Fukushima Daiichi's disposable Heroes

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This is something we all saw coming at least now the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is doing something for the workers sadly it is to late for early 4,000 people who were working in the plant in march, March is said in the article to be when the highest radiation leaks were occurring.

2 men are being monitored for being exposed to over half the allowed amount of radiation. before the disaster and leaks at the plant the standard safe level of radiation exposure was 100 millisieverts, that level was raised to 250 millisieverts so the workers could legally go into the area and cleanup.


I can understand the need to raise the level of radiation exposure but to knowingly expose these men to this amount of radiation and leave them so ill-equipped is a crime.

The two men, one in his 30s and the other in his 40s, were confirmed last week as having exceeding that higher limit and were removed from working at the plant. A third man—a senior control room operator in his 50s—is being tested further after early findings showed high radiation exposure as well

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reprimanded TEPCO for violating the limit and ordered the company to submit the cause and prevention measures in a report within a week.

The younger man was exposed to 678 millisieverts and the other man 643 millisieverts—about 100 CT scans—mostly by inhaling radioactive particles, NISA spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said.

 

TEPCO already has admitted that workers in the earliest, most chaotic, and most dangerous moments of the crisis did not wear masks, possibly other protective gear as well, and lacked dosimeters to monitor their radiation exposures in real time. TEPCO was previously warned for failing to provide a dosimeter for each worker entering controlled areas of the plant.

 

Nearly 4,000 people worked at the plant during March, when radiation leaks from the reactors were believed to be the highest. With two measuring machines available, about half of that group has been checked so far for their internal radiation levels, which involve exposure from breathing or ingesting radioactive particles. Further examination is pending.

they only had 2 Dosimeters to monitor 4,000 workers???

this article is horrible the facts are littered in between useless info. and worry over heat stroke. in one paragraph they say TEPCO failed to give a dosimeter to each and every worker... and 3 paragraphs later they call the dosimeter a measuring machine and give the FACT that there were only 2 dosimeters available to 4,000 workers, then all TEPCO gets is reprimanded, What is that supposed to mean

Health concerns are also spreading outside the plant. The government says several areas outside the current evacuation zone are showing higher-than-expected cumulative radiation levels.Recent monitoring also detected strontium, an isotope that accumulate in bones and could increase cancer risks. The government is still considering whether to evacuate residents of tiny “hot spots” outside the 12-mile (20 kilometer) no-go zone.

More than 80,000 people have been forced to leave homes in that area.

just another example of how poorly the Japanese Gov. is handling this disaster, the number of people who are still being exposed to cumulative radiation from these hot spots is unknown and with 80,000 people already homeless and also exposed to radiation who knows how far the radiation will spread, every day that passes makes me fear for the entire Island of Japan and the health of the pacific.



notice how at the end of the article they focus on heat stroke not the HOT spots of radiation...

Originally posted by -W1LL
[I can understand the need to raise the level of radiation exposure but to knowingly expose these men to this amount of radiation and leave them so ill-equipped is a crime.

A greater crime would be not allowing those people in. This is a tragity, and those people are heros.

What if they did not send in the thousands of people with no shirts or protective gear at Chernobyl. Those people sacrificed to save their country, and all of Europe. Time is not on their side and drastic measures MUST be taken to save lives and land.

To call this a crime is not fair to the people who are dying for their country and their familys in Japan. This is a war, a fight for survival.

reply to post by TheInterceptor


this is FAR from war. this is man made negligence. and the people who are trying to save their country deserve to be protected. this is NOT Chernobyl and we have much better tech and timing to get workers in and out of there safely, while still getting the job done.

I could go as far as to say those responsible and profiting from this should be doing the cleanup, but no they are in their mansion still profiting and thinking of more ways to raise their rapidly falling stock.

reply to post by TheInterceptor


"2 men are being monitored for being exposed to over half the allowed amount of radiation. before the disaster "this is prior to quake?

Originally posted by krs678
reply to post by TheInterceptor

 

"2 men are being monitored for being exposed to over half the allowed amount of radiation. before the disaster "this is prior to quake?

from the article

The two men with high radiation exposures worked at a central control room for two reactors when the tsunami struck March 11 and the days that followed.

I am thinking the high exposure came during the tsunami and after while cleaning up.

reply to post by -W1LL


Its easy to say how to handle the situation from behind your computer in your house. And you are right, this is not Chernobyl. It is not even 3 Chernobyl's. It is far worse than that. it is WORSE than war. In war you can judge better if you are winning or loosing. in war you can see the enemy approaching your family.

You think we are so much more advanced now than in Chernobyl? Did they invent a power plant safety plug since then? Do you think they are taking advantage of the situation and sending in people to die on pourpose? These people KNOW they will most likely die. They are going in ANYWAY, desperately trying to save their family and country.


And look what advancements have gotten us in other disasters. What lessons were learned from the massive Exxon Valdez spill in 89? We got COREXIT, golf balls and tire parts to clean up the mess this time. Great job advancement!

Originally posted by TheInterceptor
A greater crime would be not allowing those people in.

I agree

Originally posted by -W1LL
this is FAR from war. this is man made negligence.

Is any war NOT man-made? It seems like war, or at the very least, a series of battles between man and the disaster, man-made or otherwise. This one had a little help from Nature, but the Chernobyl disaster didn't even have that, it was COMPLETELY man-made

the people who are trying to save their country deserve to be protected. this is NOT Chernobyl and we have much better tech and timing to get workers in and out of there safely, while still getting the job done.

What better tech? This is a bold claim for which you have ptovided no evidence. Have you got any?

At Chernobyl they had robots, but they quickly found out that robots didn't last too long, they were disabled by the radiation as much as people, even more so.

You're whining about workers being exposed to slightly over a safe level at Fukushima, while at Chernobyl thousands were sent to die. We're not happy about either incident, nor are we happy about anybody dying in either case. None of us want to see that.

Yes, it was preventable but that's water under the bridge. Once the disaster happened, what are we going to do about it?

The soviets were more responsive at Chernobyl. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or even the survival of the few. And the Soviet people herically stepped up to the plate and dealt with the disaster. The Japanese people are going way too far in protecting the safety of a handful of people so that millions worldwide can get cancer, it's sort of the opposite response of Chernobyl.

Whether Chernobyl or Fukushima is worse, is debatable. By some measures one is worse, by other measures the other is worse. Both were/are really bad and need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. If they've got all this new tech since Chernobyl you're talking about, where is it and why aren't they using it? I know of lots of new tech since Chernobyl, but not any that can help at Fukushima. The microchips used in today's robots are probably more advanced, but probably even more susceptible to radiation damage. Hopefully they are building some radiation-hardened robots, though I haven't really heard anything about that.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


im not sure how to respond to your pathetic attempt at insulting me...

I am not whining about anything and I said tech and timing... look it up if you dont know but we hav things called dosimeters and protective suits.
that combined with good planning and timing, can produce a much safer environment for the HERO workers who are being used as disposable heroes.

if i am mad or whining about anything, it is the treatment and conditions the workers are being subjected to.