These are brave men fighting against radiation on behalf of their fellow country men. The situation is looking bleak, but there’s always hope that this too shall pass. It’s times like these when character and faith is tested. And the rest of the world needs to chip in and help out friends in need.
The Guardian reports that battered by a terrifying earthquake, exhausted from days of battling a spiralling nuclear crisis, and aware that their loved ones were only miles from the crippled facility, the exhausted workers at the Fukushima No 1 plant must have hoped a new day would finally bring respite.
Instead, Tuesday dawned with the outbreak of fire at a fourth unit – the start of a chain of events in which their worst fears appeared to be coming true.
More than 90 hours after the earthquake and tsunami battered Japan's north-east, shutting off the Fukushima plant and halting its cooling systems, workers learned that radiation at the facility had hit a level harmful to human health.
Hundreds of non-essential personnel were shipped off-site after the blaze, knowing that they were leaving behind dozens of colleagues risking permanent damage to their health. The gravity of the situation emerged a few hours later when Naoto Kan, the Japanese prime minister, addressed the nation.
Clad in blue overalls, Kan began by urging people to remain calm. Fire had broken out in unit No 4, radiation had spread, the level was high, and there was a very high risk of further radioactive material emerging. He asked anyone remaining in the 20km (12-mile) evacuation zone around the plant to leave immediately, and those within 30km to stay indoors. But it was the workers who were "putting themselves in a very dangerous situation" to try to contain the problems, he acknowledged.
Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano revealed that a containment vessel might also have been damaged at reactor No 2, increasing the risk of a radioactive leak.
While both men called for calm, behind the scenes there were signs of the government's plummeting faith in the plant's operators, the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Kan was overheard reading the riot act to executives for failing to inform him of the blast, Japanese media said.
"The TV reported an explosion, but nothing was said to the prime minister's office for more than an hour," the Kyodo agency quoted Kan as saying. "What the hell is going on?"
Kan, who had already announced he would take personal control of a new joint-response headquarters involving the power company and the government, reportedly warned Tepco of serious consequences should it decide to pull its workers out before the plant has been made safe. "In the event of a withdrawal, I'm 100% certain that the company will collapse," he said. "You must be determined to solve this."
Between 50 and 70 employees – now known in English as the Fukushima 50 – all in protective gear, were left at the plant to battle myriad problems. Some are assessing the damage and radiation levels caused by the explosions, while others cool stricken reactors with seawater to try to avert a potentially catastrophic release of radiation.
The workers are the nuclear power industry's equivalent of frontline soldiers, exposing themselves to considerable risks while about 800 of their evacuated colleagues watch from a safe distance. Fifteen people on the site, including members of the self-defence force, have been injured in the blasts.
More dettails here
I like to point out the world has a way of naturally healing itself
even from things like this.
Memeorandum
