Workers suffer hardships in effort to stabilize Fukushima plant

[highplainsdem]

Source: LA Times

Workers suffer hardships in effort to stabilize Fukushima plant
A Japanese nuclear official who spent five days at the plant as an observer describes spare living conditions, limited food rations and no running water on top of the high levels of radiation exposure for the now 400 working in shifts to make repairs.
By Kenji Hall and Julie Makinen, Los Angeles Times
March 29, 2011


Reporting from Tokyo—
They sleep with just one blanket apiece anywhere there's space — in a conference room, in the hallway, near the bathroom. Because deliveries of supplies are limited, they get by on very little food: Breakfast is packages of high-calorie emergency crackers and a small carton of vegetable juice; dinner consists of a small bag of "magic rice" (just add bottled water) and a can of chicken, mackerel or curry. There is no lunch — handing out a noontime meal would be too complicated in the crowded two-story building.

These are the grueling, Spartan living conditions for workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant who are racing to connect electric cables, repair machinery and check equipment in order to avert a meltdown at the facility 150 miles northeast of Tokyo.

A Japanese nuclear regulatory official who spent five days at the power plant as an observer on Monday gave reporters the first detailed look at what life is like for the hundreds of workers remaining at the facility.

When they are pumping radioactive water from basements or repairing machinery in control rooms, the workers breathe through respirators and dress in white suits with hoods that cover them from head to toe, which offer substantial protection but are not foolproof. Even the short periods that they spend near the reactors — they work in one-hour shifts — can expose them to dangerously high radiation levels. Hundreds of workers sleep and eat in one huge room, about 6,200 square feet, on the second floor of a building a short distance from the reactor sites.


-snip-


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-workers-20110329,0,319767.story

[Devil_Fish]

1. dead men walking. NT

[Old and In the Way]

2. Pretty outrageous, considering their situation.

If I'm TEPKO, I'm treating these people like kings for a job, few, if any, would or could do. What's wrong with this company?

[Urban Prairie]

3. On top of all else, these heroic workers cannot eat even one nutritious meal per day

That is completely unconscionable, I can't believe that food, clothing (underwear) and more bottled water cannot be airlifted and parachuted down nearby to them?!?


x(

[girl gone mad]

6. Just finished watching the film someone posted on Chernobyl..

at least at that site, the workers were given fresh food and even allowed a little vodka with dinner.

[iemitsu]

4. these men are heroic.

we need for them to be successful in getting control of the materials in these plants. then we need to unite in our efforts to rid the world of this source of power. it is the only way to honor these men's sacrifice.

[defendandprotect]

5. This is a death mission -- and they are sacrificing their lives for Japan -- imo.

[Sirveri]

8. Not really, they're limited to 250mSv by law.

That exposure level is tracked via a TLD, the issue comes when they hit their exposure limits and need to be rotated out, at which point they'll have to get other qualified plant operators from other plants to replace them who might not be as familiar with the system or current casualty control process.

[defendandprotect]

9. ... and you are giving your personal guarantee on that -- ?

:rofl:

[KT2000]

7. If they had a chance

it would be because they were well nourished. They should be getting Vit C drips to up their immune functions.

What a loser company. The workers are dying for their fellow citizens - not for TEPCO.