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CX2SA > INFO 17.04.11 18:00l 156 Lines 7629 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Report from Fukushima
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Report from Fukushima
By Suvendrini Kakuchi
FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Apr 7, 2011 (IPS) - My decision to visit Fukushima - the
area worst hit by the massive quake, tsunami and nuclear power accident on
Mar. 11 - was taken one afternoon last week after a long meeting with
scientists.
The invitation to accompany the scientists on a private fact-finding mission
to Fukushima was irresistible. The scientists and engineers who gathered
that day, had, for decades, harboured misgivings over reactor safety design
and policies and were active in the ongoing debate over the future of
nuclear energy in Japan.
"There is a dire need for a real time radiation monitoring network to be set
up in areas affected by the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant,"
Atsuto Suzuki, head of the high-energy accelerator research organisation at
Tsukuba University, explained. "This is where our expertise can begin to
play a role."
We started our journey at 6am, armed with bottles of mineral water, clothing
that could be discarded before our return to Tokyo, and special facemasks to
protect us from radiation when we approached the 20-kilometre exclusive zone
around the damaged reactors.
Around our necks dangled radioactive dosimeters, resembling large
thermometers. The machines would show accumulated microsieverts of radiation
contamination on our bodies and instructions were given that we carry them
all the time to record the rise in the figures while noting the exact
locations.
"Our own documentation of radioactive material is key to understanding the
Fukushima accident," explained Yoichi Tao, a physicist specialising in risk
management design, who is now retired. He is also a graduate from Tokyo
University.
But Tao is not part of the cosy group of experts who have guided Japan's
ambitious post-war nuclear power industry. Instead, having experienced the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima when he was just six years old, the scientist,
contends the bitter truth that Japan had chosen to ignore till today, was
that fool-proof safety in nuclear power is simply a "myth".
"It is time," he explained, "to embark on a clearer definition of the
complex concept of safety. This calls for research from diverse perspectives
- the views of residents, independent opinions, as well as taking in an
assessment on the impact of the accident on other countries."
The three-hour drive to Fukushima was hauntingly poignant. With most of the
motorways now open for traffic, we passed the breathtaking scenery that
marks Japan's northern region - mountains dotted with pristine pine forests
on one side of the road and the pale blue, now serene, ocean glistening on
the other. Sharp gusts of chilly air wrapped our car on a near empty road, a
sign of the lost appeal of Fukushima - which had been up till now a tourist
destination boasting therapeutic hot springs and fresh seafood.
Devastation
A harrowing scene awaited us at Iwaki, our entry point into Fukushima.
Iwaki, a bustling coastal fishing city had borne the full brunt of the
tsunami, with some waves as high as 14 metres.
We stopped at Yotsukura hamlet where half the population of 1,000 had
suffered fatalities, were still missing, or had lost their homes, fishing
boats and cars.
People, protected with masks, appeared dazed while they pulled at piles of
washed out rubble in a feeble attempt to reconstruct. "The community is
still scattered in evacuation sites because shops continue to lack food and
water and there is a severe shortage of gasoline," explained Yuuji Kojima,
head of the rescue operation in the local municipality.
The afternoon schedule was to get as close to the nuclear disaster as
possible and the route we selected was not along the coast but inland.
Getting closer to the vicinity, we passed miles of deserted villages where
dogs and cattle - abandoned by their owners - walked past shuttered houses
and broken roads.
The sky had begun to darken and we feared rain that would worsen our risk of
contamination. We pulled on our masks and another layer of clothes. Then we
watched our monitors.
Passing the 30-kilometre limit, a recent extension of the risk zone ordered
by the government, we reached Miyakoji-machi, once a lush farming area, now
turned a ghost village.
A police car stood at the entry point and ordered our car to stop. Officers
explained politely but firmly that only government officials or the Tokyo
Electric Power Company - operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant -
were permitted inside. We pulled the car aside and kept the engine running
while scanning the area for a suitable site for the scientists to set up
their monitoring equipment.
Rain had turned to snow. Inside the darkening car, our monitors had begun to
climb - mine was showing an accumulated 325 microsieverts, the equivalent of
almost one chest x-ray already.
Evacuation Centres
The most excruciating experiences during our visit were in the two
evacuation centres we visited.
Located in Tamura-town, the first contained 800 local residents who were
packed into a large gymnasium. It was not the tsunami, but the accident in
the nuclear power plant they had tolerated for the past 40 years, that had
devastated their lives.
Cardboard linings demarcated tiny spaces for families. Old people covered in
blankets lay in heaps off to one side.
Wanting to find out for myself, I deliberately avoided wearing the slippers
given to guests who were asked to remove their shoes at the entrance. My
feet froze almost instantly, reflecting the discomfort of the nuclear
refugees who have lived on the cold and damp floor for weeks.
Portable toilets at the other refugee centre were situated outside the
building, making visits during the freezing nights a nightmare for the
elderly. A lone doctor at the centre described streams of patients seeking
medical assistance. "The authorities had promised us for years everything
was safe. We do not believe them anymore," she explained, declining to be
photographed or identified. She hesitated to be overtly critical of their
situation, preferring to focus her attention on the sick.
Lessons Learned
As Japan struggles to contain the world's second most catastrophic nuclear
power accident, the public here is calling for an alternative energy model.
This marks the beginning of an unprecedented effort of the expanding network
of scientists and designers in Japan - who are also reaching out for advise
from their counterparts in the United States and Europe - to develop what
some call the world's most comprehensive study on safety.
For now, though, Tao and his team are concentrating on negotiating their way
into the tightly controlled bureaucratic systems here that have long
resisted outside intervention - one of the more troubling aspects of Japan's
economic development which now lays exposed by the disaster.
Returning to Tokyo, late at night, we wondered aloud what lessons had Japan
learned from the disaster. We asked Tao, what would come next. "The answers
will take time," he said. "More important right now is maintaining a
collective effort to contain the nuclear tragedy that must involve both
proponents and opponents of nuclear energy technology."
After more than 20 years in Japan, I knew Tao and his community of concerned
scientists were right. At a time of tragedy, Japanese wisdom had won. First
things first, and only then can the right platform be established to debate
the larger challenges.
(*The story moved Apr. 6, 2011 contained an error in units of measure in
paragraph 17. It is not 325 sieverts, but 325 microsieverts.)
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