Fukushima 50
Encyclopedia
Fukushima 50 is the alias given by the media to a group of employees at the crippled Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant
. Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
, a related series of nuclear accidents resulted in a serious fire at the plant's unit 4 on 15 March 2011, these 50 employees remained on-site after 750 other workers were evacuated.
After TEPCO management proposed withdrawing all its employees from the plant on 14 March, additional manpower was deployed from around Japan. Some workers traveled on clear roads by convoy from Tokyo. When they arrived, hundreds of firemen, SDF personnel and employees of TEPCO, convened 20 km from the plant and debated how to best stabilize the plant. On the night of the 15th of March, these workers joined the original Fukushima 50. In the following days, extra workers continued to be added, and the Fukushima 50 remained the name used by media to refer to the group of workers at Fukushima.
The number of the workers involved rose to 580 on the morning of 18 March as staff from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant
and workers installing the new power line joined in. More than 1,000 workers, firefighters and soldiers were toiling at the site on 23 March. The Fukushima 50 were drawn from Toshiba
, Hitachi
, Kajima, firefighters from Tokyo
, Osaka
, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Nagoya and Kyoto, TEPCO and its subsidiaries
such as Kandenko, TEP Industry and TEP Environmental Engineering, and many small-to-mid-size companies that have contracts with these big companies.
Over 20 workers had been injured by 18 March, including one who was exposed to a large amount of ionizing radiation
when the worker tried to vent vapour from a valve of the containment building
. 3 more workers were exposed to radiation over 100 mSv, and 2 of them were sent to a hospital due to beta burns on 24 March. Two other workers, Kazuhiko Kokubo, 24, and Yoshiki Terashima, 21, were killed by the tsunami while conducting emergency repairs immediately after the quake. Their bodies were found on March 30.
The workers and volunteers were assigned the mission of stabilizing the reactors.
Their activities included assessing the damage and radiation levels caused by the explosions, cooling stricken reactors with seawater and preventing any risk of fire. These workers remained on-site despite risks of radiation poisoning. Levels of radiation on site are far higher than in the 20 km exclusion zone
and media outlets reported that the severity of the situation could have grave implications on their future health, with possibly fatal consequences for the workers. On March 18, according to Prime Minister Naoto Kan
the workers were "prepared for death".
A day before the unit 4 fire, a complete withdrawal proposed by TEPCO was rejected by the prime minister, to continue attempts at bringing the reactors under control during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
.
reporting the refuge area was about "the size of an average living room."
A daily schedule at Fukushima I nuclear plant according to the article on 28 March.
During some work, in high radiation areas, the workers are limited to 15-minute sessions inside the damaged buildings.
(20 mSv, or 2 rem) per year, averaged over five years, with a limit of 50 mSv in any one year, however for workers performing emergency services United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) guidance on dose limits is 100 mSv when "protecting valuable property" and 250 mSv when the activity is "life saving or protection of large populations."
Prior to the accident, the maximum permissible dose for Japanese nuclear workers was 100 mSv in any one year, but on 15 March 2011, the Japanese Health and Labor Ministry enforced the permitted 250 mSv limit, in light of the situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. However, the workers at Fukushima plant declined the elevated 250 mSv limit and kept adopting the previous 100 mSv. Tokyo Enesys, a TEPCO's subsidiary, adopts 80 mSv to manage the radiation level monitoring with some buffer. Kandenko, Kajima and Taisei Corporation
adopted 100 mSv. Hitachi
rewrote internal rule as 200 mSv. TEPCO decided to move workers around 200mSv to low-radiated site while its subsidiaries, Tokyo Enesys and Kandenko, adopted around 100mSv limit. One TEPCO worker has already been moved due to the radiation at 198 mSv. Over 30 workers are radiated beyond 100 mSv by 23 April 2011.
According to the Guardian, the Fukushima workers have to be wary of radiation spiking—a sudden and unforeseen rise in radiation. This threat forced to evacuate the workers for a short period of time on the morning of Tuesday 15 March 2011 when radiation detected at Fukushima rose to approximately 1000 mSv/h, the highest level of radiation detected at any point of time during the accident at the plant.
The workers wore hazmat suit
s and hazmat masks, carrying dosimeter
s that alerted at 80 millisieverts. Each worker had to stop the operation once the dosimeter alerted.
According to TEPCO, seven workers were exposed to radiation over the limit of 100 millisievert by the morning of March 20. All the workers were from TEPCO.
In context, immediate symptoms become apparent if exposed to above 250 mSv per day. Symptoms include nausea
and loss of appetite as well as damage to bone marrow
, lymph nodes and the spleen
. Generally, these symptoms become more severe and noticeable in the 1000 to 3000 mSv bracket with recovery probable, but not assured. New and more serious symptoms appear above 3000 mSv such as peeling of the skin
, hemorrhaging and sterility
with death if left untreated.
There is confusion as to what extent radiation may have been released as a result of this incident with the Japanese Government appearing to be tight-lipped about the situation for fear of causing panic, while some suggested they are not being wholly transparent.
However, on the morning of the 16 March the remaining workers had to be evacuated for a brief period of time due to a radiation spike which was detected which could be harmful to the workers health. It was reported that when they returned to the plant, a further 130 or so workers joined their colleagues to total of around 180 to stabilise the reactors. The number of workers rose to 580 on the morning of the 18 March. By 12 April, approximately 700 workers were working on-site.
By 21 March 2011, Toshiba had sent a 100-strong team to two Fukushima plants as part of a task-force of 700 Toshiba workers organized at Toshiba's Isogo
Engineering Centre to defuse the nuclear crisis, and Hitachi had dispatched 120 to Fukushima I and formed a 1000-strong task force.
Referring to the original 50 workers, nuclear researcher Dr. Eric Hall opined that they were likely to be older, and unlikely to have further children, so the long-term effects of exposure to high-levels of ionizing radiation
would be less likely to appear before a natural death
. Some younger workers have been injured and young Osaka firefighters have been operating at the site. Since then, a group of 250 skilled senior citizens has volunteered to work in the radioactive environment, citing reduced harm to them.
* : task finished
3 workers were exposed and 2 were rushed to hospital having up to 180 mSv, which is less than the maximum 250 mSv that the government is allowing for workers at the plant. Both workers, one in his twenties and one in his thirties, were from Kandenko and were regular workers at Fukushima II nuclear power plant
. Another worker was from a contract company of Kandenko.
called them "Japan's faceless heroes", British newspaper, The Guardian
wrote: "Other nuclear power employees, as well as the wider population, can only look on in admiration". They have been compared to the 47 Ronin
. In Hong Kong, a group of netizens at HKGolden Forum dedicated Cantonese and Japanese lyrics based on a Cantopop
song, entitled "福島烈士─向福島50人致敬" (Deadly Heroes of Fukushima - Tribute to the Fukushima Fifty), to the workers.
According to Robert Hetkämper, a correspondent for the German television network ARD
, the label "Fukushima 50" has been invented by a foreign newspaper, and then has been imported by the Japanese media. The "Fukushima 50" would include engineers as well as unskilled workers, and there would be grounds to suspect that many workers would not be really aware of the dangers of their assignment.
On September 7, 2011, the "Fukushima Heroes" were honored with the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord
.
Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant
The , also known as Fukushima Dai-ichi , is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. First commissioned in 1971, the plant consists of six boiling water reactors...
. Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
, a related series of nuclear accidents resulted in a serious fire at the plant's unit 4 on 15 March 2011, these 50 employees remained on-site after 750 other workers were evacuated.
After TEPCO management proposed withdrawing all its employees from the plant on 14 March, additional manpower was deployed from around Japan. Some workers traveled on clear roads by convoy from Tokyo. When they arrived, hundreds of firemen, SDF personnel and employees of TEPCO, convened 20 km from the plant and debated how to best stabilize the plant. On the night of the 15th of March, these workers joined the original Fukushima 50. In the following days, extra workers continued to be added, and the Fukushima 50 remained the name used by media to refer to the group of workers at Fukushima.
The number of the workers involved rose to 580 on the morning of 18 March as staff from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant
The is a large, modern nuclear power plant on a 4.2-square-kilometer site including land in the towns of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa in Niigata Prefecture, Japan on the coast of the Sea of Japan, from where it gets cooling water...
and workers installing the new power line joined in. More than 1,000 workers, firefighters and soldiers were toiling at the site on 23 March. The Fukushima 50 were drawn from Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
, Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
, Kajima, firefighters from Tokyo
Tokyo Fire Department
The is a fire department headquartered in Ōtemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The TFD was formed on March 7, 1948 and is responsible for protecting the Tokyo Metropolis Area. The Fire Department is the largest urban fire department in the world. Providing services to the 23 Wards of Tokyo and parts...
, Osaka
, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Nagoya and Kyoto, TEPCO and its subsidiaries
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
such as Kandenko, TEP Industry and TEP Environmental Engineering, and many small-to-mid-size companies that have contracts with these big companies.
Over 20 workers had been injured by 18 March, including one who was exposed to a large amount of ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
when the worker tried to vent vapour from a valve of the containment building
Containment building
A containment building, in its most common usage, is a steel or reinforced concrete structure enclosing a nuclear reactor. It is designed, in any emergency, to contain the escape of radiation to a maximum pressure in the range of 60 to 200 psi...
. 3 more workers were exposed to radiation over 100 mSv, and 2 of them were sent to a hospital due to beta burns on 24 March. Two other workers, Kazuhiko Kokubo, 24, and Yoshiki Terashima, 21, were killed by the tsunami while conducting emergency repairs immediately after the quake. Their bodies were found on March 30.
The workers and volunteers were assigned the mission of stabilizing the reactors.
Their activities included assessing the damage and radiation levels caused by the explosions, cooling stricken reactors with seawater and preventing any risk of fire. These workers remained on-site despite risks of radiation poisoning. Levels of radiation on site are far higher than in the 20 km exclusion zone
Exclusion zone
An exclusion zone is an area that protesters are legally prohibited from protesting in.Exclusion zones often exist around seats of government and abortion clinics. As a result of protests by the Westboro Baptist Church at the funerals of soldiers killed in the Iraq War, 29 states and the US...
and media outlets reported that the severity of the situation could have grave implications on their future health, with possibly fatal consequences for the workers. On March 18, according to Prime Minister Naoto Kan
Naoto Kan
is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
the workers were "prepared for death".
A day before the unit 4 fire, a complete withdrawal proposed by TEPCO was rejected by the prime minister, to continue attempts at bringing the reactors under control during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
.
Working environment
The workers are reported to be taking turns eating and sleeping in a two-story earthquake-resistant building at the center of the complex constructed in July last year, with ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
reporting the refuge area was about "the size of an average living room."
A daily schedule at Fukushima I nuclear plant according to the article on 28 March.
| time | event |
|---|---|
| 6am. | getting up |
| 7-8am. | meeting at the antiseismic building (免震重要棟, menshin-jūyō-tō, lit. avoiding quakes-important-building ) |
| 8-10am. | breakfast (biscuits about 30 pieces and one bottle of vegetable juice) |
| about 10am. | commencing tasks at the reactor building and boiler building |
| about 5pm. | finishing working |
| 5-8pm. | supper (retort-packed rice and one canned food) |
| 8-10pm. | meeting at the antiseismic building |
| about10pm. | going to sleep rolled with a blanket on the floor, except people who work at night. |
During some work, in high radiation areas, the workers are limited to 15-minute sessions inside the damaged buildings.
Radiation
The international limit for radiation exposure for nuclear workers is 20 millisievertSievert
The sievert is the International System of Units SI derived unit of dose equivalent radiation. It attempts to quantitatively evaluate the biological effects of ionizing radiation as opposed to just the absorbed dose of radiation energy, which is measured in gray...
(20 mSv, or 2 rem) per year, averaged over five years, with a limit of 50 mSv in any one year, however for workers performing emergency services United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) guidance on dose limits is 100 mSv when "protecting valuable property" and 250 mSv when the activity is "life saving or protection of large populations."
Prior to the accident, the maximum permissible dose for Japanese nuclear workers was 100 mSv in any one year, but on 15 March 2011, the Japanese Health and Labor Ministry enforced the permitted 250 mSv limit, in light of the situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. However, the workers at Fukushima plant declined the elevated 250 mSv limit and kept adopting the previous 100 mSv. Tokyo Enesys, a TEPCO's subsidiary, adopts 80 mSv to manage the radiation level monitoring with some buffer. Kandenko, Kajima and Taisei Corporation
Taisei Corporation
is a Japanese corporation which was established in 1873. Its main areas of business are building construction, civil engineering, and real estate development....
adopted 100 mSv. Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
rewrote internal rule as 200 mSv. TEPCO decided to move workers around 200mSv to low-radiated site while its subsidiaries, Tokyo Enesys and Kandenko, adopted around 100mSv limit. One TEPCO worker has already been moved due to the radiation at 198 mSv. Over 30 workers are radiated beyond 100 mSv by 23 April 2011.
According to the Guardian, the Fukushima workers have to be wary of radiation spiking—a sudden and unforeseen rise in radiation. This threat forced to evacuate the workers for a short period of time on the morning of Tuesday 15 March 2011 when radiation detected at Fukushima rose to approximately 1000 mSv/h, the highest level of radiation detected at any point of time during the accident at the plant.
The workers wore hazmat suit
Hazmat suit
A hazmat suit is a garment worn as protection from hazardous materials or substances. A hazmat suit is generally combined with breathing apparatus for protection and may be used by firefighters, emergency personnel responding to toxic spills, researchers, specialists cleaning up contaminated...
s and hazmat masks, carrying dosimeter
Dosimeter
Dosimeters measure an individual's or an object'sexposure to something in the environment — particularly to a hazard inflicting cumulative impact over long periods of time, or over a lifetime...
s that alerted at 80 millisieverts. Each worker had to stop the operation once the dosimeter alerted.
According to TEPCO, seven workers were exposed to radiation over the limit of 100 millisievert by the morning of March 20. All the workers were from TEPCO.
In context, immediate symptoms become apparent if exposed to above 250 mSv per day. Symptoms include nausea
Nausea
Nausea , is a sensation of unease and discomfort in the upper stomach with an involuntary urge to vomit. It often, but not always, precedes vomiting...
and loss of appetite as well as damage to bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
, lymph nodes and the spleen
Spleen
The spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...
. Generally, these symptoms become more severe and noticeable in the 1000 to 3000 mSv bracket with recovery probable, but not assured. New and more serious symptoms appear above 3000 mSv such as peeling of the skin
Desquamation
Desquamation , also called skin peeling, is the shedding of the outermost membrane or layer of a tissue, such as the skin.-Skin:Normal, nonpathologic desquamation of the skin occurs when keratinocytes, after moving apically over about 14 days, are individually shed unnoticeably...
, hemorrhaging and sterility
Sterility (physiology)
Sterility is the physiological inability to effect sexual reproduction in a living thing, members of whose kind have been produced sexually. The term may be used in reference to* types of organism, such as the mule, a sterile hybrid;...
with death if left untreated.
Explosion
The Fukushima 50 were present when an explosion and fire occurred at the Unit 4 reactor.There is confusion as to what extent radiation may have been released as a result of this incident with the Japanese Government appearing to be tight-lipped about the situation for fear of causing panic, while some suggested they are not being wholly transparent.
Exact number of workers
Originally there were approximately 800 workers on 11 March 2011, the day the earthquake and tsunami struck. On 15 March, workers deemed non-essential were withdrawn by the Tokyo Electric Power Company totalling around 750 workers due to increased risk and consequently leaving around 50. It was on this day, the media started to call the remaining workers the "Fukushima 50".However, on the morning of the 16 March the remaining workers had to be evacuated for a brief period of time due to a radiation spike which was detected which could be harmful to the workers health. It was reported that when they returned to the plant, a further 130 or so workers joined their colleagues to total of around 180 to stabilise the reactors. The number of workers rose to 580 on the morning of the 18 March. By 12 April, approximately 700 workers were working on-site.
By 21 March 2011, Toshiba had sent a 100-strong team to two Fukushima plants as part of a task-force of 700 Toshiba workers organized at Toshiba's Isogo
Isogo-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 163,406 and a density of 8,520 persons per km². The total area was 19.17 km².-Geography:...
Engineering Centre to defuse the nuclear crisis, and Hitachi had dispatched 120 to Fukushima I and formed a 1000-strong task force.
Referring to the original 50 workers, nuclear researcher Dr. Eric Hall opined that they were likely to be older, and unlikely to have further children, so the long-term effects of exposure to high-levels of ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
would be less likely to appear before a natural death
Death by natural causes
A death by natural causes, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, is one that is primarily attributed to natural agents: usually an illness or an internal malfunction of the body. For example, a person dying from complications from influenza or a heart attack ...
. Some younger workers have been injured and young Osaka firefighters have been operating at the site. Since then, a group of 250 skilled senior citizens has volunteered to work in the radioactive environment, citing reduced harm to them.
| Organization | Workers on site | Date of the # | Tasks | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toshiba Toshiba is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and... |
100 | Recovering Electricity, Installing pumps for sea water | "Chosen team with full of skills and sense of responsibilities"(Toshiba PR staff), forming supporting team of 700 nuclear technicians at Isogo Isogo-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 163,406 and a density of 8,520 persons per km². The total area was 19.17 km².-Geography:... Engineering Centre and 150 supporting team at the main office. |
||
| Hitachi Hitachi Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family... |
120 | 24 March | Electric technicians | ||
| IHI | 30 | 24 March | supporting spraying at Unit 2 | ||
| Kajima and its subsidiaries | 130 to 150 | 8 April | |||
| Taisei Corporation Taisei Corporation is a Japanese corporation which was established in 1873. Its main areas of business are building construction, civil engineering, and real estate development.... |
130 to 150 | 8 April | |||
| Tokyo FD Tokyo Fire Department The is a fire department headquartered in Ōtemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The TFD was formed on March 7, 1948 and is responsible for protecting the Tokyo Metropolis Area. The Fire Department is the largest urban fire department in the world. Providing services to the 23 Wards of Tokyo and parts... |
139 | 19 March | spraying water | On 19 MAR 2011, 139 responders were working, including 119 of the Tokyo "Hyper Rescues" Squad | |
| Osaka FD | 53* | 19–22 March | spraying water, decontamination for firefighters | supporting Tokyo FD | |
| Yokohama FD | 67* | 22–24 March | spraying water | succeeded Osaka FD | |
| Kawasaki FD | 36* | 24–26 March | spraying water | succeeded Yokohama FD, spraying at #3 | |
| Nagoya FD | 34* | 26–28 March | spraying water | succeeded Kawasaki FD, a firefighter aged 39:"My wife cried when she heard I would be dispatched. I could reject the dispatch, but I thought it wasn't right that a younger would be dispatched instead of me, so I decided to go. I will be back to fulfill the duty without accident." | |
| Kyoto FD | 40* | 29–30 March | spraying water | chosen members who have knowledge of nuclear or biochemical disaster | |
| Kobe FD | 53 | 31 March to 1 April | spraying water | members who know how to deal with radiation or biochemical weapons | |
| Self Defence Forces | spraying water, filming from helicopters | using two helicopters to pour water while equipments were way poor at very beginning. Continuing to spray and send Fresh water. | |||
| U.S. Marine Corps | 140 | Chemical Biological Incident Response Force Chemical Biological Incident Response Force The Chemical Biological Incident Response Force is a unit in the United States Marine Corps responsible for countering the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive incident. They were activated in April 1996 by General Charles C. Krulak, then Commandant... |
|||
| TEPCO | 330 | 23 March | |||
| Kandenko and subsidiaries | 200 | 24 March | Subsidiary of TEPCO | ||
| TEP Industry | never mentioned | Subsidiary of TEPCO | |||
| TEP Environment Engineering | never mentioned | Subsidiary of TEPCO | |||
| Tokyo Enesys | never mentioned | Subsidiary of TEPCO | |||
| "Cooporative Companies" of TEPCO | 224 | 23 March | Some companies, typically big companies, use the word cooperative companies, which they have contract with. Cooperative companies are third-party and mostly mid-to-small companies as Tokai Paintings which have dispatched 6 volunteers out of 80 employees (May, 2009), while TEPCO employs 52,628(end of 2009) including their subsidiaries. Some co-operative "company men" were only paid around 20,000 yen (US$236), and volunteered for the position for fear of losing their jobs. While others volunteered because they felt they were "the only workers that can do the job" and a shared a sense of solidarity. | ||
| Hazama Corp. | 7* | 15 March to 18 March | clear and repair roads at the scene |
Injury
Over 20 workers had been injured by 18 March.3 workers were exposed and 2 were rushed to hospital having up to 180 mSv, which is less than the maximum 250 mSv that the government is allowing for workers at the plant. Both workers, one in his twenties and one in his thirties, were from Kandenko and were regular workers at Fukushima II nuclear power plant
Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant
The , or Fukushima Dai-ni , is a nuclear power plant located on a site in the town of Naraha and Tomioka in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan...
. Another worker was from a contract company of Kandenko.
Cooperation
| Organization | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Navy | preparing 2 ships with 1,100 tons of water each | The U.S. government strongly recommended the Japanese government use fresh water because of accidents salt water could cause. The U.S. Navy supplied backup fresh water. |
Reaction of media and public
Media outlets lauded the remaining workers bravery as "heroes", and as a result they have become known in the media as the "Fukushima 50". France 24France 24
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through...
called them "Japan's faceless heroes", British newspaper, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote: "Other nuclear power employees, as well as the wider population, can only look on in admiration". They have been compared to the 47 Ronin
Forty-seven Ronin
The revenge of the , also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century...
. In Hong Kong, a group of netizens at HKGolden Forum dedicated Cantonese and Japanese lyrics based on a Cantopop
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
song, entitled "福島烈士─向福島50人致敬" (Deadly Heroes of Fukushima - Tribute to the Fukushima Fifty), to the workers.
According to Robert Hetkämper, a correspondent for the German television network ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
, the label "Fukushima 50" has been invented by a foreign newspaper, and then has been imported by the Japanese media. The "Fukushima 50" would include engineers as well as unskilled workers, and there would be grounds to suspect that many workers would not be really aware of the dangers of their assignment.
On September 7, 2011, the "Fukushima Heroes" were honored with the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord
Prince of Asturias Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....
.
See also
- Fukushima I nuclear accidents
- Radiation effects from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
- Timeline of the Fukushima I nuclear accidents#Tuesday, 15 March
- Liquidator (Chernobyl)Liquidator (Chernobyl)Liquidators , or "clean-up workers", is the name given in the former USSR to people who were called upon to work in efforts to deal with consequences of the April 26, 1986, Chernobyl disaster on the site of the event...
- name given to workers who were employed to contain the damage resulting from the Chernobyl disasterChernobyl disasterThe Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow... - Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
External links
- Fukushima heroes: Not afraid to die - from CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
- Japan hails the heroic 'Fukushima 50' - from BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Fukushima 50 A Facebook page to pay tribute to their heroic acts
- Hymn to The Fukushima 50 - Tribute A powerful and thought-provoking video paying tribute to the Fukushima Heroes