Reports that Fukushima nuclear site has been evacuated - only skeleton crew remains

[jpak]

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/15/this_could_become_chernobyl_on_steroids

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The biggest problem seems to be in the second reactor, where the containment appears to be ruptured, and the reactor, as well, may be damaged from this explosion. So the explosion yesterday was the most severe. The most telling issue, as far as I’m concerned, is that the site has been evacuated. There was 800 people on the site, and then they evacuated all but 60 people. That’s basically telling the crew to man the lifeboats.

<snip>

[xchrom]

1. oy. nt

[meegbear]

2. I figured under the situation, I'd already have a skeleton crew ...

ain't looking good.

[Kennah]

3. Dead People Walking

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. The thing is probably melting down right now. Literally a skeleton crew.

[Angry Dragon]

5. The regressive party should take a fact finding trip there

this weekend and spend about 3 days there as long as they don't work on Fridays

[mn9driver]

6. The radiation levels are bad, but still manageable. For now.

The reason they are pulling the workers out is that they will need to limit each worker's exposure as the crisis continues, and they don't have a limitless supply of relief workers. As it climbs, the radiation level will max out an individual's annual exposure allowance in a matter of days, hours, or even minutes depending on exactly what is going on and what the worker is doing.

The crew in there now will work until they max out, then they will be done for the next 12 months. Then they bring the next crew in, and so on. At some point they will run out of people with training and remaining exposure allowance. It will take many, many thousands of radiation man-years to finish putting this plant to sleep and to entomb it.