Japanese federal agencies none too "SPEEDI" at admitting truth about meltdowns, radioactivity releases

Hidehiko Nishiyama has been a lead spokesman for Japan’s NISA since the catastrophe began.Japan's NHK public broadcasting has reported that despite a pledge to release all such data, Japan's federal science ministry and nuclear regulatory agency failed to disclose results, generated in the first days of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe nearly three months ago, of projections about radioactivity spread. The computer program called "SPEEDI" had been used in the first days of the unfolding catastrophe to project radioactivity dispersal, accounting for such variables as weather patterns and topography. NHK also reports that despite having detected radioactive tellurium in the environment -- a sure sign of a reactor meltdown -- Japan's federal Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) nonetheless announced at a press conference on March 12th that the nuclear fuel in the reactor cores was still intact. In addition, just four days after the nuclear catastrophe had began, NISA already had in hand data showing extremely high levels of hazardous radioactive iodine-131 nearly 40 kilometers away from Fukushima Daiichi. Such information, critics now charge, could have greatly enhanced radioactivity protection measures, such as expanded evacutation zones, especially for vulnerable children and pregnant women. NISA has expressed "regret" for concealing the information.