千葉県柏市内の２清掃工場と、同県印西市など３市町でつくる印西地区環境整備事業組合の印西クリーンセンターで出た焼却灰から、国が埋め立てせずに保管するよう指示している１キロ・グラム当たり８０００ベクレルを超す放射性物質が検出されていたことが９日、分かった。
柏市幹部によると、北部クリーンセンター（柏市船戸）と南部クリーンセンター（同市南増尾）はともに、６、７月の検査で１キロ・グラム当たり１万ベクレル以上の放射性セシウムを検出した。
環境省は東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故を受け、東北、関東の１５都県に、一般ごみ焼却施設から出る焼却灰について放射性物質を測定し、１キロ・グラム当たり８０００ベクレルを超えた場合は埋め立てせずに一時保管するよう通知。このため、両クリーンセンターでは現在、焼却灰の最終処分場への埋め立てを中断し、敷地内に保管している。
このほか、印西市、白井市、栄町でつくる印西地区環境整備事業組合が４日、ゴミ処理施設「印西クリーンセンター」（印西市大塚）で出た焼却灰について放射性物質を測定したところ、１キロ・グラム当たり１万３９７０ベクレルの放射性セシウムを検出。同組合は、印西市岩戸の最終処分場への埋め立てを中止し、同処分場と同じ敷地内にある倉庫に密閉して保管しているという。
（2011年7月10日13時29分 読売新聞）
Showing posts with label workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workers. Show all posts
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
21/05 Gian nan thợ may Việt ở Nga
Thứ Bẩy, 21/05/2011 - 09:54
Ngày 19/5, báo chí Nga đưa tin nhà chức trách tại thủ đô Mátxcơva đã bắt giữ 85 công nhân VN ở một xưởng may đen tại một tầng hầm nhà máy in cũ ở gần ga xe điện ngầm Dmitrovskaia vì không có giấy tờ hợp pháp…
Xưởng may của người Việt ở Nga.
Tan vỡ ước mơ đổi đời…
Nhiều người Việt Nam sang Nga làm thợ may đã lâm vào những cảnh dở khóc dở cười. Họ là những thanh niên tuổi từ 18 đến 25. Họ đến từ các vùng thôn quê là chủ yếu. Không có công ăn việc làm ở quê nhà, họ ấp ủ giấc mộng rủng rỉnh tiền tiêu như những Việt kiều trở về quê mà họ từng chứng kiến, hoặc nhiều khi họ cũng chỉ khát khao có được đồng ra đồng vào để bù đắp cuộc sống...
Thêm vào đó là những lời rủ rê ngọt ngào có cánh của nhiều “mẹ mìn”. Tin vào viễn cảnh miền đất hứa, nhiều lao động Việt Nam đã bán tài sản hoặc thế chấp ngân hàng để có được một số tiền đủ mua vé du lịch sang Nga rồi ở lại bất hợp pháp trong cái thế của những nạn nhân bị lừa đảo.
Không ít người vỡ mộng khi vừa đặt chân đến Nga. Họ bị thu hộ chiếu, tống vào những khu nhà ổ chuột tối tăm hoặc ở những vùng khỉ ho cò gáy trên đất Nga với những lời doạ dẫm? Từ đây họ phải chấp nhận ở lại làm quần quật 12 đến 14 tiếng đồng hồ trong các khu nhà xưởng tạm bợ mong kiếm đồng rúp, mà có khi chẳng được thấy bao giờ? Bởi có xưởng trắng hợp pháp (như L.V ở Mátxcơva) áp dụng chế độ một loại tiền giấy “tem phiếu” thay vì giao tiền thật để mua bán giao dịch trong khu vực của xưởng này! Đúng là chuyện lạ giữa thời kỳ công nghệ. Có người sang Nga mấy năm mà chưa hề được đặt chân lên mặt đất, ra ngoài đường phố...
Các ông chủ keo kiệt thì cho ăn những loại thức ăn rẻ tiền, nhàm chán lặp đi lặp lại như điệp khúc. Có những ông bà chủ tử tế hơn thì thi thoảng cả năm tổ chức một đôi lần cho công nhân được dã ngoại ngoài rừng và thưởng thức món thịt nướng kiểu Nga.
Người lao động không hề tiếp cận với sách, vở, báo, đài, phim ảnh... bởi thì giờ đâu nữa mà xem? Ngoài những giờ làm việc mệt mỏi, công nhân chỉ ngong ngóng đến giờ nghỉ để đặt lưng.
Nước mắt cho ngày về?
Không thể phủ nhận rằng trong số những thợ may Việt trên đất Nga, một tỉ lệ nhỏ nhoi có số phận may mắn nhờ các ông, bà chủ có tâm. Họ có thể có cuộc sống tốt hơn và số tiền dành dụm được để gửi về gia đình ở VN cũng đều đặn hơn.
Số còn lại luôn thắc thỏm với cuộc sống hằng ngày, đối mặt với bao nguy hiểm khó khăn rập rình. Bệnh tật, ăn uống kham khổ, đói tinh thần, tiền lương khi có khi không, nếu vượt xưởng trốn ra ngoài bị bắt lại thì bị hành hạ đánh đập... Những xưởng may bị cháy trơ trụi vì thiếu điều kiện an toàn gây nên bao cái chết đau lòng hãy còn là bài học lớn.
Nhưng, cái đáng lo sợ nhất là việc bị nhà chức trách kiểm tra. Chủ nhân các xưởng may đen không có giấy tờ hợp pháp. Khi xảy ra sự cố là họ đã trốn biệt, mặc kệ cho đám công nhân không biết một nửa câu tiếng Nga sống chết mặc bay. Chưa kể có những ông bà chủ độc ác còn phủi tay với công nhân của mình khi báo cho nhà chức trách đến bắt họ (nhằm cao chạy xa bay khi thâu trọn tiền kiếm được hoặc là vì lộ cơ sở nên muốn đào thoát!).
Lúc ấy, các lao động sẽ lâm vào cảnh người bị trục xuất về nước, kẻ vào trại giam chờ ngày ra toà và nộp tiền mua vé về VN, hoặc may mắn hơn, nếu có đủ giấy tờ thì nộp tiền bảo lãnh để được ra trại làm việc tiếp...
Theo Võ Hoài Nam
Lao động
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
16/05 Heart attack likely killed N-worker
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A heart attack is believed to be the cause of death of a worker who collapsed on the job at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Saturday morning, hospital sources said.
A computed tomography and a blood test indicated the man, who was in his 60s, died of a cardiac infarction, the hospital told The Yomiuri Shimbun, adding it was unlikely that radiation had caused his death.
Meanwhile, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. explained at a press conference that no doctor was available at the plant when the man collapsed at about 6:50 a.m. after complaining of feeling ill. TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto said, "We'd like to take all possible measures to ensure our workers' good health in the coming summer."
TEPCO said it has assigned one doctor to the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant and four doctors to J Village, a base for workers' activities at nuclear power plants, to stand by around the clock. However, the utility has stationed one doctor for just six hours a day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant due to concern over the doctor's exposure to radiation.
(May. 16, 2011)
A heart attack is believed to be the cause of death of a worker who collapsed on the job at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Saturday morning, hospital sources said.
A computed tomography and a blood test indicated the man, who was in his 60s, died of a cardiac infarction, the hospital told The Yomiuri Shimbun, adding it was unlikely that radiation had caused his death.
Meanwhile, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. explained at a press conference that no doctor was available at the plant when the man collapsed at about 6:50 a.m. after complaining of feeling ill. TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto said, "We'd like to take all possible measures to ensure our workers' good health in the coming summer."
TEPCO said it has assigned one doctor to the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant and four doctors to J Village, a base for workers' activities at nuclear power plants, to stand by around the clock. However, the utility has stationed one doctor for just six hours a day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant due to concern over the doctor's exposure to radiation.
(May. 16, 2011)
18/05 原発作業員寮を建設…官邸側が強く要望して
官邸側の強い要望で東電が工程表に盛り込んだのが、収束作業に携わる作業員の環境改善だ。
労働条件が悪化する夏場に向け高い放射線量の中で働く作業員の健康を考慮し、宿泊、休憩施設の改善に重点が置かれた。
作業員が寝泊まりする「Ｊヴィレッジ」に１６００室の仮設の寮を建設して、７月以降利用できるようにするほか、発電所内に現在３か所ある休憩所を１０か所に増設させる。食事の充実も始めた。
これまでに外部被曝 (ひばく) が１００ミリ・シーベルト以上の作業員は３０人に上る。作業の長期化に伴う被曝の軽減対策として、高濃度の汚染水が流れる配管やホースを鉛でできたマットで覆うなどの遮蔽工事を進めるほか、放射線の遮蔽効果がより高い防護服を用意していくという。
（2011年5月18日10時10分 読売新聞）
労働条件が悪化する夏場に向け高い放射線量の中で働く作業員の健康を考慮し、宿泊、休憩施設の改善に重点が置かれた。
作業員が寝泊まりする「Ｊヴィレッジ」に１６００室の仮設の寮を建設して、７月以降利用できるようにするほか、発電所内に現在３か所ある休憩所を１０か所に増設させる。食事の充実も始めた。
これまでに外部被曝 (ひばく) が１００ミリ・シーベルト以上の作業員は３０人に上る。作業の長期化に伴う被曝の軽減対策として、高濃度の汚染水が流れる配管やホースを鉛でできたマットで覆うなどの遮蔽工事を進めるほか、放射線の遮蔽効果がより高い防護服を用意していくという。
（2011年5月18日10時10分 読売新聞）
18/05 原発で内部被曝検査、作業員の１割…不安広がる
東京電力福島第一原子力発電所で、放射性物質の吸引などで起きる「内部被曝 (ひばく) 」の検査を受けた作業員が、全体の１割にとどまっていることが分かった。
周囲の放射線が高い福島第一原発の検査装置が使えないためで、作業員の間には、「被曝線量の上限を超えても、知らずに働き続けることになりかねない」との不安が広がっている。政府は、１７日に公表した同原発事故の収束に向けた「工程表」で、作業員の被曝線量について、東電に定期的に報告させるなどの監視強化を打ち出した。
「通常値より２桁も多い。こんなのは初めてだ」。同原発の原子炉建屋近くで３月末から約１か月間、電源ケーブルの設置作業に携わった協力企業の２０代の男性作業員は５月上旬、福島県外で受けた内部被曝の検査結果にショックを受けた。内部被曝は「ホールボディーカウンター」と呼ばれる検査装置で測定する。普段の放射線量は数百～１０００ｃｐｍ（カウント毎分）だが、男性が告げられた数値は３万ｃｐｍを超えていた。
作業現場では当時、散乱したがれきから高い放射線量が計測されていた。通常、３時間ごとに交換するマスクは、管理会社から「汚染がなければ使っていい」と言われ、５、６時間使い続けた。食事は作業員らが寝泊まりしている免震重要棟でとったが、４月末には、「ここも汚染されている」と知らされた。男性は、「食事しているうちに内部被曝しているだろう」と不安を抱く。
（2011年5月18日03時05分 読売新聞）
周囲の放射線が高い福島第一原発の検査装置が使えないためで、作業員の間には、「被曝線量の上限を超えても、知らずに働き続けることになりかねない」との不安が広がっている。政府は、１７日に公表した同原発事故の収束に向けた「工程表」で、作業員の被曝線量について、東電に定期的に報告させるなどの監視強化を打ち出した。
「通常値より２桁も多い。こんなのは初めてだ」。同原発の原子炉建屋近くで３月末から約１か月間、電源ケーブルの設置作業に携わった協力企業の２０代の男性作業員は５月上旬、福島県外で受けた内部被曝の検査結果にショックを受けた。内部被曝は「ホールボディーカウンター」と呼ばれる検査装置で測定する。普段の放射線量は数百～１０００ｃｐｍ（カウント毎分）だが、男性が告げられた数値は３万ｃｐｍを超えていた。
作業現場では当時、散乱したがれきから高い放射線量が計測されていた。通常、３時間ごとに交換するマスクは、管理会社から「汚染がなければ使っていい」と言われ、５、６時間使い続けた。食事は作業員らが寝泊まりしている免震重要棟でとったが、４月末には、「ここも汚染されている」と知らされた。男性は、「食事しているうちに内部被曝しているだろう」と不安を抱く。
（2011年5月18日03時05分 読売新聞）
17/05 ２号機原子炉建屋で作業員、放射線量を測定へ
東京電力は１７日、福島第一原子力発電所２号機の原子炉建屋に同日午後にも、３月１５日の格納容器の爆発事故後初めて作業員が入り、放射線量の測定などを行うと発表した。
また、３号機タービン建屋の地階にたまる高濃度汚染水を集中廃棄物処理施設へ移送する作業も１７日午後に始めると発表した。
２号機については、４月１８日に原子炉建屋にロボットが入ったが、湿度が高くカメラのレンズが曇ったため、撮影ができなかった。その際に計測した放射線量は毎時４・１ミリ・シーベルトと、比較的低かった。今回、作業員が入るのは建屋１階で、作業の進め方を検討するため、被害状況などを調べる。
一方、３号機から集中廃棄物処理施設への移送は、２号機に続くもので、約２週間かけて４０００トンを移送する。６月からは汚染除去装置による浄化も始まる。３号機は、５月に入って原子炉の温度が上昇。東電は、注水ルートを二つに増やし、毎時計１８トンの水を注入している。炉心の温度は低下したが、タービン建屋地下の水位は上昇している。同建屋の汚染水は現在、推計約２万２０００トン。
（2011年5月17日14時00分 読売新聞）
また、３号機タービン建屋の地階にたまる高濃度汚染水を集中廃棄物処理施設へ移送する作業も１７日午後に始めると発表した。
２号機については、４月１８日に原子炉建屋にロボットが入ったが、湿度が高くカメラのレンズが曇ったため、撮影ができなかった。その際に計測した放射線量は毎時４・１ミリ・シーベルトと、比較的低かった。今回、作業員が入るのは建屋１階で、作業の進め方を検討するため、被害状況などを調べる。
一方、３号機から集中廃棄物処理施設への移送は、２号機に続くもので、約２週間かけて４０００トンを移送する。６月からは汚染除去装置による浄化も始まる。３号機は、５月に入って原子炉の温度が上昇。東電は、注水ルートを二つに増やし、毎時計１８トンの水を注入している。炉心の温度は低下したが、タービン建屋地下の水位は上昇している。同建屋の汚染水は現在、推計約２万２０００トン。
（2011年5月17日14時00分 読売新聞）
15/05 原発作業員男性の死亡、心筋梗塞が原因と発表
東京電力福島第一原子力発電所で作業中に意識不明となり、搬送先の病院で死亡した６０歳代の男性作業員について、東電は１５日、死因は心筋梗塞だったと発表した。
男性は、福島第一原発では１３日から作業を行っており、同日は３時間で被曝 (ひばく) 線量は０・５１ミリ・シーベルトだった。翌１４日は作業を始めて約５０分後に突然、体調不良を訴えて意識を失った。被曝線量は０・１７ミリ・シーベルトだった。
（2011年5月15日20時42分 読売新聞）
男性は、福島第一原発では１３日から作業を行っており、同日は３時間で被曝 (ひばく) 線量は０・５１ミリ・シーベルトだった。翌１４日は作業を始めて約５０分後に突然、体調不良を訴えて意識を失った。被曝線量は０・１７ミリ・シーベルトだった。
（2011年5月15日20時42分 読売新聞）
Sunday, May 15, 2011
15/05 作業員、心筋梗塞か…被曝影響考えにくいと病院
東京電力の福島第一原発で１４日朝、作業中に意識不明となり、搬送先の病院で死亡が確認された６０歳代の男性作業員の死因は、心筋梗塞の可能性が高いことが病院への取材で分かった。
病院によると、コンピューター断層撮影法（ＣＴ）による検査や血液検査などを実施したところ、心筋梗塞を疑わせる反応があったという。病院は、「放射線被曝 (ひばく) の影響は考えにくい」としている。
一方、東電は同日、記者会見で、男性が体調不良を訴えて倒れた午前６時５０分頃、同原発内に医師が不在だったことを明らかにし、松本純一・原子力立地本部長代理は「今後は暑くなるので、作業員の体調管理も万全を期したい」と語った。
東電によると、医師については、福島第二原発に１人、作業員の活動拠点「Ｊヴィレッジ」に４人を、それぞれ２４時間体制で配置しているが、福島第一原発には、医師の被曝が懸念されることから、１人を午前１０時～午後４時の６時間配置するだけだったという。搬送された病院は約４０キロ離れていた。
（2011年5月15日03時04分 読売新聞）
病院によると、コンピューター断層撮影法（ＣＴ）による検査や血液検査などを実施したところ、心筋梗塞を疑わせる反応があったという。病院は、「放射線被曝 (ひばく) の影響は考えにくい」としている。
一方、東電は同日、記者会見で、男性が体調不良を訴えて倒れた午前６時５０分頃、同原発内に医師が不在だったことを明らかにし、松本純一・原子力立地本部長代理は「今後は暑くなるので、作業員の体調管理も万全を期したい」と語った。
東電によると、医師については、福島第二原発に１人、作業員の活動拠点「Ｊヴィレッジ」に４人を、それぞれ２４時間体制で配置しているが、福島第一原発には、医師の被曝が懸念されることから、１人を午前１０時～午後４時の６時間配置するだけだったという。搬送された病院は約４０キロ離れていた。
（2011年5月15日03時04分 読売新聞）
14/05 原発作業員、汗だく防護服で３時間・水飲めず
福島第一原子力発電所で事故後、作業中に初めて死者が出た。
１４日に亡くなった６０歳代の協力企業の男性の死因は、わかっていないものの、放射線量を気にしながらの防護服での作業は、身体的、精神的な負担も大きく、作業員に不安が広がっている。
「いくら安全と説明されても、怖いものは怖い。目の前の原発が爆発するかもしれない」。先月上旬から汚染水をためる大型タンクを作っている３０歳代の作業員男性は、不安を隠さない。
作業時間は１日３時間だが、防護服は蒸し暑く、作業後、全身が汗だくになる。作業中に線量計の警報音が鳴っても３時間はきっちり働かされ、「ストレスで寝付きが悪くなった」。
３月下旬から約１か月間、同原発で作業に当たった２０歳代の男性作業員は「防護服での作業は飲み食いできない上、トイレにもいけない。夏までには何か対策を考えないと作業にならない」と語った。
（2011年5月14日14時55分 読売新聞）
14/05 福島第一原発作業員が体調不良、病院で死亡
東京電力の福島第一原子力発電所で１４日午前６時５０分頃、機材の搬送をしていた東電の協力企業の６０歳代の男性作業員が意識不明となり、福島県いわき市内の病院に運ばれたが、午前９時３３分に死亡した。
同原発の復旧作業中に作業員が死亡したのは初めて。東電で死因などを確認している。
東電によると、男性は午前６時頃から、高濃度汚染水が移送されている集中廃棄物処理施設内の４つある建物の一つで、同僚男性と電動ノコギリを２階から１階に搬送している最中に体調不良を訴えた。同原発内の医務室に運ばれ、作業員の活動拠点「Ｊヴィレッジ」で医師の診察を受けた後、午前８時３５分頃、病院に搬送された。男性のいた建物地下２階に汚染水が貯蔵されていたが、男性は防護服を着ており、
（2011年5月14日13時19分 読売新聞）
Friday, May 6, 2011
06/05 １号機の作業員、最大３・１６ミリ・シーベルト
東京電力は６日午前の記者会見で、５日に事故後初めて福島第一原子力発電所１号機の原子炉建屋に入った作業員の被曝 (ひばく) 線量について、最大で３・１６ミリ・シーベルトだったことを明らかにした。
東電は当初、予想される作業員の被曝線量は３ミリ・シーベルトとしていた。
（2011年5月6日11時27分 読売新聞）
東電は当初、予想される作業員の被曝線量は３ミリ・シーベルトとしていた。
（2011年5月6日11時27分 読売新聞）
Sunday, May 1, 2011
30/04 被ばく許容限度近い作業員続出、作業遅れ懸念
東京電力は３０日、福島第一原子力発電所で作業にあたった２人の被曝 (ひばく) 線量が、３月末の時点で２００ミリ・シーベルトを超えていたと発表した。
このうち１人は２４０・８ミリ・シーベルトに達し、緊急措置として国が引き上げた線量限度の２５０ミリ・シーベルトに近い放射線を浴びていた。東電は、外部被曝が１５０ミリ・シーベルトを超えた作業員を現場から外す措置を４月中旬からとっており、高線量を浴びた作業員が次々に撤退することで、収束に向けた作業に遅れが出る恐れもある。
東電は、放射線を体外から浴びる「外部被曝」が先月末までに１００ミリ・シーベルトを超えた２１人（社員１８人、協力会社作業員３人）について、放射性物質の吸引などによる「内部被曝」の線量を測定した。その結果、両方の被曝を合わせて２００ミリ・シーベルト以上が２人、１５０～２００ミリ・シーベルトが８人、１５０ミリ・シーベルト未満が１１人だった。２１人のうち７人は外部被曝が１５０ミリ・シーベルトを超えたため、現場の作業からすでに外れている。
（2011年4月30日13時03分 読売新聞）
このうち１人は２４０・８ミリ・シーベルトに達し、緊急措置として国が引き上げた線量限度の２５０ミリ・シーベルトに近い放射線を浴びていた。東電は、外部被曝が１５０ミリ・シーベルトを超えた作業員を現場から外す措置を４月中旬からとっており、高線量を浴びた作業員が次々に撤退することで、収束に向けた作業に遅れが出る恐れもある。
東電は、放射線を体外から浴びる「外部被曝」が先月末までに１００ミリ・シーベルトを超えた２１人（社員１８人、協力会社作業員３人）について、放射性物質の吸引などによる「内部被曝」の線量を測定した。その結果、両方の被曝を合わせて２００ミリ・シーベルト以上が２人、１５０～２００ミリ・シーベルトが８人、１５０ミリ・シーベルト未満が１１人だった。２１人のうち７人は外部被曝が１５０ミリ・シーベルトを超えたため、現場の作業からすでに外れている。
（2011年4月30日13時03分 読売新聞）
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
19/04 原発作業の恐怖「まるで宇宙空間」 スリーマイル経験者
収束の兆しが見えない福島第一原発事故。米国で最悪といわれる１９７９年のスリーマイル島原発事故をくぐり抜けた電力会社の作業員や住民にとっては、決してひとごとではない。３２年前を振り返りながら、懸命に作業を続ける福島の人たちにエールを送る。
「福島の作業員は、現代のサムライだ。彼らは、自らの寿命が縮まる恐怖を抱きながら、作業をしているはずだ」。米東部ペンシルベニア州のサスケハナ川の中州にあるスリーマイル島原発から車で２時間の自宅で、リチャード・レッシュさん（７３）は「サムライ」という言葉を繰り返した。
レッシュさんは当時、原発を運営していた電力会社の送電部門の作業員だった。原発の知識は全くなかったが、１週間の研修を受け、事故から約２カ月後の５月から原発施設の放射性物質の除去作業に入った。志願に基づいていたため、「給料は全然、変わらなかった」。年齢制限や家族構成などの条件もなかったという。
放射能から身を守る防護服での作業は、困難を極めた。あらゆるつなぎ目をテープで保護するため、装着するのに４０分ぐらいかかる。２０キロ近い氷を入れたベストを付けたこともある。特殊なマスクでは、普通の８割ぐらいしか息ができない。視野も狭く、同僚作業員との会話もできない。
そして、薄い防護服の外は見えない放射能で充満しているという恐怖が常につきまとい、自分の心臓の音が聞こえたように感じた。「まるで宇宙空間での作業だった」。嘔吐（おうと）して窒息しそうになったり、閉所恐怖症でパニックになったりした同僚もいた。「なんで俺はこんなことをしてるんだ」と何度も思った。
被曝（ひばく）量を抑えるため、１回当たりの作業は最長でも３０分程度に制限された。ただ、４週間作業して４週間休むというシフトが約２年間、続いたものの、どれだけ被曝したのか、会社から聞いたこともないし、その後の健康被害の調査も受けたことがない。「今さら、考えても仕方がない」
幸い、いまのところ体に異変はないという。しかし、「我々の場合は、放射能で汚染された場所が限られていたが、福島は範囲が広いように見える。彼らの方が恐怖心は大きいはずだし、身体に影響が出るのではないか」と心配する。
スリーマイル近くの住民も「福島」の行く末が心配でならない。２５キロ離れた州都ハリスバーグで、市民団体のエリック・エプスタインさん（５１）は、毎日、原発周辺の放射能を監視する。「スリーマイル、チェルノブイリ、そして福島に共通するのは、政府や電力会社からの情報は頼りにできないということだ。ここで再び事故があるとは思いたくないが、自ら、情報を入手する手段は持っておきたい」と話していた。
スリーマイルはいまも稼働する。近くの対岸を訪れると、蒸気をはき出す二つの巨大な冷却塔の隣に、下部の鉄骨がむき出しになったままの冷却塔が二つ並んでいるのが見える。（米ペンシルベニア州ミドルタウン＝田中光）
◇
〈スリーマイル島原発事故〉１９７９年、ポンプ故障などで冷却水が失われ、炉心が溶融。８キロ以内の幼児と妊婦に避難、１６キロ以内に屋内退避が勧告され、１週間余り後に解除された。放射性ヨウ素の放出は限定的で、住民の推定被曝量は健康影響が無視できる程度とされたが、炉心に相当の損傷があったため「レベル５」（施設外へのリスクを伴う事故）と認定された。
19/04 Heat stroke adds to TEPCO workers' woes
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Heat stroke is posing yet another threat to workers dealing with already hazardous working conditions at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant.
Some workers have suffered heat stroke while working in heavy protective suits in radioactive areas with no air conditioning.
As a countermeasure, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is considering setting up air-conditioned prefabricated buildings as makeshift rest stations for workers.
According to the Fukushima Local Meteorological Observatory, the highest temperature in areas around the nuclear power plant complex in April was 22.5 C on Saturday. Weather data were missing for several days in April due to communication problems.
On March 11, the day the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan, the temperature near the nuclear power plant was 9.3 C, meaning temperature rose more than 13 C.
Workers in charge of checking power supply and clearing debris inside and around turbine buildings wear protective suits and full-face masks.
Because they are not allowed to take off the masks during work, they cannot even drink water. Temperatures inside the suits rise sharply after only 30 minutes of exertion. Most of the air-conditioning system at the plant was made unusable by the tsunami. Only one structure at the plant is air-conditioned, a quake-resistant building where about 250 workers stay at night.
On Friday, a 20-year-old worker suffered heat stroke and went to see a doctor. Later, TEPCO began discussing setting up prefabs in places where radiation levels are low. The company plans to spray a chemical agent on the ground around the prefabs to prevent radioactive substances from being stirred up.
(Apr. 19, 2011)
Heat stroke is posing yet another threat to workers dealing with already hazardous working conditions at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant.
Some workers have suffered heat stroke while working in heavy protective suits in radioactive areas with no air conditioning.
As a countermeasure, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is considering setting up air-conditioned prefabricated buildings as makeshift rest stations for workers.
According to the Fukushima Local Meteorological Observatory, the highest temperature in areas around the nuclear power plant complex in April was 22.5 C on Saturday. Weather data were missing for several days in April due to communication problems.
On March 11, the day the massive earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan, the temperature near the nuclear power plant was 9.3 C, meaning temperature rose more than 13 C.
Workers in charge of checking power supply and clearing debris inside and around turbine buildings wear protective suits and full-face masks.
Because they are not allowed to take off the masks during work, they cannot even drink water. Temperatures inside the suits rise sharply after only 30 minutes of exertion. Most of the air-conditioning system at the plant was made unusable by the tsunami. Only one structure at the plant is air-conditioned, a quake-resistant building where about 250 workers stay at night.
On Friday, a 20-year-old worker suffered heat stroke and went to see a doctor. Later, TEPCO began discussing setting up prefabs in places where radiation levels are low. The company plans to spray a chemical agent on the ground around the prefabs to prevent radioactive substances from being stirred up.
(Apr. 19, 2011)
Monday, April 18, 2011
18/04 １・３号機で高放射能、保安院「内部作業困難」
１号機は毎時１０～４９ミリ・シーベルト、３号機は同２８～５７ミリ・シーベルトと高い値で、西山英彦審議官は「作業員が立ち入って工事をするのはこのままでは難しく、何らかの方法で放射線量を下げたり遮蔽したりすることが必要だ」と述べた。保安院によると、１、３号機の原子炉建屋内で放射線量などの環境を調査したのは東日本大震災後に水素爆発を起こしてから初めて。
３号機の調査は、１７日午前１１時半～午後２時に行った。温度は１９～２２度、湿度は３２～３５％、酸素の濃度は２１％だった。同日午後４時～５時３０分に行った１号機の調査では、温度は２８～２９度、湿度は４９～５６％、酸素濃度は２１％だった。ロボットが撮影した３号機の建屋内部には多量のがれきが映っており、ロボットの前進も困難だったという。
（2011年4月18日13時52分 読売新聞）
Sunday, April 17, 2011
17/04 Exhibit chronicles lives of workers at Chernobyl
This Feb. 24, 2009 photo provided by photographer Michael Forster Rothbart, shows workers at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine checking their hands and feet for radioactive contamination one last time at the end of the day, before boarding the train home. The photo will be part of an exhibit at New York’s Ukrainian Museum that opens Sunday, April 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Forster Rothbart)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Families walk their children to school. Teenage girls smile backstage before a concert. Couples work out at a gym not far from villages where subsistence farmers draw well water and raise crops.
Welcome to the present-day Chernobyl region.
A quarter-century before a tsunami triggered a nuclear crisis in Japan, the world's attention was riveted by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant as it spewed radioactive material across much of the Northern Hemisphere. A generation later, thousands of people live in the region -- and even still work at the disabled plant.
Freelance photojournalist Michael Forster Rothbart wanted to understand why anyone would choose to stay in the radioactive area, so he went to Ukraine on a Fulbright Scholarship in 2007 and for two years lived 16 kilometers south of the Chernobyl "exclusion zone." He got to know the people whose lives changed on April 26, 1986, when the No. 4 reactor blew up 100 kilometers from Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
His "Inside Chornobyl" exhibit, a photographic collage that focuses on five families who work in the Chernobyl zone, opens Sunday at the Ukrainian Museum in New York. A parallel exhibition of his work, "After Chornobyl," opens at the Ukrainian Institute of America on Tuesday.
Both run until May 8.
"People told me 'I'd rather die here than live anywhere else,'" he said of the 3,800 people who work at the plant, many of whom live in Slavutych, 50 kilometers to the east.
"In this country we're so mobile that it's hard for us to conceive that people have such deep ties to the land and community that they would stay in the face of such adversity," he said. Some stay for lack of alternative or a sense of duty, others because they have decent jobs or simply because it's home, Forster Rothbart said.
Chernobyl workers make about $500 a month, about twice the country's average monthly wage.
Many of Forster Rothbart's images belie the enormity of the 25-year-old catastrophe. The explosion released about 400 times more radiation than the U.S. atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima. Thousands of children developed thyroid cancer, and other possible health problems are still being documented. But how many people died is still debated. Several international agencies say 50, and others predict radiation-related deaths will eventually climb into the thousands.
The plant stopped making electricity in 2000, but nuclear fuel remains on site. The Chernobyl plant lies within the exclusion zone, where workers live for two weeks at a time because of high contamination.
The zone also is home to some 400 elderly people who returned to their ancestral homes despite the government's warnings to stay out.
For "Inside Chornobyl," which uses the Ukrainian spelling, Forster Rothbart focused mainly on those who commute daily by train from Slavutych. It's a city of 25,000 people built after the accident for displaced workers from Pripyat, which was abandoned after the explosion and is now an eerie ghost town 1.6 kilometers from the plant.
Some are involved in a project to build an enormous cover for the reactor building intended to block fallout from escaping when the reactor is disassembled sometime in the future.
Forster Rothbart said his goal was to go beyond the "sensationalist approach" that showed the suffering but obscured the complexity of how displaced communities adapt and survive.
"I sought to create more nuanced portraits of these communities. Their suffering, of course, but also their joy, beauty, endurance and hope," he said.
People expect the Chernobyl zone "to look like a bombed out crater," he said, but a walk along the Pripyat River is like any scenic area of Ukraine.
The difference is that the radiation -- invisible to the eye -- "is all around you," he said.
His photo montage is combined with text mounted on large vinyl banners. Among the most chilling images is that of two dolls lying on a shattered kindergarten windowsill in Pripyat. A caption quotes the school's former director: "I only went back once. I couldn't stop crying."
Another is that of the plant's burned out fourth-block control room, where a combination of design flaws and human error triggered the accident. Another photo shows three workers checking their hands and feet for radioactive contamination before heading home.
The exhibition juxtaposes images of people's working and private lives. It shows Oksana Rozmarisa operating machines that measure radiation levels in the plant and her husband, Leonid, as a shift supervisor there. The photos also portray the couple's passion for bodybuilding. In one image, Leonid holds up his wife in one arm and his son in the other.
In other photos, engineer Tanya Bokova poses at the plant's decommissioning office and at home with her husband. Their smiling faces make clear the Chernobyl disaster does not overshadow their lives.
"I feel happy because I have a family, a beloved husband, parents together. I have a good job, which I go to with delight," she is quoted as saying in a photo caption.
As for Forster Rothbart, he said, "The story seemed important enough that I was willing to undertake some risk."
"In this country, every day people die in car crashes. We're used to it and so we don't even think about it. The same is true in Chernobyl.
Radiation is just part of living there," he said. "Everyone in Slavutych knows someone who has cancer or who died of cancer. It's sort of a veil of normality over this very troubling background."
He said it was impossible not to draw parallels between the Chernobyl accident and Japan's crippled nuclear plant.
"They'll be forming a similar exclusion zone 25 years from now; they'll still be dealing with the consequences just like the people in Chernobyl are today," he said.
The exhibit is presented jointly by the museum and the Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund.
Forster Rothbart, 39, lives in Oneonta, New York. He has done freelance work for The Associated Press and other media outlets. Among his other projects is "Fracking Pennsylvania," which explores the effects of natural gas drilling on rural communities.
(Mainichi Japan) April 17, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
15/04 派遣隊員死亡、２人目…救援活動との関係調査
防衛省は１５日、東日本大震災の救援活動で派遣されていた陸上自衛隊第９施設大隊（青森県八戸市）に所属する４０歳代の男性１等陸曹が脳出血で死亡したと発表した。
今回の震災で派遣隊員が死亡したのは２人目。同省で活動と死亡の因果関係について調べている。
同省によると、１曹は震災が起きた３月１１日から岩手県遠野市に派遣され、市内の公園に設けた同大隊の指揮所で、重機の運用を調整する任務に就いていた。４月１０日深夜、公園内の宿営用テントで意識不明の状態で倒れているところを発見され、市内の病院に運ばれたが、１５日未明に死亡が確認された。
自衛隊では、１日に５０歳代の男性陸曹長が脳出血で死亡している。１曹は６日に医官の問診を受けた際には、「異常はない」と回答していた。同省によると、１曹は４月１０日までの間に計９日間の休みを取っていた。
（2011年4月15日19時21分 読売新聞）
今回の震災で派遣隊員が死亡したのは２人目。同省で活動と死亡の因果関係について調べている。
同省によると、１曹は震災が起きた３月１１日から岩手県遠野市に派遣され、市内の公園に設けた同大隊の指揮所で、重機の運用を調整する任務に就いていた。４月１０日深夜、公園内の宿営用テントで意識不明の状態で倒れているところを発見され、市内の病院に運ばれたが、１５日未明に死亡が確認された。
自衛隊では、１日に５０歳代の男性陸曹長が脳出血で死亡している。１曹は６日に医官の問診を受けた際には、「異常はない」と回答していた。同省によると、１曹は４月１０日までの間に計９日間の休みを取っていた。
（2011年4月15日19時21分 読売新聞）
15/04 TEPCO 'solution' caused problems of its own
The Yomiuri Shimbun
This is the fourth installment in a series focusing on delays in implementing emergency steps by the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. to deal with the unprecedented nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Pumping water into nuclear reactors and storage pools for spent fuel rods at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant was an indispensable move. If the reactors were not kept cool and the pools full, an even worse disaster could have occurred at the stricken nuclear facility. But the action was not without consequences.
Since March 12--the day after the plant was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami--about 30,000 tons of water have been sprayed into the reactors by Self-Defense Forces, police and other workers.
The disaster damaged some reactors' pressure and containment vessels, causing leaks of radioactive water that were detected in turbine building basements and maintenance tunnels outside the area restricted due to radiation. The contaminated water posed a major hindrance to efforts to restore electricity to the reactors.
Ironically, the water that was so essential to cool the reactors turned out to be the biggest obstacle to repairing them, a development no one in the government anticipated.
===
Workers exposed
When three workers descended into the basement of the turbine building for the No. 3 reactor at 10:30 a.m. on March 24, they found a 15-centimeter-deep puddle that had not been there the night before. Just beyond the puddle were water-supply pumps plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. desperately wanted to get running. The workers were there to connect the pumps to outside power cables.
The three workers set about their urgent task, sometimes standing ankle-deep in the puddle. Two of them had their legs exposed to radiation, which measured as high as 400 millisieverts per hour on the water's surface.
Other pools of contaminated water were found in the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 reactors. The most problematic was water in the No. 2 reactor building that measured more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour. "I can barely stand to look at that figure," Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said at a news conference.
When water pouring operations were in full swing on March 15, two section chiefs from TEPCO's nuclear facilities administration department held a press conference.
When Teruaki Kobayashi was asked what would happen to the water being sprayed by fire engines and helicopters. He said it would "stay in the reactor building because it's designed to prevent leaks." His colleague Hikaru Kuroda told reporters, "The water being poured into the reactors will evaporate in due course."
TEPCO officials thought they could end the water pouring operations if the cooling system could be repaired. The most important thing, they felt, was cooling the reactor cores. Pouring water on the reactors was therefore only a stopgap measure and they never considered what would happen if the water used became highly radioactive and leaked to other parts of the plant.
===
A dire turn of events
Things got much worse on the morning of April 2 when a TEPCO employee who was installing a camera to monitor contaminated water near the No. 2 reactor's water intake saw liquid gushing out from a crack in the side of a concrete shaft into the sea. The worker attempted to measure the radiation level of the water but his dosimeter maxed out. It was over 1,000 millisieverts per hour.
It was estimated that 60,000 tons of contaminated water had accumulated in the reactors, an amount that was considered too huge to be dealt with by simply moving it to storage.
The government and TEPCO were eventually forced to release water contaminated with low-level radiation into the sea from the plant's waste disposal facilities. The discharge began on the night of April 4. In an action that is believed to have never been taken before on Earth, radioactive water was released from a tank into the sea to make space available to store water contaminated with higher levels of radioactivity.
The previous day, a Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker close to Prime Minister Naoto Kan reportedly told TEPCO officials to "deal with the crises in order of priority." The lawmaker asked the utility to consider releasing the mildly radioactive water into the sea.
During an April 6 session of the House of Representatives Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry, former and current executives of the Nuclear Safety Commission testified that the loss of power at the plant caused nuclear fuel rods to be damaged.
(Apr. 15, 2011)
This is the fourth installment in a series focusing on delays in implementing emergency steps by the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. to deal with the unprecedented nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Pumping water into nuclear reactors and storage pools for spent fuel rods at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant was an indispensable move. If the reactors were not kept cool and the pools full, an even worse disaster could have occurred at the stricken nuclear facility. But the action was not without consequences.
Since March 12--the day after the plant was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami--about 30,000 tons of water have been sprayed into the reactors by Self-Defense Forces, police and other workers.
The disaster damaged some reactors' pressure and containment vessels, causing leaks of radioactive water that were detected in turbine building basements and maintenance tunnels outside the area restricted due to radiation. The contaminated water posed a major hindrance to efforts to restore electricity to the reactors.
Ironically, the water that was so essential to cool the reactors turned out to be the biggest obstacle to repairing them, a development no one in the government anticipated.
===
Workers exposed
When three workers descended into the basement of the turbine building for the No. 3 reactor at 10:30 a.m. on March 24, they found a 15-centimeter-deep puddle that had not been there the night before. Just beyond the puddle were water-supply pumps plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. desperately wanted to get running. The workers were there to connect the pumps to outside power cables.
The three workers set about their urgent task, sometimes standing ankle-deep in the puddle. Two of them had their legs exposed to radiation, which measured as high as 400 millisieverts per hour on the water's surface.
Other pools of contaminated water were found in the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 reactors. The most problematic was water in the No. 2 reactor building that measured more than 1,000 millisieverts per hour. "I can barely stand to look at that figure," Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said at a news conference.
When water pouring operations were in full swing on March 15, two section chiefs from TEPCO's nuclear facilities administration department held a press conference.
When Teruaki Kobayashi was asked what would happen to the water being sprayed by fire engines and helicopters. He said it would "stay in the reactor building because it's designed to prevent leaks." His colleague Hikaru Kuroda told reporters, "The water being poured into the reactors will evaporate in due course."
TEPCO officials thought they could end the water pouring operations if the cooling system could be repaired. The most important thing, they felt, was cooling the reactor cores. Pouring water on the reactors was therefore only a stopgap measure and they never considered what would happen if the water used became highly radioactive and leaked to other parts of the plant.
===
A dire turn of events
Things got much worse on the morning of April 2 when a TEPCO employee who was installing a camera to monitor contaminated water near the No. 2 reactor's water intake saw liquid gushing out from a crack in the side of a concrete shaft into the sea. The worker attempted to measure the radiation level of the water but his dosimeter maxed out. It was over 1,000 millisieverts per hour.
It was estimated that 60,000 tons of contaminated water had accumulated in the reactors, an amount that was considered too huge to be dealt with by simply moving it to storage.
The government and TEPCO were eventually forced to release water contaminated with low-level radiation into the sea from the plant's waste disposal facilities. The discharge began on the night of April 4. In an action that is believed to have never been taken before on Earth, radioactive water was released from a tank into the sea to make space available to store water contaminated with higher levels of radioactivity.
The previous day, a Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker close to Prime Minister Naoto Kan reportedly told TEPCO officials to "deal with the crises in order of priority." The lawmaker asked the utility to consider releasing the mildly radioactive water into the sea.
During an April 6 session of the House of Representatives Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry, former and current executives of the Nuclear Safety Commission testified that the loss of power at the plant caused nuclear fuel rods to be damaged.
(Apr. 15, 2011)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
14/04 Aftershocks delay work to restore cooling mechanism at Fukushima plant
2011/04/14
The interior of the No. 4 reactor building. Image was taken on March 24 using a camera mounted on a crane. (Provided by Tokyo Electric Power Co.)
The interior of the No. 4 reactor building. Image was taken on March 24 using a camera mounted on a crane. (Provided by Tokyo Electric Power Co.)Strong aftershocks have added another layer of problems for workers trying to stabilize the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and forced a shift in the plant operator's emergency power setup.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers were checking to see if the recent aftershocks damaged pipes or cracked the walls and floors in areas containing water contaminated with high levels of radiation, including the central waste processing facility.
But the main concern is if the aftershocks will sever power to pumps used to cool the reactor cores until the proper cooling system is restored.
"Any cutoff of the cooling mechanism is an extremely dangerous development," TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto acknowledged.
That situation occurred Monday, after a magnitude-7.0 aftershock struck at 5:16 p.m. A tsunami warning was issued, prompting the 300 or so workers at the Fukushima No. 1 plant to evacuate to higher ground.
The evacuation order suspended work to remove highly contaminated water from a trench extending from the No. 2 reactor as well as the injection of nitrogen into the No. 1 reactor core to prevent a hydrogen explosion.
The aftershock also temporarily cut off outside power sources, which halted operations to pump cooling water into the most vulnerable No. 1 to No. 3 reactors.
The Fukushima No. 1 plant had been receiving outside power from Tohoku Electric Power Co. through three different transmission lines. Two lines that supplied power to the No. 3 to No. 6 reactors were not damaged, but the third line for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors stopped providing electricity from the Tohoku Electric substation.
The water-pumping mechanism for the reactor cores was down for about 50 minutes before power was restored from the substation around 6 p.m.
If the outside power source could not be restored, plans called for connecting generator cars to provide electricity to the pumps. If that source was also inoperable, TEPCO workers would have had to resort to using pumps from firefighting vehicles to cool the reactor cores, much like what was done soon after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
The problem Monday was that the generator cars and firefighting vehicles had been parked near the ocean so that they could be used at anytime. But the tsunami warning prevented workers from approaching those vehicles.
Sources said TEPCO workers were likely focused on restoring the outside power source, which may have lessened their awareness of the availability of the generator and firefighting vehicles.
TEPCO sources said the generator cars would be moved to higher ground so that they could be used immediately if the outside power source was lost again.
Aftershocks continued Tuesday, further delaying work to remove contaminated water from the trench at the No. 2 reactor. A plan to collect water samples from the storage pool containing spent fuel rods at the No. 4 reactor was also delayed until Tuesday.
A TEPCO source said it would take several months to achieve a cold shutdown of all three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant. The cold shutdown stage is reached when core temperatures are kept under 100 degrees.
"While we are making every effort to bring the situation under control, we are not at a stage where we can present a time frame," Matsumoto said.
The aftershocks have also led to additional work in the removal of contaminated water from the turbine buildings next to the reactor buildings.
Officials of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency asked TEPCO to confirm that the condensers in the turbine buildings being considered as the location to store the contaminated water can withstand aftershocks even when full of water.
(This article was written by Masanobu Higashiyama and Hidenori Tsuboya.)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers were checking to see if the recent aftershocks damaged pipes or cracked the walls and floors in areas containing water contaminated with high levels of radiation, including the central waste processing facility.
But the main concern is if the aftershocks will sever power to pumps used to cool the reactor cores until the proper cooling system is restored.
"Any cutoff of the cooling mechanism is an extremely dangerous development," TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto acknowledged.
That situation occurred Monday, after a magnitude-7.0 aftershock struck at 5:16 p.m. A tsunami warning was issued, prompting the 300 or so workers at the Fukushima No. 1 plant to evacuate to higher ground.
The evacuation order suspended work to remove highly contaminated water from a trench extending from the No. 2 reactor as well as the injection of nitrogen into the No. 1 reactor core to prevent a hydrogen explosion.
The aftershock also temporarily cut off outside power sources, which halted operations to pump cooling water into the most vulnerable No. 1 to No. 3 reactors.
The Fukushima No. 1 plant had been receiving outside power from Tohoku Electric Power Co. through three different transmission lines. Two lines that supplied power to the No. 3 to No. 6 reactors were not damaged, but the third line for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors stopped providing electricity from the Tohoku Electric substation.
The water-pumping mechanism for the reactor cores was down for about 50 minutes before power was restored from the substation around 6 p.m.
If the outside power source could not be restored, plans called for connecting generator cars to provide electricity to the pumps. If that source was also inoperable, TEPCO workers would have had to resort to using pumps from firefighting vehicles to cool the reactor cores, much like what was done soon after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
The problem Monday was that the generator cars and firefighting vehicles had been parked near the ocean so that they could be used at anytime. But the tsunami warning prevented workers from approaching those vehicles.
Sources said TEPCO workers were likely focused on restoring the outside power source, which may have lessened their awareness of the availability of the generator and firefighting vehicles.
TEPCO sources said the generator cars would be moved to higher ground so that they could be used immediately if the outside power source was lost again.
Aftershocks continued Tuesday, further delaying work to remove contaminated water from the trench at the No. 2 reactor. A plan to collect water samples from the storage pool containing spent fuel rods at the No. 4 reactor was also delayed until Tuesday.
A TEPCO source said it would take several months to achieve a cold shutdown of all three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant. The cold shutdown stage is reached when core temperatures are kept under 100 degrees.
"While we are making every effort to bring the situation under control, we are not at a stage where we can present a time frame," Matsumoto said.
The aftershocks have also led to additional work in the removal of contaminated water from the turbine buildings next to the reactor buildings.
Officials of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency asked TEPCO to confirm that the condensers in the turbine buildings being considered as the location to store the contaminated water can withstand aftershocks even when full of water.
(This article was written by Masanobu Higashiyama and Hidenori Tsuboya.)
Monday, April 11, 2011
01/04 Những chiến sĩ cảm tử Fukushima sắp “hy sinh”?
01/04/2011 | 10:36:00
Những công nhân bị bỏng phóng xạ tại nhà máy Fukushima số 1 được đưa lên xe cứu thương hôm 24/3 (Nguồn: AP).
CÁC TIN LIÊN QUAN
Thủ tướng Nhật Bản N.Kan thị sát vùng thiên tai
Thủ tướng Kan cho biết chính phủ đang cân nhắc các hạng mục cơ sở hạ tầng ưu tiên trong chương trình tái thiết vùng thiên tai.
Quan chức Nhật đầu tiên tới nhà máy Fukushima
Bộ trưởng Kinh tế, Thương mại và Công nghiệp Kaieda tới thăm các công nhân đang bám trụ tại Nhà máy điện hạt nhân Fukushima số 1.
Thủ tướng Nhật Bản N.Kan thị sát vùng thiên taiThủ tướng Kan cho biết chính phủ đang cân nhắc các hạng mục cơ sở hạ tầng ưu tiên trong chương trình tái thiết vùng thiên tai.
Quan chức Nhật đầu tiên tới nhà máy FukushimaBộ trưởng Kinh tế, Thương mại và Công nghiệp Kaieda tới thăm các công nhân đang bám trụ tại Nhà máy điện hạt nhân Fukushima số 1.
Những nỗ lực phục hồi nhà máy điện hạt nhân Fukushima số 1 tại Nhật Bản đang ngày càng trở nên vô vọng khi nước này đang có ý định tiêu hủy cả nhà máy. Và số phận của những công nhân bám trụ tại nhà máy, được cả thế giới ngưỡng mộ với tên gọi “Fukushima 50”, “Những chú lính chì” hay “Samurai thời hiện đại”, cũng đang trở nên mong manh hơn bao giờ hết.
Phát biểu trên kênh Fox News của Mỹ, mẹ của một trong những công nhân đang làm việc tại nhà máy đã nói rằng con trai của bà đã sẵn sàng cho tâm lý chờ đợi sẽ chết vì các bệnh phóng xạ.
Nói trong nước mắt qua một người phiên dịch trên điện thoại, bà mẹ của một công nhân 32 tuổi nói: “Con trai tôi và các đồng nghiệp của nó đã trao đổi kỹ chuyện này và họ đều sẵn sàng chết để cứu đất nước. Nó nói họ chấp nhận có thể chết vì các chứng bệnh phóng xạ trong ngắn hạn, hoặc ung thư về lâu dài”.
Bà mẹ tội nghiệp nói với Fox News nhưng không tiết lộ danh tính vì những nhân viên trong nhà máy được yêu cầu không nói chuyện với truyền thông cũng như về các thành viên trong gia đình, để không làm công chúng hoảng loạn. Bà mẹ không phải là một chuyên gia phóng xạ và không biết con trai giờ ra sao, nhưng bà nói: “Họ đều biết điều không thể tránh khỏi là một số người sẽ thiệt mạng trong vài tuần nữa”.
Đơn vị vận hành nhà máy, Công ty điện lực Tokyo (TEPCO), nói các nhân viên y tế xét nghiệm thường xuyên những công nhân trong nhà máy để phát hiện các bênh do nhiễm xạ. Cho đến giờ, ngoài ba công nhân tiếp xúc trực tiếp với nước nhiễm xạ đang được điều trị, không có thêm thông tin nào về những thành viên nhóm Fukushima 50 bị bệnh vì phóng xạ. Trong ba người đã nhập viện, hai người bị bỏng phóng xạ ở chân và mắt cá cũng như đã hít phải phóng xạ, nhưng họ đã được ra viện và vẫn được kiểm tra y tế thường xuyên, theo TEPCO.
Ngoài những công nhân làm việc trực tiếp, điều kiện sống của hàng trăm người vẫn còn ở lại khu vực nhà máy đễ hỗ trợ về mặt hậu cần cũng đang trong tình trạng nguy hiểm, theo nhà chức trách. Banri Kaieda, Bộ trưởng nội vụ Nhật Bản và Phó ban chỉ đạo lực lượng đối phó thảm họa hạt nhân liên kết giữa chính quyền và TEPCO, cho biết từ 500-600 người hiện đang vẫn ở trong khu vực nhà máy.
Cơ quan an toàn công nghiệp và hạt nhân Nhật Bản thông báo các công nhân hiện chỉ ăn hai bữa đơn giản mỗi ngày với khẩu phần chủ yếu là lương khô, ngủ trong các phòng họp và hành lang của nhà máy. “Con trai tôi nằm ngủ trên bàn vì sợ nằm dưới sàn nhà. Nhưng họ nói lượng phóng xạ cao ở mọi nơi và tôi sợ rằng chỉ điều đó không thể cứu mạng nó”, mẹ của công nhân nói trên nói với Fox News.
Trong khi đó, thời tiết xấu đã làm trì hoãn các kế hoạch hạn chế sự lan rộng của phóng xạ mà TEPCO đang thực hiện./.
Phát biểu trên kênh Fox News của Mỹ, mẹ của một trong những công nhân đang làm việc tại nhà máy đã nói rằng con trai của bà đã sẵn sàng cho tâm lý chờ đợi sẽ chết vì các bệnh phóng xạ.
Nói trong nước mắt qua một người phiên dịch trên điện thoại, bà mẹ của một công nhân 32 tuổi nói: “Con trai tôi và các đồng nghiệp của nó đã trao đổi kỹ chuyện này và họ đều sẵn sàng chết để cứu đất nước. Nó nói họ chấp nhận có thể chết vì các chứng bệnh phóng xạ trong ngắn hạn, hoặc ung thư về lâu dài”.
Bà mẹ tội nghiệp nói với Fox News nhưng không tiết lộ danh tính vì những nhân viên trong nhà máy được yêu cầu không nói chuyện với truyền thông cũng như về các thành viên trong gia đình, để không làm công chúng hoảng loạn. Bà mẹ không phải là một chuyên gia phóng xạ và không biết con trai giờ ra sao, nhưng bà nói: “Họ đều biết điều không thể tránh khỏi là một số người sẽ thiệt mạng trong vài tuần nữa”.
Đơn vị vận hành nhà máy, Công ty điện lực Tokyo (TEPCO), nói các nhân viên y tế xét nghiệm thường xuyên những công nhân trong nhà máy để phát hiện các bênh do nhiễm xạ. Cho đến giờ, ngoài ba công nhân tiếp xúc trực tiếp với nước nhiễm xạ đang được điều trị, không có thêm thông tin nào về những thành viên nhóm Fukushima 50 bị bệnh vì phóng xạ. Trong ba người đã nhập viện, hai người bị bỏng phóng xạ ở chân và mắt cá cũng như đã hít phải phóng xạ, nhưng họ đã được ra viện và vẫn được kiểm tra y tế thường xuyên, theo TEPCO.
Ngoài những công nhân làm việc trực tiếp, điều kiện sống của hàng trăm người vẫn còn ở lại khu vực nhà máy đễ hỗ trợ về mặt hậu cần cũng đang trong tình trạng nguy hiểm, theo nhà chức trách. Banri Kaieda, Bộ trưởng nội vụ Nhật Bản và Phó ban chỉ đạo lực lượng đối phó thảm họa hạt nhân liên kết giữa chính quyền và TEPCO, cho biết từ 500-600 người hiện đang vẫn ở trong khu vực nhà máy.
Cơ quan an toàn công nghiệp và hạt nhân Nhật Bản thông báo các công nhân hiện chỉ ăn hai bữa đơn giản mỗi ngày với khẩu phần chủ yếu là lương khô, ngủ trong các phòng họp và hành lang của nhà máy. “Con trai tôi nằm ngủ trên bàn vì sợ nằm dưới sàn nhà. Nhưng họ nói lượng phóng xạ cao ở mọi nơi và tôi sợ rằng chỉ điều đó không thể cứu mạng nó”, mẹ của công nhân nói trên nói với Fox News.
Trong khi đó, thời tiết xấu đã làm trì hoãn các kế hoạch hạn chế sự lan rộng của phóng xạ mà TEPCO đang thực hiện./.
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