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发帖数: 894 | 2 http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/japan.nuclear.heroe
Praise for 'heroes' working to avert Japan's nuclear catastrophe
(CNN) -- As the rest of the world waits with bated breath to see if Japan
can avert a nuclear catastrophe, a small band of experts is putting their
lives at risk to prevent the disaster.
Thousands of people living near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant have been evacuated from their homes because of the risk of radiation
leaks from reactors damaged by last week's devastating earthquake and
tsunami.
But while most hurry in the opposite direction, about 180 plant workers are
staying put -- despite the fact that doing so could result in serious
illness or even death -- to battle the meltdown threat.
"The workers at this site are involved in a heroic endeavor," former U.S.
Department of Energy Official Robert Alvarez told CNN.
"There is at least fragmentary evidence that in some places on this site
there are life-threatening doses of radiation. I think they are doing
enormously heroic work"
The workers left at the site are said to be highly trained and experienced
nuclear operators, engineers and safety staff with highly specialized
knowledge.
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Professor Richard Wakeford, of the Dalton Nuclear Institute at the
University of Manchester, said for many of them -- despite the highly
unusual and potentially dangerous circumstances -- it will be just another
day at the office.
"They see it as doing their job," he said. "The Japanese in particular are
dedicated to duty, and they will see it as their duty to do what they are
doing."
According to the World Health Organisation, the average person is exposed to
about 3.0 millisieverts (mSv) a year of radiation, from naturally-occurring
, medical and other sources.
But monitoring at the Fukushima Daiichi site has recorded radiation as high
as 400 millisieverts an hour -- a level known to be a risk to human health.
Exposure to 1,000 millisieverts (1 Sievert) of radiation can cause radiation
sickness.
"It is difficult to get a clear picture, but there have been spikes in
radiation to enormous doses, high enough to risk radiation sickness," said
Dr Ira Helfand, a member of the organization Physicians for Social
Responsibility.
"These people are undergoing total body radiation, which can cause leukaemia
and lymphoma as well as thyroid cancer later on," he said.
Experts say lessons have been learned since the nuclear disaster at
Chernobyl 25 years ago, when an unauthorized experiment saw radioactive dust
spread across swathes of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and western Europe.
Then, emergency workers were sent in with little or no protection to deal
with the fallout.
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"The workers at Chernobyl had no idea that they were walking into an intense
radiation field," said Professor Wakeford. "It was pandemonium; there was
no monitoring, no idea of the risks."
By contrast, he said, staff at Fukushima Daiichi will be kitted out in
protective clothing and breathing apparatus, they will be closely monitored
and working in teams to limit their exposure to radiation.
"If I were them I would be more worried about the hydrogen explosions, which
have been huge -- enough to blow the roofs off two buildings -- and which I
think are a much bigger risk to the workers on the ground," he told CNN.
But Dr. Helfand said reports suggested that the operation was not going 100%
to plan, describing it as "something out of an adventure movie."
"We are in totally uncharted waters, people are ad-libbing to deal with the
situation," he said. "Using fire trucks to pump a mixture of sea water and
boron onto the reactors is not in any of the manuals."
Professor Wakeford said the workers will have known they may one day face a
risky situation such as this.
However, Dr. Helfand said that made them even braver, and their work more
admirable.
"These workers are trained to understand the risks, but that only makes it
all the more heroic that they have agreed to stay and work to prevent a
disaster," he said.
"They know that if there is a reactor meltdown it could be a major disaster
affecting huge areas and massive numbers of people, and they are risking
their lives to try and prevent that. All of us owe them a huge debt of
gratitude."
Professor Wakeford agreed: "They are heroic, there is no doubt about that --
it's a pity that isn't recognised more. They are heroes, and I bow down to
them." |
