Ex-Fuku I Worker Talks: "TEPCO Is a Terrible Company"

Toshio Kimura gave a talk at a rally in Kochi Prefecture on April 29. (That happened to be the day when the pro-nuke scientist rather cheerfully proclaimed that the Fukushima reactors had had meltdowns on a national TV.) He had long left TEPCO at the time of March 11 accident, but he used to work at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

He evacuated with his family to Kochi Prefecture right after the accident.

(Translated and captioned by Tokyo Brown Tabby)

His talk continued but Tabby couldn't find the video for that part. So, this is what he said after the video above ended:

As to the situation of the plant, 70% of the fuel in Unit 1 have melted. I haven't looked at the most recent data, but the reactor pressure is increasing, the radiation dose inside the containment vessel is increasing, and iodine-131 is not decreasing. It has started to decrease a bit recently, though. All this means is there definitely has been re-criticality until recently. Because, as you know, the half life of iodine-131 is only 8 days. And yet, after more than a month from the accident, we still see an increase in the level of iodine-131. That itself proves there has been re-criticality, because otherwise iodine shouldn't have been produced. A neutron hits the atom of uranium-235, the atom splits, and iodine-131 is produced. That's how the nuclear fission occurs. And through the mechanism that can be explained by Einstein's theory of relativity, heat is produced. The heat boils water to create steam, and the steam spins the turbin. The turbines are connected in series and drive the electrical generator to produce electricity. This is the mechanism of electricity generation.

Iodine-131 is not produced unless neutrons cause nuclear fission. That's why I'm saying there has been re-criticality. Nuclear Safety Commission won't admit it. TEPCO won't admit it. The government won't admit it. But really there has been re-criticality until very recently. This is the fact. Any professional with the knowledge of physics of nuclear reactor can tell. This re-criticality issue is one of the things they are hiding from you.

Another lie is that 0.24 microsievert/h is safe. This is wrong.

These are the things I wanted to tell you today. Here in Kochi, you don't have to worry too much because Kochi is quite far from Fukushima. But please look at the radiation dispersion forecast by the German Weather Service. If you notice the north-east wind is blowing throughout Japan, don't ever let children get wet in the rain. And women who want to have children in the future. Don't let them go outside on such days. We, middle-aged men are okay, including me.

It's because cesium-137 is dangerous. Its half life is 30 years. It's dangerous because it tends to accumulate in muscles. Men have relatively more muscle. Even if cesium-137 gets absorbed inside their bodies, it spreads thinly throughout their muscles. On the other hand, women don't have much muscle, and the absorbed cesium tends to concentrate in the organs like mammary gland and uterus. It may increase the incidence of breast cancer. But this is something you can prevent if you have the knowledge. If you have to go outside on such days, please wet the gauze inside the mask first and put on the mask before you go out.

Also, you have to be careful with iodine, too, while it is still released. Iodine accumulates in seaweed and it is easily absorbed from your hair. So, one way to prevent iodine absorption is to put on a hat so that your hair won't get wet from the rain.

You haven't heard about such things, have you? Nobody tells you that. The government doesn't tell, either. But I wanted to let you know. That's why I came here today.

I don't want to talk too long, but one last thing.

I hear some wise old men protected a very beautiful fountain located within the radius of 30km from Chernobyl plant. How they protected it is mysterious. I studied nuclear energy intensively and I studied physics to some extent. But still I believe in an invisible power. Those wise old men didn't evacuate after the accident. How did they protect the fountain? By prayer. I'm not sure how many of you believe in the power of prayer. But if you can believe in it, even if just a little, then please pray in the morning that the Fukushima-1 nuke plant may rest in peace. And remember, we've benefited from radioactivity because it produces electricity. So, please pray that the radiation will be neutralized and vanished by our sense of gratitude and our love. I hope we'll pull together and pass that prayer over to the next generation.

That's all I had to say. Thank you.

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