Japanese Faulted on Nuke Accident

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Observation: " ... 100 times the annual amount judged safe for 
humans.. " is based on the value of 1 mSv per year. This quote coming 
from a professor of nuclear chemistry is disturbing. I have seen this 
interpretation from several articles out of Japan recently, equating 
a regulatory limit to a "safe" limit. If these countries truly 
believe that 1 mSv is the safe limit, then they ought to reduce the 
regulatory limit even lower, eliminate the nuclear option, and then 
the public will have to live with the serious consequences due to 
that decision. Nothing like going back to the dark ages.

Japanese Faulted on Nuke Accident

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese authorities were slow to react to a nuclear 
accident last year that killed two workers and exposed hundreds of 
others to radiation, according to a study to be published next week. 

The report, to be published May 19 in the U.K.-based Journal of 
Environmental Radioactivity, found that officials waited more than 
six hours before monitoring radiation levels at the plant in 
Tokaimura, 70 miles northeast of Tokyo. 

``They could have done something to stop the accident sooner'' had 
monitoring started promptly, said Kazuhisa Komura, professor of 
nuclear chemistry at Kanazawa University and a leader of the study, 
obtained Tuesday. 

Radiation levels close to the area of the plant where the 
uncontrolled nuclear reaction occurred reached a maximum 100 times 
the annual amount judged safe for humans, Komura said. 

However, all except for three workers - two of whom later died and 
one who was hospitalized - were evacuated before they had been 
exposed to lethal doses of radiation, he added. 

Komura said that the research team is evaluating blood samples from 
about 50 people who were exposed to radiation in order to determine 
any future health risks. 

The Education Ministry-funded study also said higher-than-expected 
uranium concentrations at the site suggest that there may have been 
other radioactive leaks prior to the Sept. 30 accident. 

A total of 439 people were believed to have been exposed to radiation 
at the JCO Co. uranium-processing facility after workers triggered an 
uncontrolled atomic reaction by using too much uranium to make fuel. 

An earlier investigation found that workers at the plant routinely 
violated safety procedures, including mixing uranium in buckets to 
get work done quickly. 

Hisashi Ouchi, 35, died of multiple organ failure on Dec. 21 after 
having been exposed to a massive amount of radiation. He was the 
first person in Japan to die as a result of a nuclear plant accident. 

Last month, Masato Shinohara, 40, also died of multiple organ 
failure. 

A third worker, Yutaka Yokokawa, was hospitalized for exposure to a 
lesser amount of radiation and was discharged in December. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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