Published: March 11th, 2012 at 6:02 am ET
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Title: Fukushima Survivor: ‘I’ve Hardly Smiled This Whole Year’
Source: BURN: An Energy Journal via PBS NewsHour
Author: American Public Media
Date: Mar 9, 2012
Carl Pillitteri was one of 38 Americans at the Fukushima plant when the earthquake hit. Describing the “demonic” sounds he heard and the pit of fear he felt inside the turbine building that day, Pillteri [sic] recently spoke with Alex Chadwick, the host of the new American Public Media series “BURN: An Energy Journal.”
Transcript Excerpts
[...] CARL PILLITTERI, Nuclear Technician: The entire building was moving. And then I remember praying aloud for everyone, for all of us, just praying aloud. And I’m thinking that we’re going to perish inside this turbine building. And I can still hear the turbine making its most unwelcome sounds in front of us there.
ALEX CHADWICK, American Public Media: Can you describe what the sounds were like coming out of the earth?
CARL PILLITTERI: They were almost demonic in the way they sounded. You know, it’s just — and I don’t know what was generating these sounds, if it was the earth itself, or the building being flexed, or moved, or the upheaval of the building.
ALEX CHADWICK: And it s still going on, the shaking, the jolting is still going on.
CARL PILLITTERI: On the unit one turbine deck was the only time I thought I might perish. I had gotten to a point where I had surrendered. And that surrender was — you know, I remember asking to make it quick.
[...]
CARL PILLITTERI: The morning of the 13th, when we all woke up from our first night’s sleep in the hotel there in Tokyo, I came down to the lobby and I saw one table with co-workers at it. And I said, I think I have been traumatized. And I’m sure the way I sounded, you know, made my point. And Butch to the right of me burst into tears, a full-grown man. Danny, to the left of me, chokes up. And that morning breakfast breakdown was when I realized, yeah, this was more than I bargained for on March 11. [...]
Published: March 11th, 2012 at 6:02 am ET
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This is sad. He is suffering from PTSD and survivor's guilt.
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Maybe he will join our side and be an anti nuke advocate!
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Respectful suggestion that, indeed though that may come to pass, it would do so in due course, and it is far too near the event to expect anything much right now from any such contact. I feel for this guy. He would I think need to be left with his nearest and dearest for such time as required to recover his faculties and connect with "normal life". But that's just my instant opinion, nothing more.
M.
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Did not say anything about the meltdown. Survivor's guilt? He can come out and warn the public about the dangers of nuclear power instead of drinking beers at night to get to sleep. He did not save anyone at the plant, don't think he sound like he's going to save the Japanese as well.
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Maaa
I agree with your interpretation.
He said the sound came from the building or the ground.
Not a mention of the reactors.
I felt the entire piece was a kind of red herring–
'Look at the heroic American who wouldn't leave his men…'
Don't notice that this drama occurred in a nuclear reactor that is now spewing radiation upon the earth, unabated…
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Working in the turbine building is like working in a different world from the reactor building. Different building through airlock doors, and with no idea what is happening in the other building is just how it is. As a turbine worker he may have never even been in the reactor building ever.
Most workers are not comfortable working in a nuclear plant, whenever something goes wrong it is hard not to be panicked. They are there only to earn a paycheck, most do not care about the politics as they are only trying to feed there family. Most workers would rather work somewhere else, and most have some fear that the plants are not as safe as they have been told.
If you lump in the people who work there as some sort of stooges or mouthpieces for the utility then you are doing a disservice to the vast majority of workers there.
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Chriskk9
Why did he completely omit mention of the nuclear meltdowns?
The absence of discussion is my concern.
The most pertinent lesson of 3/11 for humankind is being marginalized, trivialized, and erased.
All parties impacted by the multiple meltdowns have a responsibility to speak up–that means most of humanity in the northern hemisphere.
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/commemorating-311-by-ignoring-and.html
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Fukushima Anniversary: Theatre of the Absurd
http://enformable.com/2012/03/fukushima-anniversary-theatre-of-the-absurd/
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Noda to take lead in gaining local approval to restart nuclear plants – http://english.kyodonews.jp/ Is he nuts or what? Nuclear power destroyed Japan and he wants it back.
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I wish the engineers of the world, including nuclear, would put their truly high intelligence levels to work, and figure out ways to break out suppressed technologies, to thwart those evil corporations, individuals, superrich idiots, and mobsters who prevent, cheap, almost free energy from revolutionizing our world and economies.
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PTSD
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Questions: How many nuclear experts were on site and left the Daiich facility when Carl did (we know of at least 2), how
many now remain? Are there any reps from GE stationed on site?
Of the 50 heroes, how many were technical experts and how's
it working out for them (are they still on site)?
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I would be curious to know his dose.
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