Friday, April 8, 2011

08/04 Victims' dignity in tatters as radiation hampers search efforts near nuke plant(英和)


MPD officers gather albums and other mementos they recovered from the rubble of houses in an area within a radius of 20 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on April 7. (Mainichi)
MPD officers gather albums and other mementos they recovered from the rubble of houses in an area within a radius of 20 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on April 7. (Mainichi)

MINAMI-SOMA, Fukushima -- Police officers continued on April 7 to search rubble here for missing quake and tsunami victims, while larks were singing in the sky amid warm south winds that signal the arrival of spring.

I and my accompanying photographer, as well as 250 members of a riot police squad, were required to wear protective gear, as well as bound many parts of equipment with adhesive tape, and carry radiation dosimeters. My forehead felt some wind, and I examined my protective gear to make sure that there was no space.

I frequently checked my radiation dosimeter, but it remained at 0.000 even after walking in a coastal area of Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, situated about 18 kilometers north of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

None of us were allowed to remove our goggles even if the glass misted up because of fears of invisible radioactive substances leaking from the tsunami-hit nuclear plant.

In Fukushima Prefecture, the number of missing people is more than three times that of those confirmed dead, far above the ratios in surrounding disaster-hit prefectures.

This is because high levels of radiation leaking from the plant have been hampering search activities. Rubble remains untouched in areas within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant where an evacuation order has been issued.

Evacuees who have not been allowed to return to their homes situated in these areas are urging authorities to quickly recover the bodies of victims.

On April 7, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers managed to recover three bodies from the rubble.

"We'd also like to step up our search operations ..." says a high-ranking official of Fukushima Prefectural Police. The force has been searching areas within a radius of 20 kilometers from the plant since April 3.

I went to Okushiri Island, Hokkaido, shortly after it was devastated by a tsunami in 1993 and Aceh, Indonesia, following a tsunami in 2004. Houses, automobiles and ships swept away by tsunami in Okushiri, Aceh and Fukushima demonstrated nature's overwhelming power. However, Fukushima Prefecture is completely different from the two other areas in that nobody is seen in some of these devastated areas.

In Okushiri and Aceh, people began to restore the tsunami-ravaged areas immediately after the disasters, demonstrating people's strong willpower. In Fukushima, however, residents near the nuclear plant cannot approach their neighborhoods out of fear that they would be exposed to radiation leaking from the plant.

Over several days from the March 11 disaster, more lives could have been saved in Fukushima if the nuclear plant had remained intact. Many people were actually rescued in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures over the same period, but high levels of radiation prevented rescue workers from entering areas near the Fukushima plant. One cannot help but wonder how local residents felt about the situation that prevented search and rescue operations.

The crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has also caused enormous damage to local farmers and fishermen, which can be called destruction of their livelihoods. More sadly, however, many local residents were prevented from identifying the bodies of their family members. Those who have lost their lives have been abandoned near the plant. In other words, the nuclear crisis has left the dignity of disaster victims in tatters.

Police officers are collecting tablets bearing the names of deceased people, albums and other mementos from the rubble of houses destroyed by the March 11 quake and ensuing tsunami. A red school backpack covered with mud found in the area would obviously make people feel sad.

Officers offered a prayer in front of the mementos they recovered. However, their facial expressions could not be seen because their faces were covered with protective gear and goggles. (By Takahiro Takino, Senior Writer, Tokyo City News Department)

(Mainichi Japan) April 8, 2011



福島第1原発:見えぬ恐怖 20キロ圏内捜索に同行


防護服に身を固め、福島第1原発から20キロ圏内の避難指示区域で行方不明者の捜索を行い、アルバムなどを回収する警察官ら=福島県南相馬市で2011年4月7日午後3時50分、佐藤泰則撮影

 捜索現場上空には風に乗ってヒバリが鳴いていた。春を告げる暖かな南風。だが、その方向には危機的状況が続く東京電力福島第1原発がある。半径20キロ圏内の避難指示区域にある福島県南相馬市で7日、警視庁機動隊による行方不明者の捜索が始まった。カメラマンとともに同行した私は、汗をかいた額に風を感じ、不安になる。防護服フードに隙間(すきま)がないか、あわててチェックした。

 同原発の北約18キロにある同市原町区小沢の海岸線。約250人の機動隊員は防護服を着用し、放射線量を測定しながらの捜索となった。私も同じ防護服を着用した。線量計も首からさげる。露出しないようガムテープを手足に何重にも巻いた。警察官のつらさを思う。

 線量計がたえず気になった。1時間以上いても「0.000」のまま。ゴーグルが曇っても外せない。わずか18キロ先の原発が吐き出す放射性物質の見えない恐怖があるのだ。【滝野隆浩】

 ◇人のいない現場

 福島県は、行方不明者数が死者数の3倍以上と、近隣の宮城県などの被災県と比べて際だって多い。福島第1原発事故の影響で放射線量が高く捜索が進まないためで、20キロ圏内はがれきも手つかずの状態となっている。一度も自宅に戻れない避難住民からは、「せめて遺体の回収を早くしてほしい」という強い要望が出ていた。当然の要望だと思う。

 この日、警視庁の機動隊員は不自由な防護服で黙々と作業を進め、3遺体を収容した。一方、福島県警は3日から既に20キロ圏内の捜索を始めていた。ある県警幹部は「我々も、本当はもっと(捜索を)やりたいんだけど……」と悔しさを吐きだした。

 93年の北海道南西沖地震で津波に襲われた北海道・奥尻島も、04年のインド洋大津波で被災したインドネシア・アチェも、私は現場に行った。巨大津波の現場では、家を車を船をなぎ倒し、流し去る圧倒的な自然の力を感じさせられた。それはここでも同じ。しかし、「フクシマ」は決定的に違った。人が現場にいないのだ、まもなく1カ月たつのに。

 奥尻でも、熱帯のアチェでも、すぐに人は復興に向けて動き出していた。それはある種、感動的な事実でもあった。人間の強さを思い知らされた。だが、福島には、毎日「危機」を吐き出し続ける原発がある。住民は怖くて近寄れない。

 現場に立って初めて思い至った。大地震が発生し、津波が襲った3月11日から12日にかけて、あるいはそれから数日、「助かる命」はあったはずなのだ。同じ被災地の宮城でも、岩手でも、同じ時期に多くの命が救われた。しかし、フクシマでは高い放射線量がそれを許さなかった。行方不明者の捜索すらできない状況を、住民はどういう思いで見守っていたのか。

 原発事故は、農業にも漁業にも甚大な被害をもたらした。それは「生活」の破壊だろう。しかし、それよりも、そこで暮らす人たちが自分の肉親の遺体も確認できなかったのだ。「死」さえも中ぶらりんにさらされている。「尊厳」をも破壊していると感じる。

 ◇涙のランドセル

 機動隊員ががれきの中から位牌(いはい)やアルバムを集めている。赤いランドセルが泥だらけで、見ているだけで悲しくなる。遺品を置いて、そっと手を合わせて機動隊員が自分の持ち場に帰っていく。その表情は固く締め付けられた白い防護服に包まれて、うかがえなかった。

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