We all know that the media and government have been ignoring the facts that the Fukushima nuclear plant is still releasing toxic fumes into the air. The last couple months there has been a complete silence about the progress of the plant’s repair. Below are some photos that were taken by Kazuma Obara, who is a photographer in Japan. The radiation has spread all across the world and people are just starting to feel the effects. Enjoy the pictures and the article below:
Five months since the Japanese nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, timing of resolution is still unclear. The operating company, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) continues to expose the Japanese population to unprecedented danger, refusing disclosure of key information and facts and preventing journalists’ access to the inside of the compounds.
This report is a first-hand witness, showing a glimpse of the workers’ day inside at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the beginning of August 2011.
Five months since the Japanese nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, timing of resolution is still unclear. The operating company, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) continues to expose the Japanese population to unprecedented danger, refusing disclosure of key information and facts and preventing journalists’ access to the inside of the compounds.
This report is a first-hand witness, showing a glimpse of the workers’ day inside at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the beginning of August 2011.
The headquarter building is situated 200m northwest of the No. 1 Reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In this building, I entered the area where the walls, the floors are covered in pink plastic sheets. A man passed by and his pocket Geiger counter dosimeter went off with high pitch beeps. In each of the rooms here, there are many signs of the radiation measurements. Most show a rather high measurement of above 15 micro sieverts/hour, though they are not from recent measurements. Some have not been updated since April.
7:30am. The first work shift of the day starts for the group I accompanied that day. They work outside for one hour, then return to headquarter. One hour of break is given, but after they undergo irradiation screening, take off and put the protective gear back on, the actual break is merely half an hour. One hour of work, one hour of rest. This is repeated 3 times daily.
At 9:30am when the second shift started, I joined them outside wearing the same protective gear. After wearing the mask for 20 minutes, I felt a piercing pain at the back of my nose. Breathing became difficult. Within 30 minutes the left side of my head was in pain. I wasn’t sure if it was lack of oxygen or if the mask was put on too tight. After an hour, the pain was unbearable and I was desperately looking at taking the mask off.
11:30am. The workers return from their second shift. Exhausted, they all lay down on the small mats laid on the floor. Where space is scarce, they lay in the corridors, sitting down and taking naps. Some look awfully young, with blushed cheeks. By now, the laughs and chatters of the early mornings were no longer heard. They seemed focused on trying to recover from the exhaustion.
August 1st, TEPCO announced radiation of 10,000 milli sieverts/hour detected near the ventilations between No. 1 Reactor and No. 2 Reactor. (1.5 minutes would surpass the 250 milli sieverts maximum allowed exposure for workers). The workers were not told of this fact, not on that day, nor afterwards. Never mentioned.
Five months on, there is no disclosure of who the workers are and the realities of the conditions they work in. Who are the unseen heroes that are risking their lives, fighting and protecting the safety for the rest of the population? Are the conditions they work in ensured for effective work? Are the safety of these workers guaranteed? Are they well protected? Or are they merely treated as a disposable workforce? This is what I wanted to know. Anonymous reporting has been the only way news media can reveal these facts to the public. Non disclosure has become the norm for these people, their identities hidden when they are fighting to protect our safety.
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