Foreign firms largely excluded in Fukushima clean-up

TOKYO —
Nearly two years after a massive earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan is failing to keep a pledge to tap global expertise to decommission its crippled reactors, executives at nuclear contractors from the United States and Europe say.

The result, they warn, is that a process expected to take more than 30 years and cost at least $15 billion could take longer and cost more as contracts are channelled through domestic heavyweights such as nuclear reactor makers Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Ltd, and general contractors such as Taisei Corp.

A review of bidding records by Reuters shows companies from outside Japan have failed to win any of the 21 contracts awarded this year to develop technologies crucial for the unprecedented job of scrapping the four damaged reactors at Fukushima.

“There appears to be a desire to treat this as a science project and reinvent the wheel,” Jeffrey Merrifield, senior vice president of U.S. nuclear engineering firm Shaw Group Inc’s power division said.
[link to www.japantoday.com]
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