Technicians have battled to prevent further explosions at the plant

عنوان درس: انتقاد از شرکت برق به دلیل ندادن اطلاعات

به گزارش گوش بدهيد

Usually, governments take the lead in national emergencies, but not in this one. Staving off catastrophe at Japan's Fukushima power complex has been primarily the responsibility of a commercial concern: The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, which runs the site.

There's mounting concern in Japan at Tepco's handling of the crisis. In particular, the firm has been accused of failing to communicate. There've been reports of the firm's public spokesmen appearing ill-informed and evasive in dealing with journalists at press conferences. The Japanese prime minister was reported to have been furious on Tuesday, when the company failed to inform him of a new fire at one of the affected reactors for an hour after it knew of this serious escalation in the crisis.

Nuclear experts outside Japan have complained the company has kept them in the dark, by releasing information slowly and with little detail. The company, of course, has a lot to contend with. Public relations probably ranks low on the list of priorities, as Tepco grapples with a complex nuclear emergency in a region devastated by a major earthquake.

Tepco is the world's fourth largest power utility company. It supplies about a third of Japan's electricity. The firm's reputation has yet to fully recover from accusations levelled in 2002. A Japanese government report found evidence of false reporting in routine inspections, and a pattern of concealment of safety lapses over many years.

Mark Gregory, BBC News

به کلمات گوش بدهيد

staving off
جلوگیری یا اجتناب کردن

a commercial concern
یک شرکت یا محل کسب و کار

mounting concern
نگرانی رو به افزایش

ill-informed
ندانستن همه واقعیات در باره آنچه که در حال رخ دادن است

escalation
افزایش در ابعاد یا شدت چیزی

kept them in the dark
آنها را در ناآگاهی نگه داشت

to contend with
رسیدگی کردن به موضوعی یا موضوعی را تاب آوردن

levelled
علیه (کسی) مطرح کرد

a pattern of concealment
برهه ای از زمان که تلاش شد واقعیات پنهان نگه داشته شود

lapses
خطاها یا شکست های کوچک