Fox News broke a story today about the heroic Fukushima 50, those workers who dedicated themselves to stay and fight nuclear catastrophe at that stricken power plant. The mother of one of these brave souls tells Fox, and the world, her son and those workers have every reason to believe they are dead men walking. This is the story many of us expected, but no one with a heart ever wants to believe can happen.
We did a brief story about the so called Fukushima 50 back then their deeds somehow came to be known. It is a story of almost unthinkable heroism. And now, it is rapidly becoming a sad tale of corporate greed and mediocrity, on top of political conniving and misconduct. At least this seems true. With divergent news stories coming from Japan every minute of every day, a trail of misinformation as wide as the Pacific Ocean begins to take shape. But lets tell the story of one concerned mother, and let the chips fall where they may.
Workers at the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan say they expect to die from radiation sickness as a result of their efforts to bring the reactors under control, the mother of one of the men tells Fox News. Fox reports that the workers have been repeatedly explosed to dangerous levels of radioactivity while attempting to bring cooling control back to those reactors
A phone call from the mother of a 32 year old worker, one of the 50, reveals the truth of Fukushima:
“My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation.”
Now take into account as a spectator in this story, all that has been streamed in front of you since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated Japan. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (or TEPCO), the megalith that runs this nuclear facility, and even the Japanese officials, have constantly underplayed what has gone on. This is not speculation, clearly those involved are either incompetent or not telling the whole truth. Perhaps this is to avert panic? But the truth seems distant if we further examine what this mother is suggesting.
The woman spoke to Fox News on the condition of anonymity because, she said, plant workers had been asked by management not to communicate with the media or share details with family members in order to minimize public panic. According to the Fox report, and the mother’s report, averting panic is suggested as one reason we have not heard more. I quote from that article by Dominic Di-Natale:
“The woman spoke to Fox News on the condition of anonymity because, she said, plant workers had been asked by management not to communicate with the media or share details with family members in order to minimize public panic.”
The mother, whose name is being witheld, added this gripping comment: “They have concluded between themselves that it is inevitable some of them may die within weeks or months. They know it is impossible for them not to have been exposed to lethal doses of radiation.”
Let me be clear here, these brave people are educated people, especially where radiation and their jobs are concerned. If they fear death from radiation sickness in weeks, the situation in Japan is far more grave than any official has hinted at. But what bears even worse connotation (if that is possible) is how pitifully little concern and care these Fukushima heroes are receiving while they serve all Japan. If this does not awaken your ire…
The Fuchs NBC reconnaissance vehicle - designed for optimal protection - they could sleep here
This woman’s son, a man in his 30′s, one bascially sacrificing his life, sleeps on a desk when his shift averting disaster is over. His comrades also grab what compfort they may, when they can. Banri Kaieda, the interior minister who is deputy head of the nuclear disaster task force set up by the government and TEPCO, reported that some 500 to 600 people have at one time or another been lodged at the plants buildings, a situation he said was; “not a situation in which minimum sleep and food could be ensured.” And Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reports these same Fukushima 5o only eat two meals of crackers and rice per day.
If this were not pitiful enough news, Kaieda also told FOX that many of the workers are not even provided with enough lead sheeting to protect themselves as they lay in hallways or on tables asleep. The mother of the worker was quoted by FOX one last time:
“My son has been sleeping on a desk because he is afraid to lie on the floor. But they say high radioactivity is everywhere and I think this will not save him.”
In TEPCO’s and apparently the Japanese governments infinite knowledge, wisdom, and good will, with all those tens of billions in resources at their disposal – one would think someone in all that beurocracy could consider travel trailers or mobile homes with lead sheeting over them – or even some military solution like Japan’s Defense Forces have at their disposal (FOX above or Type 82)?
If true, this is the most disgusting and deplorable news I think I have ever heard. These bastards are bringing in remote controlled vehicles now, to spray a high tech resin onto contaminated materials (which according to them do not exits) to prevent their becoming airborne – but no one can cover the helpless sleeping heroes from a quickened death. What an insult to all humanity. Not even for heroes.
There are no words for such sorry behaviors. All I can say is, TEPCO and all those responsible had better pray to whatever god (note the little g) they worship that this writer is not Emperor of Japan. What dishonor. The solution seems clear. The ultimate responsibility is with Chairman of TEPCO Tsunehisa Katsumata (image top), and of course Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
About Mihaela Lica Butler
@ Phil Butler- I appreciate your response (although I don’t understand most of what you said), and I appreciate you approving my comment. I am sure I was out of line, from your perspective, and did not intend to be rude. Sincerely sorry for that.
I know what Editorial is, but I thank you for straightening me out. My initial reading of the article was as a journalist’s report.
I don’t have a Leer jet, but am in the market for one (slightly used). And as I said before, I am more than willing to help the Japanese and am raising money for ShelterBox. As I challenged before, anyone on here willing to do more than talk can contact me and donate.
I don’t mind being dismissed or ridiculed, and am not hurt by your profanity (even thought your own rules for posting don’t allow it), but I find one thing bothersome:
You attack those in Japan as “disjointed and incompetent” and feel justified in saying so. So why are you up in arms when I call the article (or EDITORIAL) reckless? You complain against them for not giving accurate information (FACTS, anyone?) yet I get pounced on when I ask you for the same with regard to your accusations.
I do understand your opinion from the PR perspective and am not trying to argue with you. I won’t bother you all anymore. But I plead with any that want good information about the disaster, please go to http://www.nei.org.
@ Mathieu et al.: I highly recommend you go to http://www.nei.org to get some truthful info about radiation and the situation over there. It is an unbiased sight that only reports the boring facts about what is going on, and leaves out the hype, generalizations, and hidden agenda.
Let’s get something straight- OJ was clearly guilty—the glove fit! ;) Now that that’s cleared up, let’s move to our primary disagreement/discussion.
I did not miss the point of the article. The point (as I see it) was to describe the emotional pain of families potentially suffering the loss of loved ones who are working in the plant, the horrible conditions they face inside the plant with lack of supplies and potential death; but what is most focused on is complete and utter disgust for Japanese leaders and TEPCO leaders. Everything I read in the article indicts them as basically trying to kill these volunteers and not support them in any way. all I am asking for is for proof of this, and I will quote the article momentarily to show why I made my initial response.
But first, Mathieu, I have some questions for you:
1) You say, “you don’t need to be an expert on nuclear power to know that the people living at the reactor are being exposed to lethal doses of radiation”— I never said you need to be an expert, but tell me, what are the doses they are being exposed to? What is considered a lethal dose? How do you know? You say, “The levels of radiation outside the plant are well over the lethal doses”— and again I ask, what are the lethal doses?!? Because right now, your words are empty. Just saying something is lethal doesn’t prove that it is. And you speak in such general statements about the radiation. I don’t know all the specifics of what is happening there, so that’s why I ask (sincerely). But you have NO credibility when a generalization is made.
2) You say, “These poor guys are being put through hell and will die a very painful death but their government can’t even give them lead blankets or any form of protection, just because they want to avert panic/hysteria? It’s a disgrace.— Again, how do you know these things about the agency/gov’t.??? You are forming some conclusion, but don’t include the facts for the rest of us. Why should I take your word over that of the Japanese officials. Who do you trust? The ones with the facts. And how do you trust them? Because FACT is objective.
3) I don’t recall using the phrase “cold hard facts” but I like how you skewed what I what saying simply to satisfy your own point. I said we need to base opinions and decisions on FACTS. The article accuses but doesn’t give evidence. I’m simply asking the reporter/article writer to give me objective reasons for her claims. I don’t see any. But let me ask you, would you want the people trying to save that plant (and more importantly LIVES) ignoring facts about their situation and just going with how they felt at the moment? Again, this industry relies on knowledge and objectivity.
4) You say, “I don’t know how you can even say something like that when the japanese propaganda machine has already been caught lying to the public about the severity of this disaster.”— I don’t recall this, but perhaps you can enlighten me on their lies to the public. Would you do that for me (and I am not being sarcastic)? I am not sure they have lied yet, although OUR media would have you believe they did. After all, WE have our very own propaganda machine that generally despises nuclear power and will make every effort to spin in negatively. Remember I DID NOT say they haven’t lied, only that I’m not sure if they have. The media has their own agenda and most are ignorant of the situation but throw conjecture around like peanuts. But did you ever think about what you might have to deal with when a 9.0 earthquake hits… and then a tsunami… would you be spot on, perfect, make every call right, save the world, and be home by dinner? Reality doesn’t work that way. What you believe were lies, I believe was piecemeal information streaming out of the plants and to the public as they were able to do so. Remember these plants did not have power for quite some time; they couldn’t possibly know the magnitude of their situation immediately without power, lighting, etc. There are so many variables, which is why I am very critical of those making accusations without proof. Give them the benefit of the doubt.
5) Those men who are being abandoned… VOLUNTEERED. No one can make you stay in a situation where exposure is life threatening. But these great men, recognize that potentially sacrificing their lives saves hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of lives. As cold as it sounds, it comes down to risk versus benefit. It doesn’t benefit anyone to have everyone suffer from this accident. But it does benefit most to have a few suffer. And that is the situation we in the nuclear industry are willing to place ourselves in. We care about our families and communities, and if something should go wrong, I and others like me (like those at Fukushima) would gladly give ourselves if it meant preserving others.
Mihaela mentioned something about the gov’t. hauling in trailers or mobile homes. Really? A lot of their infrastructure is probably damaged(supplies, roads– I’m just guessing) and the logistics of that seem unreasonable to me. Not to mention, if rad levels are high, why would you bring in more people to get exposed simply to set up flimsy trailers that would probably not have withstood the most recent 7.something aftershock? The plant buildings that are still standing are the places I would trust most with my life.
7) Once and for all, I’m not saying I trust the Japanese officials and execs. But I do know they are closest to this event, have most to gain, and lose, and are dealing with the situation while we all blog about it. I am not inhumane; although I do want facts in my decisions, one fact I see is these men are selfless. May God bless them.
In addition I am also involved in raising funds for relief in Japan, so if any of you would like to contribute, let me know and I’ll give you an email address from which we can communicate if you want to do more for them than just e-talk
I apologize for the length, but felt I needed to go into detail. I said I’d be specific about what got me fired up in the first place and for the sake of time, I’ll simply quote a few spots from the article above and you can re-read it if you like. Statements such as, “At least this seems true.”, “lets tell the story of one concerned mother, and let the chips fall where they may”, “This is not speculation, clearly those involved are either incompetent or not telling the whole truth.”—This last one you say is not speculation? prove it. Show their incompetencies or actual lies. And this final quote, “If they fear death from radiation sickness in weeks, the situation in Japan is far more grave than any official has hinted at.” These men are in a traumatic situation the NONE OF US can begin to comprehend, I and pray never happens again. But…fear is not fact. And there is no way around that. You can not lead a nation or an organization off of fears, especially when they are not communicated in the context of some factual info. Just because they fear death doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen, and doesn’t mean the situation is worse. But you know what? I could be wrong about this about it could be exactly like you say. But I will not come to that conclusion simply because you tell me someone is afraid and someone is lying, and nobody cares. Again, from a reporting standpoint, the burden of proof is on the journalist, and I view it as nothing less than reckless to make accusations without out any documented facts to back them up.
As I said before, I highly recommend the nei.org website for valid, trustworthy info on the disaster in Japan.
Mihaela, I tried to find info about you, but so far have only found out about your online PR work and search engine stuff. Didn’t mean to “throw stones” but you have to admit you are tossin’ some pretty big ones yourself. Not sure what you were implying about your nuclear background, but am definitely curious.
As for myself, I am in the Nuclear Industry (hidden agenda! hidden agenda! :) )and have been for almost fifteen years.
I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but I’m sure I do. I apologize for that. Don’t forget about the relief efforts I’m trying to raise money for, if you’re truly interested voice it here and I’ll leave an email address.
@Neel Shukla – This editorial is largely based upon a Fox News breaking story of the mother of one of the so called Fukushima 50. It assumed that this story, and the woman’s “testimony” are largely true. So, editorial opinion in modifying these accepted facts… You see the point. So far none of us have any real facts about this disaster. For all we know, all you know, it could be a 2011 version of Orson Welles’ famous War of the World’s Broadcast – hell, the divergent reports coming out like chaotic screams make me think it has to be – no one could be so disjointed and incompetent without trying.
While your need for empirical evidence is noted here, I am not sure Albert Einstein or Oppenheimer could bring themselves to believe even a radiation reading taken by their own hand at this point. I wish you would read some of these other comments sir. One person you will note, talks about a fallout radiation warning issued for their freaking neighborhood! “There is no cause for alarm however, the altitude is too high for the DEADLY cloud to harm anyone!”
You know, sometimes the proof is in just feeling the temperature of the pot on the stove. Or the warmth of the Sun on one’s face. The son of a bitch issues light, warms up the sand on the beach, and it seems like a big assed ball of gas! Maybe it is. You don’t have to be a NUUU CUE LAR scientist you know? Mihaela was not referring to “trailers” out of the trailer park either? You probably should have investigated that NBC vehicle she put in the article – and then imagined other 20 ton armored vehicles sitting around Japan’s various bases. You talk about an author do their research and giving you evidence?
I approved your comment. I just like for people to have their say. And you took some time to throw all this out. So there is your platform. As for being reckless, and you being a smart-ass? Let me go out on a limb here (I am reckless when it comes to rude people) - EDITORIAL is a term used to describe content which is based largely on opinion – in many cases (even the NYT’s) reflecting the opinion or stance of the publication itself. In this case, our opinion (this means every man woman and child associated with EPR) is that these officials have already perpetrated the worst public relations nightmare of the new century. I hope this is clear now.
I suggest you jump in your Leer Jet and fly on over there to help people who need your NUU CUE LAR expertise – we have plenty of smart-asses and trolls on the Internet to keep us in line, thank you.
Always,
Phil
@Neel Shukla
You totally missed the point of this article, you don’t need to be an expert on nuclear power to know that the people living at the reactor are being exposed to lethal doses of radiation… Everyone knew this would happen from day 1. The levels of radiation outside the plant are well over the lethal doses, do you honestly think its better INSIDE?
The fact is that nobody gives a shit about them, those miners in Chile got all the attention in the world and they weren’t even doing anything… These poor guys are being put through hell and will die a very painful death but their government can’t even give them lead blankets or any form of protection, just because they want to avert panic/hysteria? It’s a disgrace.
I bet you still believe OJ was innocent too, it’s all about the cold hard facts right? I don’t know how you can even say something like that when the japanese propaganda machine has already been caught lying to the public about the severity of this disaster.
Thank you, Steven Lu.
I don’t think any nuclear “knowledge, experience and objective truth” would change the fact this group people(fukushima 50) are suffering cold, lack or food and water, and almost none support. They don’t call themselves heroes, they are just simply trying get the job done. But if this kind behavior can’t but touching to someone, i don’t think that person could be called human anymore. As this group people pretty much gave up everything they have(wife, kids, mother, their own life, etc) for this crisis, i simply believe this kinda spirit is what kept humane society going, not some cold hard “information” or so called “objective truth”.
@Elizabeth Kintonis – there are more than 50 volunteers there, Elizabeth. They are just called the Fukushima 50 because they are rotated in groups of 50.
@Neel Shukla – good for you. You got your priorities straight. As far for myself not knowing anything about nuclear issues, I suggest you research a bit who I am before throwing the stones. Otherwise, you are just as ignorant as you suggest I was.
Don’t get me wrong. I feel for the mother and all like her who may lose loved ones, but they are not in a position to give clear details. Do you think the money matters to these “executives” who might also have lost family in the quake/ tsunami? Becuase they are the ones with the facts, I will trust them until they PROVE untrustworthy.
Your article is rubbish. With no nuclear experience of your own, and no credible sources with any nuclear experience, you write an article filled with hype, hyperbole, fear mongering, and ignornace. You are ne better than the Japanese elite, whom you claim are misleading the public. You are equally guilty, if not more so, because all you have is speculation and NO INORMATION. Get a real source with facts about the situation. A mother who may lose her son is not someone who can be objective. Especially when she knows nothing about nuclear specifics. In this industry, you go on FACTS, not FEELINGS. Nuclear operators focus on objective truth, not the subject (like your article).
Mihaela Butler, I thought everyone would get the idea. guess not
Is there a forum for the public to express gratitude to the Fukushima 50?
Albert, I don’t think KAMIKAZE applies to this particular case.
can u say KAMIKAZE.What heros!!! They are going to help save the world not just japan.