Maybe you have heard about these guys. In Japan they are called the Fukusima Fifty or F-50. These are the guys who stayed behind and tried desperately against all odds to keep the Nuclear Power Plant Fukisima Daiichi from catastrophic meltdown. Well, here is a brief story and the first pictures of their ordeal. Brave men and definitely heroes.
The darkness is broken only by the flashing torchlight of the heroes who stayed behind. These first images of the inside of the stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant reveal the terrifying conditions under which the brave men work to save their nation from full nuclear meltdown. The Fukushima Fifty – an anonymous band of lower and mid-level managers – have battled around the clock to cool overheating reactors and spent fuel rods since the disaster on March 11.
Despite sweltering heat from the damaged reactors, they must work in protective bodysuits to protect their skin from the poisonous radioactive particles that fill the air around them. But as more radiation seeps into the atmosphere minute by minute, they know this job will be their last. Five are believed to have already died and 15 are injured while others have said they know the radiation will kill them.
The original 50 brave souls were later joined by 150 colleagues and rotated in teams to limit their exposure to the radiation spewing from over-heating spent fuel rods after a series of explosions at the site. They were today joined by scores more workers.
Japan has rallied behind the workers with relatives telling of heart-breaking messages sent at the height of the crisis. A woman said her husband continued to work while fully aware he was being bombarded with radiation. In a heartbreaking email, he told his wife: ‘Please continue to live well, I cannot be home for a while.‘ One girl tweeted in a message translated by ABC: ‘My dad went to the nuclear plant, I’ve never seen my mother cry so hard. People at the plant are struggling, sacrificing themselves to protect you. Please dad come back alive.’
But it is becoming even more pressing that the Fukushima succeed after it was revealed today that Tokyo’s tap water has been contaminated by unusual levels of radiation. The government have issued a warning to all mothers urging them not to let babies drink the tap water. The warning came after it emerged last night that radioactive particles have reached Europe and are heading towards Britain in the wake of the catastrophe that officials say could cost up to $275 billion – making it the costliest natural disaster in history. And fresh safety concerns arose today as black smoke was spotted emerging from Unit 3 of the plant, prompting a temporary evacuation of all workers from the complex, operators Tokyo Electric Power company said.
Tokyo Water Bureau officials said levels of radioactive iodine in some city tap water contained 210 becquerels per litre of iodine 131 – two times the recommended limit for infants. They warned parents not to give babies tap water, although they said it is not an immediate health risk for adults. Nearly two weeks after the twin March 11 disasters, nuclear officials were still struggling to stabilise the damaged and overheated Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, which has been leaking radiation since the disasters knocked out the plant’s cooling systems. Radiation has seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and even seawater in the areas surrounding the plant.
Meanwhile, officials in Iceland have detected ‘minuscule amounts’ of radioactive particles believed to have come from Fukushima, the site of the worst nuclear accident in 25 years. Japanese officials said the health risk was low outside the plant, but were yesterday chastised by the International Atomic Energy Agency watchdog over a lack of information about how much radiation had been emitted. Levels in Tokyo rose ten-fold in the days after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake earlier this month, and tiny traces have been detected in California and Washington DC. The IAEA lacks data on the temperatures of the spent fuel pools of reactors 1, 3 and 4 at Fukushima. It has been claimed the plant was storing more uranium than it was designed to hold, and had repeatedly missed mandatory safety checks. The official death toll in Japan has exceeded 9,400. At least 13,200 people are still missing and 350,000 are in shelters.
Yesterday firemen connected electric cables to the plant in the hope of restarting cooling systems. Although hundreds of tons of water have been blasted into two of the damaged reactors, smoke and steam continue to pour out. (learn more)
The resiliency, committment, work ethic, and character of the Japanese workers is incredible. My stongest admiration goes to the brave souls who know they are doing their last job, but their intent is to protect others and provide a stable environment for their families. Incredible courage and fortitude…… Consider these pictures below as an example of how they just get moving and deal with the crisis……. SD
- Same Japanese Roadway March 20th 2011
