of contaminated water and using it to cool the reactors and cooling water inside the reactors through heat exchangers by running seawater through narrow pipes.
But under its new timetable, the utility decided to give precedence to a method of pouring water to fill reactor containment vessels to cool pressure vessels as suggested by U.S. nuclear experts.
This water-filling method is able to bring about a cooling effect within a short period, TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto said, adding that the utility determined that filling containment vessels with water would be "the fastest way to cool fuel rods."
Under the timetable, the water-filling operation for the Nos. 1 and 3 reactors requires three months for completion. As for the No. 2 reactor, TEPCO is aiming to finish related work within six to nine months because it is also necessary to repair the damaged pressure suppression chamber.
Each containment vessel has a water capacity of about 6,000 to 7,400 tons. Experts have pointed out risks such as the vessels breaking down after being loaded with such an enormous amount of water or being unable to withstand a series of aftershocks.
If it takes a long time before the reactors are cooled to a state of cold shutdown, the amount of radiation-generated hydrogen will gradually increase, boosting the possibility of a hydrogen explosion, experts said.
TEPCO Vice President Sakae Muto told a news conference that if the amount of water to be poured into the No. 2 reactor's containment vessel increases, so will the chances of radiation-contaminated water leaking.
===
New water treatment facilities
As for the handling of contaminated water, there are plans to establish new water treatment facilities and create new reservoirs, according to TEPCO's timetable.
However, TEPCO has admitted the risk of possible delays in establishing such facilities and that they may not work as planned.
When transferring high-level contaminated water, careful handling is required to prevent the water from leaking from hose joints.
Meanwhile, it is highly likely that contaminated water is leaking from the No. 2 reactor, where a pressure suppression chamber is feared to have been damaged. Radiation levels around the reactor are too high for workers to approach and "seal" the reactor building.
At the No. 4 reactor, it is necessary to reinforce the structure below the temporary storage pool for spent nuclear fuel rods to prevent any possible spillage. However, this task is also expected to be fraught with difficulty.
===
A race against time
The Fukushima crisis requires a much longer timeframe compared with previous nuclear power plant accidents to achieve cold shutdown.
In case of the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident in the United States, it took the reactors about a month to reach this state.
In the 1986 Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union, a radioactive fire caused by an explosion ended after 10 days. Construction of a concrete-walled "sarcophagus" to enclose the nuclear reactor was carried out over a six-month period.
According to TEPCO's timetable, Step 1 is expected to continue for about three months and radioactive substances will need to be discharged to the atmosphere and sea.
It also will take at least three months for the company to be able to control the leak of radioactive materials during Step 2.
The Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission has estimated that even in April, up to 1 terabecquerel per hour of radioactive substances are spreading into the air. Even if TEPCO's operations proceed as scheduled, several thousand terabecquerels of radioactive substances will be emitted by the time the situation is brought under control.
It is especially crucial during the first three months to suppress radioactivity by using underwater curtains and giant reactor building covers equipped with special filters. It is also feared that the upcoming typhoon season will impact on plans to enclose the damaged reactor buildings.
===
Specialists skeptical
Specialists are skeptical of TEPCO's timetable for bring the reactors at the Fukushima plant to cold shutdown within nine months.
"Cooling the nuclear reactors should be the top priority, but TEPCO's timetable shows they will instead be doing many things at once," said Michio Ishikawa, a top advisor to the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute. "I'm worried that realizing the timetable might be pie in the sky."
Ishikawa emphasized that setting up new heat exchangers to cool the reactors was the most important step. Referring to TEPCO's plan to externally cool the reactors by filling the containment vessels with water, he said, "Cooling the reactors with impounded water is not such an effective strategy."
"Judging from difficulties experienced thus far [in efforts to bring the situation at the plant under control], I doubt that TEPCO can stabilize the reactors within nine months," said Ishikawa. "I think TEPCO also needs to review its organization, for example, by having someone who can exert strong leadership [to spearhead the timetable's implementation]."
Shojiro Matsuura, former chairman of the Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission, pointed out some difficulties involved in blanketing the reactor buildings with special covers.
"Temperatures and humidity will rise toward summer. It's already difficult to work wearing protective gear and the situation will be even worse in covered buildings," Matsuura said. "TEPCO needs to take measures against possible heat stroke [among workers]."
TEPCO also has said its goal is for evacuees to return home once the situation is stabilized.
However, Atsushi Kasai, former chief researcher at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, expressed concern over soil contaminated with radioactive substances.
"I'm concerned about soil contamination by radioactive cesium--it has a long half-life of about 30 years," Kasai said. "These are highly contaminated areas. Careful consideration must be given as to whether residents be allowed to return home so early."
(Apr. 19, 2011)
19/04 「福島製」理由の返品、下請法違反も…公取委
公正取引委員会は１９日、福島第一原子力発電所の放射能漏えい事故に関連し、福島県内の下請け業者に発注した製品の受領を拒んだり、返品したりすることが、下請法に違反する恐れがあるとの見解をホームページ上で示した。
実際の相談事例は報告されていないが、公取委は「原発と同じ福島県内にあること」を主な理由にした場合に同法に違反する可能性があると指摘。福島県の企業に対する風評被害を抑える狙いだ。下請法違反として認定すると、公取委は下請け企業が被った不利益の原状回復などを企業に勧告し、社名を公表する。
（2011年4月19日16時49分 読売新聞）
実際の相談事例は報告されていないが、公取委は「原発と同じ福島県内にあること」を主な理由にした場合に同法に違反する可能性があると指摘。福島県の企業に対する風評被害を抑える狙いだ。下請法違反として認定すると、公取委は下請け企業が被った不利益の原状回復などを企業に勧告し、社名を公表する。
（2011年4月19日16時49分 読売新聞）
19/04 いわき沖のコウナゴからセシウム、規制値２９倍
厚生労働省は１９日、福島県いわき市沖で１８日に採取されたコウナゴから、暫定規制値（１キロ当たり５００ベクレル）の約２９倍となる１万４４００ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。
放射性ヨウ素も規制値（同２０００ベクレル）の約２倍に当たる３９００ベクレルだった。検査のための採取で、現在漁は行われておらず、市場には出回っていない。同省によると、該当のコウナゴは、福島第一原発から約３０キロの海域で採取。約６０キロの海域で採取した検体ではセシウム３２０ベクレル、ヨウ素１２０ベクレルだった。
いわき市沖でとれたコウナゴを巡っては、７日と１３日に採取した検体からも、それぞれ規制値を超える放射性物質が検出されており、政府は出荷制限の対象とするかどうか検討している。
（2011年4月19日23時11分 読売新聞）
放射性ヨウ素も規制値（同２０００ベクレル）の約２倍に当たる３９００ベクレルだった。検査のための採取で、現在漁は行われておらず、市場には出回っていない。同省によると、該当のコウナゴは、福島第一原発から約３０キロの海域で採取。約６０キロの海域で採取した検体ではセシウム３２０ベクレル、ヨウ素１２０ベクレルだった。
いわき市沖でとれたコウナゴを巡っては、７日と１３日に採取した検体からも、それぞれ規制値を超える放射性物質が検出されており、政府は出荷制限の対象とするかどうか検討している。
（2011年4月19日23時11分 読売新聞）
19/04 日本産農産物、在外大使館が安全性説明会開催へ
政府は１９日、東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故の影響で海外で日本の農産物などの輸入を規制する動きが出ていることを受け、日本大使館が現地の民間企業に安全性をアピールする説明会を開く方針を決めた。
４月下旬から北京と上海、ロンドンで開き、米国や香港などでの開催も検討している。
同日の外務省の政務三役会議では、関西にある領事館や国際機関向けに２７日に大阪市で緊急説明会を開くことも決めた。大阪商工会議所と共同で主催する。
（2011年4月19日22時29分 読売新聞）
４月下旬から北京と上海、ロンドンで開き、米国や香港などでの開催も検討している。
同日の外務省の政務三役会議では、関西にある領事館や国際機関向けに２７日に大阪市で緊急説明会を開くことも決めた。大阪商工会議所と共同で主催する。
（2011年4月19日22時29分 読売新聞）
19/04 首相、飯舘村村長に「申し訳ない」と謝罪
菅首相は１９日、東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故で、計画的避難区域とされた福島県飯舘村の菅野典雄村長と首相官邸で会談した。
菅野氏によると、首相は事故が招いた事態について、「申し訳ない」と謝罪した。菅野氏は記者団に、「『迷惑をかけて、大変な思いをさせて』ということだと思う」と語った。
（2011年4月19日21時14分 読売新聞）
菅野氏によると、首相は事故が招いた事態について、「申し訳ない」と謝罪した。菅野氏は記者団に、「『迷惑をかけて、大変な思いをさせて』ということだと思う」と語った。
（2011年4月19日21時14分 読売新聞）
19/04 文科省、学校活動上の放射線量の安全基準を発表
東京電力福島第一原発事故を受け、文部科学省は１９日、学校活動上の放射線量の安全基準を発表した。
夏休みが終了するまでの暫定基準として、校庭の放射線量が１時間あたり３・８マイクロ・シーベルト以上の場合は屋外活動を制限し、屋内活動を中心にするなどとした。原子力安全委員会は、「放射線量が高い学校では継続的に測定すること、その他の学校も簡易型線量計を１台配置し線量変化を確認するよう助言した」としている。
安全委によると、基準は、児童生徒の年間
（2011年4月19日20時06分 読売新聞）
19/04 福島第一原発、電源多重化の工事を終了
東京電力は１９日、福島第一原子力発電所の２系統の外部電源を切り替え可能にする電源多重化の工事を終了したと発表した。
同原発１～３号機では、外部電源を使ってポンプを動かし、原子炉に水を送り、核燃料を冷却している。同原発には現在、東電と東北電力から１系統ずつ外部電源がきているが、切り替えができなかった。
そのため、１１日夕の余震では、東北電力の外部電源が一時遮断され、１～３号機の原子炉に冷却水が５０分間送れなかった。
電源多重化で、今後は余震などで一方の外部電源が途切れても、もう片方が働いていれば、原子炉の冷却が継続できる。工事は１９日午前１０時２０分過ぎに完了、受電できることを確認した。
（2011年4月19日19時53分 読売新聞）
同原発１～３号機では、外部電源を使ってポンプを動かし、原子炉に水を送り、核燃料を冷却している。同原発には現在、東電と東北電力から１系統ずつ外部電源がきているが、切り替えができなかった。
そのため、１１日夕の余震では、東北電力の外部電源が一時遮断され、１～３号機の原子炉に冷却水が５０分間送れなかった。
電源多重化で、今後は余震などで一方の外部電源が途切れても、もう片方が働いていれば、原子炉の冷却が継続できる。工事は１９日午前１０時２０分過ぎに完了、受電できることを確認した。
（2011年4月19日19時53分 読売新聞）
19/04 汚染水放出、枝野氏が香港のテレビで陳謝
【香港＝槙野健】香港のフェニックステレビは１９日、東京の首相官邸で行われた枝野官房長官との単独インタビューを放映した。
枝野氏は福島第一原発の汚染水放出について「事前に関係国にお伝えする努力はしたが必ずしも十分でなかった。ご心配とご迷惑をかけた」と陳謝し、「周辺各国への事前の情報伝達にさらに努力したい」と述べた。
（2011年4月19日18時46分 読売新聞）
枝野氏は福島第一原発の汚染水放出について「事前に関係国にお伝えする努力はしたが必ずしも十分でなかった。ご心配とご迷惑をかけた」と陳謝し、「周辺各国への事前の情報伝達にさらに努力したい」と述べた。
（2011年4月19日18時46分 読売新聞）
19/04 米海兵隊の放射能専門部隊、来週帰国へ
東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故を受け、米政府が日本に派遣した「海兵隊放射能等対処専門部隊」（ＣＢＩＲＦ）が来週中に帰国する見通しとなった。
複数の日米関係筋が１９日、明らかにした。東電が１７日に事故の収束に向けた「工程表」を発表したことなどで、同部隊の対応が必要な緊急事態に直面する可能性は低くなったと判断したものとみられる。
北沢防衛相は１９日の閣議後の記者会見で、「不幸中の幸いでＣＢＩＲＦが出動しなくていい状況が続いてきた。（事態収拾の）見通しが立てば帰ることになる」と語った。同部隊が待機する東京・米軍横田基地を２３日に訪れ、謝意を伝える予定だ。
（2011年4月19日18時07分 読売新聞）
複数の日米関係筋が１９日、明らかにした。東電が１７日に事故の収束に向けた「工程表」を発表したことなどで、同部隊の対応が必要な緊急事態に直面する可能性は低くなったと判断したものとみられる。
北沢防衛相は１９日の閣議後の記者会見で、「不幸中の幸いでＣＢＩＲＦが出動しなくていい状況が続いてきた。（事態収拾の）見通しが立てば帰ることになる」と語った。同部隊が待機する東京・米軍横田基地を２３日に訪れ、謝意を伝える予定だ。
（2011年4月19日18時07分 読売新聞）
19/04 福井県知事、原発再稼働の基準「教訓生かして」
福井県の西川一誠知事は１９日、海江田経済産業相と会談し、定期検査で運転を停止している原子力発電所を再稼働する際の基準作りを急ぐよう要請した。
福井県には関西電力の１１基、日本原子力発電の２基と、全国最多の１３基の商業用原発が立地している。福島第一原発の事故を踏まえ、西川知事は「事故の教訓を安全基準に付け加えなければ（定期検査終了後の原発の）再起動は困難だ。原発が立地する他の自治体も同じだ」と強調した。電力会社は通常、夏季に電力需要がピークを迎える前に原発の定期検査を終えて、再稼働させる。経産省原子力安全・保安院は３月３０日に、原発の緊急安全対策を策定したが、西川知事は「（具体策を）追加すべきだ」と述べた。
（2011年4月19日17時10分 読売新聞）
福井県には関西電力の１１基、日本原子力発電の２基と、全国最多の１３基の商業用原発が立地している。福島第一原発の事故を踏まえ、西川知事は「事故の教訓を安全基準に付け加えなければ（定期検査終了後の原発の）再起動は困難だ。原発が立地する他の自治体も同じだ」と強調した。電力会社は通常、夏季に電力需要がピークを迎える前に原発の定期検査を終えて、再稼働させる。経産省原子力安全・保安院は３月３０日に、原発の緊急安全対策を策定したが、西川知事は「（具体策を）追加すべきだ」と述べた。
（2011年4月19日17時10分 読売新聞）
19/04 千葉のホテル営業終了へ…中国客５割、原発打撃
７月末での営業終了を決めたホテルグリーンタワー千葉（千葉市中央区で）
東日本大震災や東京電力福島第一原発事故で海外からの旅行者が激減し、千葉県内のホテル業界を直撃している。
千葉市中央区の「ホテルグリーンタワー千葉」は１８日、７月末で営業を終了すると発表した。成田空港周辺のホテルも打撃を受け、業界団体の調べでは県内での宿泊予約キャンセルがおよそ４万人に達するなど、深刻な影響が広がっている。
ホテルグリーンタワー千葉（２７０室）は、オフィス棟やアリーナで構成する「千葉ポートスクエア」の一角にある。運営会社のグリーンタワー（同市美浜区）によると、福島第一原発事故が長期化する中、主要顧客だった中国や台湾からの観光客が激減し、営業の見通しが立たなくなった。取引先の旅行会社二十数社が宿泊予約をキャンセルするなどし、売り上げは前年比６割減に落ち込んでいたという。
同ホテルは、建物を所有する民間会社から賃借して２００３年９月に営業を開始。駅から遠い立地を成田空港利用の外国人旅行者をターゲットに集客してカバーし、宿泊客の５０％以上を中国などからの観光客が占めていた。
開沼義正総支配人は「独特の営業方針でやってきたが、想定外のことが起きた。原発問題も先が見えず、これでは家賃も払えない。大変残念」と話した。
約１００人の従業員は他の事業部への異動や転籍で対応する方針。幕張新都心の自社ビルで直営する「ホテルグリーンタワー幕張」（２０５室）は営業を継続するという。
（2011年4月19日14時48分 読売新聞）
19/04 「原発事故に国境はない」…ウクライナ大統領
【キエフ＝寺口亮一】旧ソ連チェルノブイリ原子力発電所の事故から２６日で２５年となるのを前に、ウクライナのキエフで１９日、原子力の安全性向上や国際協力について協議する首脳級会議が開かれた。
会議では放射性物質の放出が続く福島第一原発の事故が焦点の一つになった。
ウクライナのヤヌコビッチ大統領は記者会見で「日本の痛みは人ごとでない」と述べた。欧州連合（ＥＵ）欧州委員会のバローゾ委員長も「原発事故に国境はなく連帯も国境を越えなければならない」と国際社会の協力を訴えた。
会議にはロシアや米国、ＥＵをはじめ６０を超える国や国際機関の代表が出席。チェルノブイリ原発について、爆発事故を起こした４号機を覆う鋼鉄製シェルターを建設するため各国が表明した拠出額は合計５億５０００万ユーロ（約６４５億円）となった。日本は東日本大震災への対応などのため拠出を見送った。
（2011年4月19日20時40分 読売新聞）
19/04 Hà Hồ chinh phục kinh đô thời trang Paris
Thứ ba, 19/04/2011 14:47
(2Sao) - Không chỉ ở Việt Nam mà trên chính Paris, cô cũng được khán giả vô cùng ngưỡng mộ trước những màn trình diễn rực lửa của mình.
Những ngày vừa qua, nhận lời mời biểu diễn giao lưu, Hồ Ngọc Hà đã cùng với Tùng Dương, Tuấn Ngọc tham gia một chương trình ca nhạc tại Paris phục vụ đồng bào Việt Nam tại đây. Đêm nhạc đã diễn ra thành công ngoài mong đợi bởi cả 3 ca sĩ đại diện cho 3 dòng nhạc khác nhau đã làm thỏa mãn những gu nghe nhạc của nhiều khán giả có mặt theo dõi đêm diễn.
Hồ Ngọc Hà
Sự ủng hộ nhiệt tình của các khán giả không chỉ là sự động viên các ca sĩ mà còn ghi lại dấu ấn tình cảm rõ nét của những người nghệ sĩ và khán giả khi có được những phút giây chia sẻ những cảm xúc cùng nhau trong sự kì diệu của âm nhạc.
Tuấn Ngọc
Nếu như Tuấn Ngọc thiết tha cùng những bản tình ca trữ tình cũ, Tùng Dương chìm đắm trong những giai điệu sâu lắng, thổn thức hay lên đồng trong phong cách âm nhạc cá tính quen thuộc thì Hồ Ngọc Hà lại là đại diện cho những ca khúc nhẹ, gần gũi với tai nghe của số đông khán giả. Đứng trước khán giả quê hương đang sinh sống nước ngoài, ngoài giọng hát và phong cách biểu diễn rực lửa trong những bản dance sôi động, Hồ Ngọc Hà cũng không thiếu những ca khúc mang nhiều tâm trạng đi sâu vào cảm xúc người nghe.
Tùng Dương
Những câu chuyện, những bài hát được các nghệ sĩ trình bày đã làm ấm cúng khán phòng của đêm ca nhạc đặc biệt. Tạm biệt Paris nhưng chắc chắn những tình cảm của khán giả Paris sẽ làm ấm lòng 3 nghệ sĩ sau chuyến giao lưu âm nhạc đặc biệt này.
Cùng ngắm nhìn những hình ảnh rực lửa, quyến rũ của Hồ Ngọc Hà bên cạnh sự tĩnh lặng của Tuấn Ngọc và day dứt của Tùng Dương:
Những giai điệu buồn sâu lắng khiến Hồ Ngọc Hà trở nên rất quyến rũ
Nhưng cô cũng rực lửa không kém ai khi "lột xác" bằng những bản dance
Thời gian qua, ngoài 2 giải Cống hiến mới giành được, Tùng Dương còn tham gia
khá nhiều chương trình biểu diễn ở nước ngoài
Chất giọng đặc biệt của Tuấn Ngọc luôn giàu cảm xúc trong những
bản tình ca buồn của những tác giả nổi tiếng.
Hồ Ngọc Hà
Tuấn Ngọc
Tùng Dương
Cùng ngắm nhìn những hình ảnh rực lửa, quyến rũ của Hồ Ngọc Hà bên cạnh sự tĩnh lặng của Tuấn Ngọc và day dứt của Tùng Dương:
Những giai điệu buồn sâu lắng khiến Hồ Ngọc Hà trở nên rất quyến rũ
My Apology ( Dương Khắc Linh) - Hồ Ngọc Hà
Nhưng cô cũng rực lửa không kém ai khi "lột xác" bằng những bản dance
Thời gian qua, ngoài 2 giải Cống hiến mới giành được, Tùng Dương còn tham gia
khá nhiều chương trình biểu diễn ở nước ngoài
Chất giọng đặc biệt của Tuấn Ngọc luôn giàu cảm xúc trong những
bản tình ca buồn của những tác giả nổi tiếng.
Cao Thông
(Ảnh & Video: Nicholas Phạm)
19/04 Carl Icahn: Tình thân hữu chấm dứt khi công việc kinh doanh bắt đầu
Thứ 3, 19/04/2011, 16:02
Nhiều CEO tại Mỹ rùng mình khi biết Carl Icahn đang để mắt đến công ty của ông. Ông là hiện thân rõ ràng nhất của sự tàn bạo, tham vọng kiếm tiền bằng mọi giá.
Carl Icahn theo đuổi một thương vụ theo cái cách con chó đuổi theo ô tô. Ông đơn giản không bao giờ biết từ bỏ. Hãy nói chuyện với ông chỉ 3 phút thôi, bạn sẽ hiểu được ông không thể dừng lại nếu ông đã muốn.
Khi ai đó hỏi ông về ý định nghỉ hưu khi đã ở tuổi 75, ông gầm gừ: “Tôi sẽ làm gì? Chơi trò chơi ở nơi nào đó chăng?” Ở tuổi 75, ông không dễ dàng rời khỏi thế giới đầu tư.
Suốt 4 thập kỷ qua, giới doanh nghiệp Mỹ kinh sợ ông. Ông kiếm được rất nhiều tiền cho chính ông và nhà đầu tư của ông. Thế nhưng hiện nay, khi thập kỷ thứ 8 của ông trôi qua được một nửa, ông đã bắt đầu nhìn lại sự nghiệp của mình và tương lai của đế chế Icahn. Họ sẽ nói gì về ông?
Ông sẽ nổi giận nếu bị gọi là kẻ cướp doanh nghiệp tuy nhiên nếu tra Google từ này, chắc chắn bạn sẽ thấy tên của ông. Ông muốn được gọi bằng tên thân thiện hơn: nhà đầu tư tích cực.
Gần đây, một trong những “cánh tay phải” của ông, ông Keith A. Meister, người đóng vai trò chủ chốt trong nhiều thương vụ tỷ USD của quỹ đầu cơ do ông Icahn thành lập, đã rời bỏ Icahn Enterprises.
Sau đó, với 250 triệu USD từ George Soros, ông Meister mở quỹ đầu cơ riêng. Đến tháng 1/2011, ông Rupal Doshi, cựu giám đốc điều hành của Icahn Group, cũng tham gia cùng với ông Meister.
Không lâu sau đó, ông Icahn đột ngột thông báo sẽ đóng cửa quỹ đầu cơ của ông. Quỹ này đã được ông mở ra năm 2004. Sau khi mất quá nhiều tiền trong thời kỷ khủng hoảng tài chính, ông không mấy vui vẻ. Ông trả lại nhà đầu tư toàn bộ tiền. Từ nay, Carl Icahn chỉ quản lý tiền của Carl Icahn.
Trong thư gửi nhà đầu tư ngày 08/03, ông Icahn cho biết ông không mấy vui vẻ sau những gì đã diễn ra trong năm 2008 khi tài sản quỹ ông hao hụt tới 35%.
Ông nói: “Xét đến yếu tố thị trường tăng điểm mạnh trong suốt 2 năm qua và lo lắng ngày một lớn của chúng tôi về triển vọng kinh tế, bất ổn chính trị tại Trung Đông, tôi không muốn tiếp tục chịu trách nhiệm với nhà đầu tư qua thêm một cuộc khủng hoảng thị trường nữa.”
Ông Icahn nói việc quản lý tiền của người khác thực sự đau đầu. Không chỉ có vậy, ông tin rằng thị trường sắp mất điểm: “Bạn sẽ thật ngốc nếu bạn không nghĩ rằng thị trường sẽ điều chỉnh.”
Khi ông Meister ra đi, con trai của Icahn đang chờ đợi trong hậu trường. Icahn “con” năm nay 31 tuổi, anh đã gia nhập đế chế của gia đình sau khi tốt nghiệp đại học Princeton và mất vài năm vô ích làm đạo diễn phim.
Ông Carl Icahn cho biết con trai ông đã sẵn sàng tham gia. Tuy nhiên ông từ chối việc đã chỉ định con trai như nhiều người đã nghi ngờ bởi anh này có khả năng tốt.
Dù ai là người kế vị, người đó cũng sẽ có rất nhiều việc phải làm.
Đế chế Carl Icahn
Ông sinh ra năm 1936 tại New York. Câu chuyện về Carl Icahn bắt đầu từ thập niên 1980. Ông sinh ra và lớn lên trong một gia đình không mấy khá giả. Ông đã trang trải học phí đại học của mình từ chơi poker. Bố mẹ của ông muốn ông trở thành bác sỹ, vì thế ông đã theo học trường dược. Một bệnh nhân viêm phổi đã ho vào mặt ông.
Ông nhớ lại khi đó mình đã nói: “Tôi không làm nữa.”
Người chú giàu có Elliot Schnall đã khuyến khích ông tham gia vào phố Wall năm 1960, trái ngược với mong muốn của bố mẹ ông. Mẹ của ông đã cáu giận điên cuồng. Chú của Icahn kể lại: “Bà đã nói phố Wall là nơi dành cho những kẻ đánh bạc.” Bố của Icahn muốn ông mở cửa hàng bán rau.
Năm 1968, Icahn đã chính thức bắt đầu với công ty Icahn & Company và với khoản tiền vay được từ người chú, ông đã mua được một chỗ trên NYSE. Thành công của ông đã khiến bố ông phải thay đổi ý kiến.
Ông hoạt động đặc biệt tích cực trong những năm gần đây. Từ năm 2004, ông đã khởi động 91 chiến dịch nhắm vào 79 doanh nghiệp Mỹ.
Một trong những thương vụ lớn nhất của ông phải kể đến ImClone Systems, một công ty dược là tâm điểm của bê bối giao dịch cổ phiếu Martha Stewart. Ông Icahn đã mua cổ phiếu công ty này vào năm 2006, khởi đầu cuộc chiến trong nội bộ công ty, gây áp lực với ban lãnh đạo công ty bằng lời đề nghị 36USD/cổ phiếu và giành được vị trí chủ tịch.
2 năm sau đó, ImClone chấp nhận lời đề nghị mua lại 70USD/cổ phiếu từ Eli Lilly & Company. Ông Icahn đã bỏ túi 418 triệu USD từ khoản đầu tư 196 triệu USD trước đó.
Sau đó đến lượt tập đoàn năng lượng National Energy Group, bao gồm công ty khí đốt TransTexas Gas và Panaco, ông đã mua khi tập đoàn này gần phá sản. Ông biến khoản đầu tư 300 triệu USD thành 1,5 tỷ USD khi sau đó công ty này được bán cho SandRidge Energy năm 2006.
Ông cũng cực kỳ thành công trong lĩnh vực kinh doanh sòng bạc. Từ năm 2000 đến năm 2006, ông mua 4 sòng bạc với giá 300 triệu USD, sau đó bán lại lấy 1,2 tỷ USD vào tháng 2/2008, ngay trước khi khủng hoảng kinh tế khiến ngành này suy thoái trầm trọng.
Bất kỳ một giám đốc điều hành nào tại Mỹ cũng phải rùng mình khi nghe thấy câu: “Ông Icahn đang chờ máy.”
Tháng 12/2010, CEO của Chesapeake Energy Corporation đã có cảm giác này. Ngay trong cùng tháng, Icahn mua lại 5,8% cổ phần trong công ty.
Ông Aubrey K. McClendon, CEO của Chesapeake Energy Corporation, đã gặp Icahn để chia sẻ lo lắng về việc công ty đang chi tiêu bất hợp lý như thế nào. 2 tháng sau đó, ông McClendon công bố kế hoạch bán 5 tỷ USD tài sản và thực hiện một số thay đổi khác để tăng giá trị cho công ty. Ông Icahn mua lại với giá 21USD/cổ phiếu. Phiên ngày thứ Sáu tuần trước, cổ phiếu công ty đóng cửa ở mức 32,73USD/cổ phiếu.
Ông McClendon từ chối trả lời về việc liệu Icahn có khiến ông thay đổi quan điểm hay không.
Mark Hanson, chuyên gia phân tích tại Morningstar, khẳng định không còn nghi ngờ gì về việc ông Icahn đã tác động đến công ty Chesapeake. Bản kế hoạch kinh doanh mà Chesapeake trình ra vào tháng 2/2011 khác hoàn toàn với cuối năm 2010 khi Icahn chưa nhúng tay vào công việc của công ty này.
Icahn không phải lúc nào cũng thành công. Ông mất 185 triệu USD trong thương vụ đầu tư vào Blockbuster, công ty phá sản vài năm sau khi ông đổ tiền vào đây. Ông còn mất khá nhiều đối với công ty WCI Communities.
Ông Icahn đã tự gây thù chuốc oán với không ít người. Năm 2010, ông mâu thuẫn với Donald Trump về việc mua lại 3 sòng bạc tại thành phố Atlantic, cuộc chiến của tiền và cái tôi. Cuối cùng Icahn thua tại tòa.
Ông Trump cho biết ông hết sức ngạc nhiên về cuộc chiến này bởi ông và Icahn từng là bạn bè. Đã trong nhiều năm ông giúp đỡ Icahn trong giải đấu tennis mở rộng và đưa ra một số lời khuyên cho Icahn khi ông này ly hôn vào thập niên 1990.
Tỷ phú Donald Trump nói: “Carl là một người thường đặt công việc kinh doanh lên trên các mối quan hệ. Tôi là người trung thành và tôi không muốn thấy những người bạn đối đầu với nhau. Thế nhưng với Carl, tình bạn bè thân hữu chấm dứt khi công việc kinh doanh bắt đầu.”
Hiện nay, Carl Icahn có tài sản khoảng 9 tỷ USD và được coi như một trong những nhà đầu cơ vĩ đại nhất thế giới.
Ngọc Diệp
Theo Nytimes, HarvardBusiness
22/03 Cựu tổng thống Israel ngồi tù 7 năm vì hiếp dâm
Một tòa án Israel hôm nay tuyên phạt cựu tổng thống Moshe Katsav mức án 7 năm tù do hiếp dâm, quấy rối tình dục và cản trở việc thi hành công lý.
 |
| Cựu tổng thống Moshe Katsav trong phiên xét xử hôm 22/3. Ảnh: AP. |
Trong phiên xét xử hôm 22/3, các quan tòa kết luận cựu tổng thống Israel từng quấy rối tình dục và hiếp dâm một cấp dưới khi còn làm Bộ trưởng Du lịch trong thập niên 90. Sau đó ông quấy rối tình dục hai nữ nhân viên dưới quyền khác khi đương chức tổng thống trong thời gian từ năm 2003 tới 2005. Cựu tổng thống cũng bị cáo buộc thực hiện nhiều hành vi không đứng đắn và cản trở quá trình thực thi công lý.
Với bản án này, ông Katsav, 65 tuổi, trở thành quan chức cao cấp nhất của Israel phải vào tù. Vụ án của ông diễn ra trong suốt 5 năm qua. Katsav bác bỏ mọi cáo buộc và cho rằng ông là nạn nhân của một âm mưu chính trị.
Sau khi tòa tuyên án, ông Katsav gục xuống, khóc và nói với các quan tòa: “Các ông vừa phạm một sai lầm. Đó là sự dối trá. Các cô gái đều biết đó là lời nói dối”,AP dẫn lời ông.
Khi ông Katsav rời khỏi tòa án, hai con trai của ông xô xát với các nhân viên an ninh.
Các quan tòa khẳng định quá trình phục vụ đất nước của ông Katsav không được xem xét để giảm án cho ông. Thậm chí họ còn kết tội ông lợi dụng chức quyền để ép các nạn nhân quan hệ tình dục. Cựu tổng thống được quyền kháng cáo trước khi thực hiện án phạt từ ngày 8/5. Ông cũng phải bồi thường tiền cho các nạn nhân.
Bản án hôm nay khép lại một câu chuyện đầy thăng trầm của một người đàn ông có xuất thân tương đối thấp trong xã hội Israel nhưng nỗ lực vươn lên và trở thành tổng thống. Katsav từng là biểu tượng thành công của những người thuộc tầng lớp nghèo khổ ở Israel.
Năm 2007, ông Katsav thông báo với cảnh sát rằng một nữ nhân viên dưới quyền cũ tìm cách tống tiền ông. Ngay lập tức người phụ nữ này tố cáo Katsav cưỡng hiếp cô. Ngay sau đó hai phụ nữ khác cũng tới trụ sở cảnh sát với cáo buộc tương tự. Trước áp lực của dư luận, ông phải từ chức hai tuần trước khi nhiệm kỳ 7 năm của ông kết thúc.
Việt Linh
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)