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Japan Times: Official told of extremely bad conditions at Fukushima — Workers often abandoned after exceeding radiation limit

Published: November 12th, 2011 at 3:00 am ET
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Calm at J. Village belies the danger, Japan Times, Nov. 12, 2011:

[...] “serious problems have remained for workers at Fukushima No. 1, insiders say.”

“Hiroyuki Watanabe, a member of the Iwaki Municipal Assembly, has interviewed about 20 nuclear plant workers and some have told him conditions were extremely bad.” [...]

“Many were sent by subcontractor dispatch companies that do not provide job or health insurance, which is illegal, Watanabe said.”

“The workers are often abandoned by personnel companies once their cumulative radiation exposure exceeds the legal limits, Watanabe said.” [...]

“Tepco is running out of midlevel skilled nuclear plant workers, given the legal limit for radiation exposure, [Yukiteru Naka, who runs the nuclear plant maintenance company Tohoku Enterprise Co.] warned.”

An American Look at Fukushima, Minute by Minute, New York Times, Nov. 11, 2011:

“One lesson involves the nature of radiation protection for plant workers in an emergency. Two operators received more than 60 rem (0.6 Sv), far above the level at which changes in blood chemistry can be observed and almost at the level where symptoms like nausea and vomiting begin.”

“But most of the dose came not from walking around in places where radiation was present – it was internal, meaning it was from particles inhaled or swallowed by the workers. Radioactive material that is lodged in the body will deliver a dose for an extended period.”

A Visit to Fukushima Begins, New York Times, Nov. 11, 2011:

[... T]he Japanese government is opening the compound and surrounding area to the media for the first time. On Friday, officials took a group of reporters, including Martin Fackler of The New York Times, on a tour of J-Village, a former sports center near the plant that is now being used to house workers laboring to bring the plant’s reactors under control.

[...] “The medical center has never treated a case of radiation exposure. Fukushima Daiichi did have a radiation exposure case in March, but the person was treated elsewhere.”

“Some 2,400 workers have come for checks, but mostly for colds.”

Notice the contradiction between the two New York Times reports from the 11th? Perhaps being on the Tepco public relations tour interfered with Mr. Fackler’s ability to properly research this vital issue.

See also:

Published: November 12th, 2011 at 3:00 am ET
By
Email Article Email Article
43 comments

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November 12th, 2011 | Category: Fukushima Daiichi
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43 comments to Japan Times: Official told of extremely bad conditions at Fukushima — Workers often abandoned after exceeding radiation limit

  • Novamind
    November 12, 2011 at 3:21 am

    Used and cast aside with no medical or unemployment benefits. They deserve much better than this.


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  • James Tekton James Tekton
    November 12, 2011 at 3:22 am

    We are coming closer to the time when the dead stinking fish of reality is going to slap the side of the head of many people that have chosen to remain ignorant of this huge ongoing catastrophe. We are going to see more and more horrors beyond imagination.

    Let us all pray for these dying workers that most likely have no idea how bad this situation really is. And then let us pray for ourselves also as we intrepidly endeavor on the path of truth.


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  • watcher watcher
    November 12, 2011 at 3:38 am

    I can’t understand how these f*cks can continue to lie and cover up the magnitude of this situation. Like ostriches with their heads in the sand! The lion is going to yummy up on your big ass drumbsticks while you pretend all is well!, and the ants are going to eat your eyeballs and your teeenie, weeenie brains.

    At this stage guys, why not cough up the truth and maybe you can feel good for a few minutes before your ass melts?


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  • Sickputer
    November 12, 2011 at 4:57 am

    Tepco still plays the cold shutdown card and then out of the other side of their mouth says workers must know how to quickly do tasks because the radiation is so high. Many workers are going to sicken and die a horrible pain-wracked death. I just hope they do not die in vain. I respect their bravery because I think they all know this is a kamikaze situation and their long-term survival is unlikely.


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  • Tacomagroove
    November 12, 2011 at 6:57 am

    http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/11/97-07×1015-bq-of-plutonium-is-ready-to-be-released/

    97.07×10^15 Bq of plutonium is ready to be released
    Posted by Mochizuki on November 11th, 2011 · No Comments

    97.07×10^15 Bq = 97,070,000,000,000,000 Bq = 97.07 quadrillion Bq

    Xenon 133 and 135 were measured at reactor 2. We reported earlier that Tepco explained it is from “spontaneous fission” of Curium.

    Curium-244 decays into Plutonium 240 by emission of an alpha particle, but it also absorbs neutrons resulting in a small amount of heavier curium isotopes.

    Most curium is produced by bombarding uranium or plutonium with neutrons in nuclear reactors – one tonne of spent nuclear fuel contains about 20 grams of curium. The discovery of curium, as well as americium, in 1944 was closely related to the Manhattan Project, the results were confidential and declassified only in 1945. The most commonly used curium isotopes are 242Cm and 244Cm with the half-lives of 162.8 days and 18.1 years, respectively. All isotopes between 242Cm and 248Cm, as well as 250Cm, undergo a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel, which is to be used in power reactors, should contain little or no curium because the neutron activation of 248-Cm will create californium. Currently, curium is not used as a nuclear fuel owing to its low availability and high price. 245-Cm and 247-Cm have a very small critical mass and therefore could be used in portable nuclear weapons, but none have been reported thus far. Curium-243 is not suitable for this purpose because of its short half-life and strong α emission which would result in excessive heat. Curium-247 would be highly suitable, having a half-life 647 times that of Plutonium 239. The longest-lived isotope of curium, 247Cm, has a half-life of 15.6 million years. Therefore, all primordial curium, that is curium present on the Earth during its formation, should have decayed by now. Curium is produced artificially, in small…


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  • Tacomagroove
    November 12, 2011 at 6:58 am

    Strontium flow directly into the sea at Fukushima Daichi
    Posted by Mochizuki on November 11th, 2011 · 2 Comments

    (Photograph: AP)
    Answer and question at Tepco’s press conference.
    Oshidori mako asks:
    When Tepco purifies contaminated water, a Reverse Osmosis Membrane is used, but strontium is water soluble so you need ion-exchange filtration or coagulating sedimentation to remove it from the contaminated water. -> How do you filter strontium out?

    Tepco, Matsumoto answers:
    When the equipment of AREVA was working, we used coagulating sedimentation to filter out strontium.
    However, now that AREVA’s equipment is out of order. – Strontium is not filtered out.

    Oshidori mako asks:
    I understand that water is not leaked to the sea now, but when water WAS leaking into the sea from Reactor 2, how did you filter out strontium?

    Tepco, Matsumoto answers:
    No, we haven’t filtered out strontium. Strontium must have leaked to the sea.


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  • Tacomagroove
    November 12, 2011 at 6:58 am

    Yellow light was seen when reactor 3 exploded
    Posted by Mochizuki on November 11th, 2011 · 1 Comment
    3/14/2011, reactor 3 exploded.
    Arnie Gundersen, C.Busby and other foreign experts pointed out it was a nuclear explosion though Japanese government has been stating it was a hydrogen explosion.

    According to Arnie Gundersen’s explanation,the blast had 3 phases.

    1: Hydrogen explosion
    2: Nuclear fuel in the spent fuel pool (more than 550 assemblies) had nuclear explosion
    3: Second nuclear explosion
    He says the dark brown mushroom cloud was made of powder of plutonium.

    Gundersen Postulates Unit 3 Explosion May Have Been Prompt Criticality in Fuel Pool from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.

    On 9/27/2011, a Fukushima citizen, Mr.Toshiyuki stated that he saw yellow flash before the blast.

    It is said in an interview.

    He is a man from Iwaki shi, where is about 50km away from Fukushima plant, has a daughter,a son,wife and parents. He is self-employed and is involved in a medical industry.

    He has been in Iwaki shi since 311.

    When reactor 3 exploded on 3/14, he was at the 50 km point.

    He says he was more surprised at the yellow light/flash than the explosion itself.

    We at Fukushima Diary are looking for potential explanations for what the yellow light / flash was.


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    • oscar419
      November 12, 2011 at 7:47 am

      wait wait… El Hierro, isn’t that the place with a very active underwater volcano right now? Haven’t they already had the volcano spew toxic gas causing evacuations?

      What better place to dump the waste than in the vicinity of an active volcano.


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    • arclight arclight
      November 12, 2011 at 2:15 pm

      ”
      Unklar ist und bleibt, ob der Ausbruch vor El Hierro irgendwelche Auswirkungen auf diese Fässer am Meeresgrund haben wird. It is unclear, and remains, whether the eruption of El Hierro have some effect on the barrels on the sea floor is. Klar wird aber auch, dass es an der Zeit wäre, wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Zustand des versenkten Atommülls einzuleiten. Is clear, however, that it was time to initiate scientific studies on the condition of the sunken nuclear waste. Das Problem ist nur, dass sich niemand mehr, auch nicht die internationale Atombehörde, für diese strahlenden Hinterlassenschaften zuständig fühlt. The only problem is that nobody, not even the International Atomic Energy Agency, responsible for this brilliant legacies feels. Bleibt zu hoffen, dass die Menschheit nicht von den Kräften der Natur aus dem nichtswissenden Trance-Zustand erweckt wird. Let us hope that humanity is not roused by the forces of nature, not from the Swiss border trance state. ”

      :)


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  • Edward
    November 12, 2011 at 8:47 am

    The nuclear industry has no shame. It is tangled in lies, greed and dirty secrets. It is only a matter of time before some kind of nuclear disaster happens in the U.S. Earthquake, tornado, flood, terrorist etc. You can bet they will “cover up” the danger/severity just like japan/tepco. Our fate is in the hands of a very twisted industry. It’s not fair.


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  • AFTERSHOCK AFTERSHOCK
    November 12, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    Couple of things: the exploitation of these workers is no different than what’s being done to all citizens of this planet. These unfortunate men and woman have inadvertently allowed themselves to be exploited by a handful of policy makers, who control not only the global energy infrastructure, but also the media that the citizenry would depend upon. It’s obvious that this handful of policy makers have no intention of protecting us or our environment. We are all – collectively – on our own.

    From the onset of this catastrophe, I’ve been watching this ongoing tragedy unveil endless horrors; and I’ve also been reading many excellent posts and advisories. IMHO, the quality of analysis on this site exceeds all others on the net. It’s for this reason, I’ll be ‘going on record’ (in future posts) with suggestions that some will doubtless find objectionable. As it is now, most will agree, Fukushima has brought our species to a major crossroads. For this reason, I’m interested in addressing what avenues are available to ameliorating the impact on humans and what’s going to be left of our planet’s environment. I would suggest that we’re long past the discussion as to the danger that nuclear power poses to the environment. It’s now time that we go beyond recriminations and start developing practical options through constructive dialog…


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  • Tanuki San
    November 12, 2011 at 12:27 pm

    I must say I’m pretty disgusted with the NYT’s coverage of this accident, these kinds of unquestioned contradictions are inexcusable.


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  • ben ben
    November 12, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    When i report some of the articles from enenews.com to other people (from EU) you know what’s their response?

    They say it’s SPAM.


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  • ben ben
    November 12, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    And they are scientist, professors etc.


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  • ben ben
    November 12, 2011 at 12:50 pm

    That an example of what they quote:

    “You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how they have changed it. As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology. A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors began to explode and melt down. The disaster exposed a familiar legacy of poor design and corner-cutting. Yet, as far as we know, no one has yet received a lethal dose of radiation.”


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    • Toadmac
      November 12, 2011 at 1:57 pm

      Many I try to convince to no avail! I have been threatened also “shut up and stop preaching your BS or I will punch you out” It was scary to say the least. Why has it come to this? If I walked up to someone I didn’t know and told them I am going to kill you and your family slowly what do you think would happen? That someone would try and put me in jail or worse! What is the difference and why would anyone back me up? I just don’t understand? 95% of the population is brain washed to stand guard over there killer as he sharpen’s his knife, even though they know what is about to happen? I’m very confused and angry at this point!!
      peace.


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    • Misitu
      November 13, 2011 at 1:22 am

      Hi, ben; re “… Yet, as far as we know, no one has yet received a lethal dose of radiation,” of course, this is what Wannabe Superman cried as he passed the 51st floor on the way down.

      Trouble is, people* believe in Magic Flying Capes.

      * this includes scientists, reporters, politicians

      M


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  • ben ben
    November 12, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    Example:
    29 Oct 2011

    3.52μSv/h road side sand, KASHIWA city El. School
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC5aLuSL … ideo_title

    3.52 μSv/h = 30 mSV/year


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  • ben ben
    November 12, 2011 at 5:47 pm

    Maybe it would be good for this website to make some collection of FACTS, to counter those who say that nuclear technolgy is safe, clean and green.


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  • Human0815
    November 22, 2011 at 7:57 am

    Tokyo, 11/22/11

    Tokyo-Shibuya Eki; o.09uSv/h
    Tokyo- Sangenyaya Eki; o.10uSv/h
    Tokyo- Futako Tamagawa Eki; o.10 uSv/h
    Kawasaki- Mizonokuchi Eki; o.08 uSv/h

    All 10Cm above the Ground/ no visible dirt
    by a Radex1706/ check for 120Sec.


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