Asia Times: Front line at Fukushima (the workers)

[Generic Other]

Paul Jobin: It's a paradoxical situation. There has never been so much said about nuclear issues in Japan, but information remains scarce about those who are at the heart of the volcano, in central Fukushima. , we saw no people except the helicopter pilots who dropped the seawater, and now the soldiers of the national defense forces and firefighters, using firemen's lamps. We had to wait until Friday, March 25 to see the first photos of workers in full protective suits, these being worn inside the plant, where you could see the general state of disrepair, even in computer and control rooms, barely lit ... That day, three sub-contractors were taken to the hospital because they were seriously irradiated. That was the first time we heard officially about subcontractors. But when you know how a plant like that functions under normal circumstances, one can only assume that they comprised 90% of workers on site. They are the ones who do the maintenance work, and who receive the collective dose of radiation - these are the official figures.

But then there are different types of sub-contractors: at the very bottom of the pyramid there are, for example, temporary workers who use mops to clean the reactors, or who deal with used protective clothing. They receive the strongest doses. Then come the technicians (plumbers, electricians) who inspect facilities, piping and pumps, and at the very top, there are the technicians, managers and engineers of TEPCO, who enjoy higher wages and better protection. A number of temporary workers must be on-site, but for now, we do not really know who does what. What is certain is that all those who have worked so far have had to take large doses of radioactivity.

<snip>

PJ: , there were four teams of 50, or 200 workers. According to the most recent information , there would be six hundred. This figure might include fire fighters and soldiers, but this remains unclear. In a week, how many will there be? TEPCO had to mobilize its network of subcontractors for emergency recruiting in the region or even beyond.

According to the ads that circulate on SMS, and which are relayed on Twitter, wages offered are around 10,000 yen per day (US$122), which is about double the average salary for a young temporary employee but does not represent an exceptional offer either. This would mean that, despite the sacrifice of those who agree to go there, TEPCO continues to skimp on wages ... the Tokyo Shimbun published testimonies of people who refused to come to work at the plant.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/ME05Dh01.html

[thereismore]

1. TEPCO is skimping on the worker's pay. All corporations are evil twins. nt

[robdogbucky]

2. Dying for TEPCO

I posted this yesterday in the thread that disappeared re "all that radiation, where does it go and why does it matter?" I looked 15 or so pages back and I looked at Environment/Energy and it wasn't there. I probably missed it on p.10 or so.

Anyway, it is on this point and here it is:


Dying for TEPCO

While Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) experiences difficulties in recruiting workers willing to go to Fukushima to clean up the damaged reactors, the World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to conduct an epidemiological survey on the catastrophe. This is the first of two reports offering a worker-centered analysis of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

In the titanic struggle to bring to closure the dangerous situation at Fukushima Nuclear Plant No1, there are many signs that TEPCO is facing great difficulties in finding workers. At present, there are nearly 700 people at the site. As in ordinary times, workers rotate so as to limit the cumulative dose of radiation inherent in maintenance and cleanup work at the nuclear site. But this time, the risks are greater, and the method of recruitment unusual.

Job offers come not from TEPCO but from Mizukami Kogyo, a company whose business is construction and cleaning maintenance. The description indicates only that the work is at a nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture. The job is specified as three hours per day at an hourly wage of 10,000 yen (about US$122). There is no information about danger, only the suggestion to ask the employer for further details on food, lodging, transportation and insurance...

...Rumor has it that many of the cleanup workers are "Burakumin," (a minority group dating from Japan's feudal era and still often associated with discrimination). This cannot be verified, but it would be congruent with the logic of the nuclear industry and the difficult job situation of day laborers. Because of ostracism, some burakumin are also involved with yakuza, or organized crime groups. Therefore, it would not be surprising that yakuza-burakumin recruit other burakumin to go to Fukushima. Yakuza are active in recruiting day laborers of the yoseba (communities for day laborers): Sanya in Tokyo, Kotobukicho in Yokohama, and Kamagasaki in Osaka. People who live in precarious conditions are then exposed to high levels of radiation, doing the most dirty and dangerous jobs in the nuclear plants, then are sent back to the yoseba. Those who fall ill will not even appear in the statistics...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/ME04Dh01.html



Yo, back when I was in college in the 60's we called this environmental racism. What is it called now?

[AsahinaKimi]

6. according to wiki..

No discriminated communities were identified in the following prefectures: Hokkaidō, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Tōkyō, Toyama, Ishikawa and Okinawa.<2>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burakumin

So the rumors of the cleanup workers that may be "Burakumin", may not be true. Thanks for your info however, It was a part of Japanese society, I was not aware of..

[Generic Other]

8. Seems like it must be hard to retain workers

People with families may exert enormous pressure on loved ones to stay away for the reactors. I know I wouldn't want my family members risking their lives in this manner.

I am surprised there are not more international teams of clean-up and containment experts. The only thing I can figure is that the nuclear industry has no emergency back-up.

A worker at Hanford told me that at one of the first reactors (Oak Ridge), they described emergency procedures in the old days: there was a rope tied around the fuel rods and an ax to cut the reactors in case of an emergency. While I am sure this is an inside joke, I am not sure things are much better in terms of safety today.

So frustrating. How soon will Japan run out of trained technicians who can safely enter the area? As they reach their maximum doses, they will not be able to continue working. Where will the reinforcements come from? All the proponents of nuclear power that keep minimizing the situation? HA!

[robdogbucky]

3. Union of Concerned Scientists 7 Week Update

Fukushima: 7-Week Update

by David Wright

"...Seven weeks later the situation at the facility has improved and stabilized relative to the crisis in the first few weeks, but serious difficulties remain. A better description is that the situation has become less unpredictable than it was.

As noted in my 3-week update on the Fukushima crisis, concern is focused on the fuel in the reactor cores at Units 1, 2, and 3, and the spent fuel in cooling pools at Units 1, 2, 3, and 4...

...The primary containment of Unit 2 is thought to have been damaged by the explosion that took place in the first few days of the crisis. Similarly, workers are concerned that the containment vessel of Unit 3 may have a crack and may also be leaking. If this is true, TEPCO will not able to fill these with water as it is doing with Unit 1 without first repairing them. One report states that more water than the volume of the containment vessel has been pumped into both Units 2 and 3, which would imply that water is leaking out...

...On April 17, TEPCO announced a 9-month plan to stabilize the situation at Fukushima, bringing the reactors into cold shutdown, stopping the release of radioactive materials from the plant, and remediating the surrounding environment. The first phase—estimated to take 3 months—is to build new cooling systems for the reactors, since TEPCO has decided that the old cooling systems cannot be restored and made to work. While that is underway the current makeshift cooling methods, which have led to releases of radioactive gas and water to the environment, are expected to continue.

http://allthingsnuclear.org/post/5173479472/fukushima-7-week-update


There is so much more I could not decide what to cut and paste. I urge anyone interested to read this summary, it has good stuff and bad stuff, that from someone that has read everything he could find about this on the net and then make my own judgments on what is true and what is not. This group is reliable IMHO.

Read the whole thing and then discuss. That is what I'm going to do.

[robdogbucky]

4. Floodind and Robots being used....

"...Monitoring inside the reactor buildings of Units 1 and 3 has shown that radiation levels are too high to allow workers inside to attempt repairs (measurements in Unit 2 were inconclusive). This has set back plans to improve the cooling systems for these reactors and begin to remove debris.

Remote-controlled wheeled robots bearing cameras have been used to enter the highly radioactive reactor buildings to assess conditions. These robots have beamed back images of local instrumentation readings and of penetrations through the primary containment walls.

Over the past week or two, workers have been pumping nitrogen into the primary containment vessel of Unit 1. This concern about the presence of hydrogen implies there is also concern that fuel damage is still occurring. This measure is also being considered for the reactors at Units 2 and 3, but Unit 1 has had a higher temperature and pressure and is getting attention first. However, it is not clear why this preventative measure is not being taken at Units 2 and 3 at the same time it is being done at Unit 1.

To attempt to deal with ongoing concerns about the Unit 1 reactor, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which owns the Fukushima plant, decided to try creating what some are calling a “water sarcophagus” by flooding the primary containment (torus and drywell) to fill it with water to a level above the fuel in the reactor core. This flooding is apparently nearing completion...

http://allthingsnuclear.org/post/5173479472/fukushima-7-week-update

[robdogbucky]

5. Japan raises "safe," level of radiation so kids can attend contaminated school

Jonathan Watts
London Guardian
May 4, 2011

Furious parents in Fukushima have delivered a bag of radioactive playground earth to education officials in protest at moves to weaken nuclear safety standards in schools.

Children can now be exposed to 20 times more radiation than was previously permissible. The new regulations have prompted outcry. A senior adviser resigned and the prime minister, Naoto Kan, was criticised by politicians from his own party.

Ministers have defended the increase in the acceptable safety level from 1 to 20 millisieverts per year as a necessary measure to guarantee the education of hundreds of thousands of children in Fukushima prefecture, location of the nuclear plant that suffered a partial meltdown and several explosions after the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March.

It is estimated that 75% of Fukushima’s schools may have radiation levels above the old safety level of 1 millisievert. The local authorities in Koriyama have tried to ease the problem by digging up the top layer of soil in school and day centre playgrounds, but residents near the proposed dump site have objected.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/japanese-government-raises-%E2%80%98safe%E2%80%99-radiation-limits-so-children-can-legally-attend-schools-that-have-been-covered-in-fallout-from-fukushima-nuclear-disaster.html

[Generic Other]

9. Direct link to Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/parents-revolt-radiation-levels

You are linking to a site people find disreputable around here.

Digging up the soil in the schoolyard! Why would anyone send a child to a school that had that much poison in it?

[grahamhgreen]

7. No nukes. Wind is cheaper.