Masao Yoshida, Fukushima boss who stayed at post to fight disaster, dies of cancer

[The Straight Story]

THE former boss of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, who stayed at his post to try to tame runaway reactors after the 2011 tsunami, has died of cancer, the operator says.

Masao Yoshida, 58, was at the power station on March 11, 2011, when towering waves swamped cooling systems and sparked meltdowns that released plumes of radiation.

Yoshida led the subsequent effort to get the crippled complex under control, as workers battled frequent aftershocks to try to prevent the disaster worsening.

Government contingency plans revealed after the event showed how scientists feared a chain reaction if Fukushima spiralled out of control, a scenario that could have seen other nuclear plants engulfed and would have meant evacuating Tokyo.

His selfless work is contrasted in the public mind with the attitude of his employers, who seemed willing to abandon the complex and are popularly believed to have shirked their responsibility.

"He died of oesophagal cancer at 11.32am today at a Tokyo hospital," said a spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) on Tuesday.



http://www.news.com.au/world-news/fukushima-radioactive-groundwater-rises/story-fndir2ev-1226676769174

[darkangel218]

1. Yep, thats what radiation does to you.

[niyad]

2. requiescat in pacem, brave soul

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. He gave the last full measure...

Safe passage to him.

[GeorgeGist]

4. Mr. Yoshida sounds like an honest HERO.

I'M told that in Japanese Tepco rhymes with Weasel.

[malaise]

5. And many more will die

There was a thread this morning about radiation levels rising.

[idwiyo]

6. RIP

[leveymg]

7. If that wasn't a pre-existing condition, this bodes very badly for many others. eom

[Octafish]

14. TEPCO didn't specify the medical reason for Mr. Yoshida's retirement in November 2011...

Fukushima Daiichi Plant Manager Steps Down Due To Illness

Wall Street Journal
By Mitsuru Obe
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--The manager of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has taken ill and will step down from his post after serving as on-site crisis manager over the last eight months, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO) said Monday.

Masao Yoshida's departure comes less than a month before the plant is expected to achieve a safe shutdown, with the damaged reactors being brought under full control and kept at low temperatures.

Yoshida will be succeeded by Takeshi Takahashi, director of Tepco's nuclear management division, on Dec. 1, the utility said.

Yoshida has been unable to report to the plant over the past two weeks and checked into hospital last Thursday. Tepco didn't specify the illness or how long he would be in hospital.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5072747

[FBaggins]

25. Nope... they announced it a couple weeks later

Since it was personal information that they had no right to release.

But he was worried that some nuts would assume that it was related to the meltdowns (which, of course, it can't be)... so he asked them to release it.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/people/AJ201112100081n

[wtmusic]

31. Nobody could be that stupid.

[Art_from_Ark]

8. The poor guy-- if it's any consolation, he died a hero

On another note, there's no way that Tokyo could have been evacuated-- there are nearly 30 million people living in the metro area (excluding Yokohama, assuming it would not be evacuated), plus a few more million between there and the disaster zone.

[AsahinaKimi]

28. I AGREE...he was a hero

eom.

[hack89]

9. A brave man - RIP. nt

[TalkingDog]

10. Earns a Real Man tag.

Real Man

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. I reserve the word "hero" for guys like this. n/t

[wendylaroux]

12. Now this man is a true hero,

so brave and good.

[LongTomH]

13. RIP to a brave man!

[Ratty]

15. I don't understand the "chain reaction" part

I can't find any link. How could Fukushima have caused a chain reaction involving other reactors?

Also, the very next paragraph says:

TEPCO has said his cancer was unlikely to be linked to radiation exposure in the months after the disaster.

The company has said it would take at least five years and normally 10 years to develop this particular condition if radiation exposure were to blame.

[proverbialwisdom]

17. Nothing happened here either.

RECOMMENDED:

AMAZON.com

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
by Svetlana Alexievich (Author) , Keith Gessen (Translator)

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award

On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. Journalist Svetlana Alexievich interviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown---from innocent citizens to firefighters to those called in to clean up the disaster---and their stories reveal the fear, anger, and uncertainty with which they still live. Comprised of interviews in monologue form, Voices from Chernobyl is a crucially important work, unforgettable in its emotional power and honesty.

[iemitsu]

20. Thank you for the recommendation.

Our government was more honest about the power and effects of nuclear radioactivity after dropping two bombs on Japan, at the end of WWII, than they have been since. And they weren't that forthcoming then.

[proverbialwisdom]

22. Thanks, this is as stunningly important and sad.

RECOMMENDED:

http://ex-skf.blogspot.com

ABOUT MY COVERAGE OF JAPAN EARTHQUAKE OF MARCH 11
I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.

http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2013/07/just-in-masao-yoshida-fukushima-i-nuke.html

TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2013
Just In: Masao Yoshida, #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Manager at the Time of Accident, Died

<>

For those of you who haven't read them, here are my posts from August 2012, on his interview on July 10, 2012, right before he fell ill.

<>

"...But it is hard to have our true voice heard. Our true voice does not come across through the [reports of the] investigation commissions. For that part, I think we should spread the message in various ways. Not just my experience, but the experience of my colleagues who worked at the plant together, I would like to tell properly."

[iemitsu]

24. Thank you for sharing access to your blog.

I know several people who would love to read your translations and comments.

[proverbialwisdom]

26. No, no, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, it isn't my blog. I'm a regular reader only. nt

[iemitsu]

19. Yeah, Tepco wants us to question whether or not radiation

is the cause of this man's untimely death. "The company has said it would take at least five years and normally 10 years to develop this particular condition if radiation exposure were to blame.", well normally one would not be exposed to so much radioactivity in such a small amount of time.
I can't believe that some still insist that working with or living with increased radiation levels is just fine. The evidence exists to demonstrate how dangerous the stuff actually is.

[FBaggins]

27. That's incorrect

well normally one would not be exposed to so much radioactivity in such a small amount of time

Not so. When esophgeal cancer has been associated with radiation in the past, it has been from radiation therapy elsewhere in the upper part of the body (chest/lungs/etc). Such radiation therapy normally involves hundreds/thousands of times the dose that he received from the incident (reported as 70 mSV).

I can't believe that some still insist that working with or living with increased radiation levels is just fine. The evidence exists to demonstrate how dangerous the stuff actually is.

The evidence does exist... and is backed up by decades of science. It just doesn't say what you seem to think it says.

[B Stieg]

16. And yet, TEPCO lives on.

[Octafish]

29. That is the tragedy.

Have you met TEPCO Rose?

[mckara]

18. God Bless Him! Some People are REAL Heroes!

[proverbialwisdom]

21. More.

http://enenews.com
http://enenews.com/former-chief-of-fukushima-nuclear-plant-dead-from-cancer-at-58-years-old-tepco-not-related-to-radioactive-exposure

[Kurovski]

23. A selfless sacrifice.

Eternal honor.

[wtmusic]

30. Hate to spoil the fun, but Mr. Yoshida's death had nothing to do with the accident.

The latency period for solid tumor, radiation-induced cancers is at least ten years.

Although it doesn't fit the Greenpeace narrative it's more likely he died from airborne carcinogens, a byproduct of burning coal.