Published: November 30th, 2011 at 8:22 pm ET
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Nuclear cleanup volunteers’ invisible enemy, By Setsuko Kitaguchi, Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer, Nov. 30, 2011:
Before Work
I participated in the decontamination volunteer work at a specific spot recommended for evacuation in Date, about 50 kilometers from the crippled nuclear plant.
At 9:30 a.m. Saturday, a bus carrying 33 participants arrived in the city’s Tsukidate-Kitanosawayama district. Most of them were middle-aged or elderly men from other prefectures. There were six women including me.
At Work
- We were provided with body warmers, dust masks and dosimeters
- The radiation level I measured above the ground was about three microsieverts per hour (Yearly exposure at this rate could exceed 20 millisieverts)
- Below the eaves troughs of the barns and greenhouses, the meter read more than 10 microsieverts
After Work
Though it was not such hard physical labor, I felt mentally exhausted and my muscles ached, perhaps because I always kept an eye on my dosimeter as I worked.
On Monday, two days after the work, it was announced that radioactive cesium exceeding the government’s interim limit had been detected in unpolished rice harvested in the Tsukidatemachi district of Date, where I had worked as a volunteer.
Published: November 30th, 2011 at 8:22 pm ET
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Another journalist martyr.
When are they going to start being real jornalists and rid themselves of the “honourable” restraints they put on themselves so as not to be impolite or intrusive? They should be the frontline soldiers in exposing the truth, not the frontline soldiers cleaning up radioactive debris.
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Would You, If You Were there?
Even If It Meant being Killed For Speaking
Out?
I ask Myself The Same Question…
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you have that all wrong, without these jurnos going in and reporting, and even offering a hand to help is the biggest thing they could do. It isn’t showing heroism, its exposing whats really happening, like the Photographer from Cherynbol. Who climbed on roofs and walked on highly radioactive stuff, all because he wanted people to know whats happening, the truth.
Exposing themself to much though, thats a shame on them. Unless some wanna be heroes and take insane pics of the reactor. Even then, we have robots now for that. What the jurnos are doing now, helping decontamination work, and reporting news as it happens, and straight from the grounds of the plannt them self. Best news we can get, besides nuclear scientist.
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Or continue letting them led then to the showers !
RIP
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in about 2 more years there will be no hiding the health repercussions
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I think sooner! see my latest blog post
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Actually, the time that the first wave of health issues becoming obvious is coming upon us now. In the next three months, the lies and spins will come to light as the first children conceived post-3/11 are born. And then people will start taking their early radiation poisoning symptoms seriously.
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dosdos,
There has been report of little people being born deformed in Japan for several months ! A set of conjoined twins last week also !
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Are you kidding? The only people who will see these illnesses and birth defects as consequences of fukushima are right here on this website. 25 years after Chernobyl and they are still blaming other things for the horrible health problems in Ukraine.
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Do not clean up contaminated areas, there is no way to do this with ongoing contamination. Evacuation is the only method and eventually, in year, two years; ten years–I don’t know, not even that will work. Time for revolution. This is not hyperpole or extreme. There is no choice; but to unseat the status quo.
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E L E !
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HotPockets re-branded to represent radiation pools! I bet the location that reporter examined was also contaminated with uranium and plutonium. Anyone in their right mind should be concerned when cleaning something that has genetic warp drive as a side effect.
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Soooo Mannnny Prediction Time Lines…
All In Good Time?
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