Friday, September 9, 2011

#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: TEPCO Ready to Drive Carbon-Based Workers Even Harder

to clean up the upper floors of Reactor 3. What floor? was my first thought. The workers will be asked to clean up Reactor 4, too.

From Mainichi Shinbun Japanese (9/9/2011):

東京電力は9日、福島第1原発3号機の原子炉建屋内に作業員6人が入り、地下にたまった汚染水の量を測る水位計を設置したと発表した。東電によると、作業員6人の被ばく量は0.33~5.26ミリシーベルトだった。水位計による測定は12日以降に始まる見通し。

TEPCO announced on September 9 that 6 workers entered the reactor building of Reactor 3 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and installed a water gauge to measure the amount of contaminated water in the basement. According to the company, the radiation exposure of the 6 workers was between 0.33 to 5.26 millisieverts. The measurement using the water gauge is set to start on or after September 12.

...一方、東電は10日から3号機、9月中に4号機の原子炉建屋上部のがれきの撤去を始める計画を明らかにした。3、4号機原子炉建屋上部には損傷した天井や外壁が重なっており、撤去によって放射性物質の拡散抑制につながるとしている。

... TEPCO also disclosed the plan to start removing the debris from the upper floors of Reactors 3 and 4. The work will start in Reactor 3 on September 10, and it will start in Reactor 4 within this month. Upper floors of Reactors 3 and 4 are littered with damaged ceiling panels and exterior wall panels, and it is hoped that the spread of radioactive materials will be suppressed by removing the debris.

Hmmm. Removing the debris will stir up the radioactive materials instead of suppressing them, won't it? Not to mention exposing the workers to an inadvertent 10-plus sieverts/hour super hot spot, as it happened near the exhaust stack between Reactors 1 and 2?

From the tweets by the worker at Fukushima I Nuke Plant, it is evident that TEPCO is fast running out of money (to spend on the accident, apparently not on its retiring executives) and carbon-based workers to do further work. The worker also tweeted a week or so ago that the construction people were active, already clearing debris in Reactor 4.

The construction companies (Kajima, Taisei are at Fukushima, I think) are the worst offenders in Japan traditionally when it comes to exploiting the temporary, contract workers. Apparently, according to the tweets by the worker mentioned above, there are workers hired by them who know little about radiation danger at Fukushima I Nuke Plant where a 10-sieverts/hr extreme hot spot can be just around the corner.

Perhaps I shouldn't say "TEPCO" in the title. It is not really TEPCO who is ready and willing to expose workers to high radiation by driving them to clean up the place. TEPCO asks its main subcontractors (in this case, large construction companies) to figure out a way to complete the task of clearing the debris and tells them the budget. The subcontractors tell their subcontractors , who then tell their subcontractors....(up to 6th or 7th degree removed from TEPCO) to figure out a way, and finally some fresh warm bodies are brought in and put to work. They may or may not know the risk. The task is simple, just removing the debris from the floors with full protection gear and face mask, climbing up and down the stairs as the elevators are broken. All they need is physical strength.

(By the way, he also says the flashing bright light in TEPCO's livecam at night is from the construction people. Not that you have to believe him necessarily, but just for your information.)

By putting in many layers of subcontracting, everyone can deny that they are willingly and actively putting workers at risk.

Ah the country is broken (and broke), and mountains and rivers are not the same any more, but the subcontracting and "dango" (collusion) are hard to die in Japan.

(I'll try to translate the words by the man who pointed at TEPCO's livecam from his original Japanese. He is protesting against this subcontracting system.)

7 comments:

js said...

I agree with the author of this blog.
By the way thanks for trying to translate the webcam guy blog,.I am looking forward to read it soon.

However I disagree in your last point, Japan is not broke, I mean the ellite of Japan is NOT. like the executives of TEPCO you mention, not that they are the jap. ellite but..., please do not fall into the trap that this is the time, of Gambarimashou... bs, the TOP guys are making millions still and now with this crisis they are manipulating the public again, with ignorance and variety shows in TV, paying them lowest wages like always and now with no future strategic plan at all...
The average busineses are suffereing as common guys, but the very top.

The yen is quite strong and they know how to invest that overseas, they do not care about Japan just quick loads of money as part of this huge transactions with the empire wealth, this is even more dramatic than the AIG bonuses scandal.

Is another big bubble for the TOP guys and for the rest are just dimes and exposure to all this.

Tell TEPCO that I wont pay my electricity bills till they solve the mess, they created.

If people had some dignity and trust in theirselves and among poeple will, they should stop paying TEPCO bills all at once...
I guess the very top and associates know they own citizens very well and they are exploiting till the last days.

Japan is very wealthy, money hasnt evaporated is still on the souless bonbon elite pockets.

senrinomichi said...

Hello, we have translated the Japanese part already if this helps on our Facebook page. Will send you the link in a few minutes

Ruthie Iida said...

Dear Mr Sonoda Yasuhiro, Political Deputy Minister for the Cabinet Office:

Please forgive me for sending an e-mail without a prior warning.
I am the one who pointed his finger at the “Fukuichi” Live-cast Camera at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. I was mentioned in one of the questions by Mr. Yuichi Sato from “Kaitosuru Kishadan” (Press Corps who Respond) at the joint press conference held at the Comprehensive Countermeasures Center of TEPCO.

Also, please understand that I cannot reveal my identity for fear that the company to which I once belonged may be inconvenienced by my statements. The Website that I created is:

Http://pointatfuku1cam.nobody.jp/

(For the confirmation, I will also copy this message on that Website.)

I emailed because I wanted to respond to Mr. Sonoda’s question: “Why is it that such a thing (finger pointing) will be an inconvenience for the company? I would like to know what that (finger-pointing) person himself thinks.”

We, the workers, are warned not to do anything that’s not in our job description during our work, and obviously I broke that rule. Also, photography is prohibited in the premises of the J- Village and the quake-proof area, and I also broke that rule by taking pictures with my cell phone and by putting up the photos on my Website. It is entirely my fault that I broke these rules, and it is not the fault of the company, which had told us these rules beforehand. However, if the contractor, in this case, TEPCO, thinks that it is my company’s fault, my company will suffer the consequences.

If one were to examine the situation closely, it would be obvious that it was my fault, but such investigation may also be delegated to my company as a subcontractor, and I am afraid that TEPCO may come to a hasty conclusion that “this company sends us workers who act irresponsibly.” TEPCO may also think that imposing a penalty to this subcontractor may deter further indiscretion after they have identified who the perpetrator is. I am going to explain on my Website why my company had no way of preventing me from doing what I did.

It is certainly impertinent for me to send you these statements, even though I have done something that is contrary to social norms. I only hope that TEPCO will not impose sanctions on my company; otherwise, the restrictions on the workers will be more severe than they already are. I’ll be perefectly happy to cooperate with the government’s investigations into this matter. Mr. Yuichji Sato from the Press Corps wanted to summon me to the press conference, and I’ll comply if that does not cause trouble.

Thank you for reading this message.

Ruthie Iida said...

The above is a translation of the Japanese part of the letter....that's the easy part of the job. This can also be viewed on the Senrinomichi page. Good luck with a good solid まとめof the English version.

Anonymous said...

Sorry js, but Japan is probably broke for life now. There is no known solution for massive radiation contamination, and the Fukushima Daiichi emissions far exceed those on Chernobyl.

Look what just 93 grams of Cesium 137 did in Brazil 24 years ago: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goiânia_accident

The decontamination resulted in almost 11 000 tons of radioactive waste.

Do you see what I mean?

Anonymous said...

Well it seems like Japan has finally figured out a way to "solve" their burakumin "problem".

Burakumin are descendants of outcast communities that were tasked with occupations considered "tainted". While the Burakumin were liberated in 1871 the discrimination remains. In 1975 there was a scandal over a book named "A Comprehensive List of Buraku Area Names" (特殊部落地名総鑑 Tokushu Buraku Chimei Sōkan). This book was used by businesses to avoid hiring from buraku settlements and by family's to avoid poor marriage choices. The book was banned in 1985 but many copies still exist. Due to their social discrimination some Burakunmin are forced into the Yakuza. Mitsuhiro Suganuma, a former member of the Public Security Intelligence Agency claim they comprise 60% of the entire Yakuza ranks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burakumin

It is strongly rumored that the Yakuza acts as a broker for most of the part-time workforce used in the nuclear industry and sadly a large portion of these workers are fellow burakumin.

@js

Japan's strong currency actually works against it on the international market. A strong Yen means Japanese products are more expensive for the rest of the world and this translates into less sales. Investing overseas is more of a gamble than ever the current world's financial outlook is pretty bleak. The financial health of the top 5% of the population won't carry the rest of the nation for very long. Not paying your electric bill will just get your service shut-off and ruin your credit the same would happen even if you enlisted thousands of other people to do the same. If you think the "clean up" sucks now wait until you "force" TEPCO out of business you'll still be paying for a bulk of the clean up but now it will be done by candle light.

MikeNZ said...

People will start dying soon.
They already are.
Then the children will die.

Soon there will be babies born with hideous genetic defects. It will not be in the press. The Japanese will cover it all up.
Then it will happen in other countries, Cananda, United States, Korea ...

Hope will die last.

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