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(Fwd) Tokai nuke incident still shows afterglow
Thanks to Lt. Col. (Dr.) Ross Pastel, who forwarded this information
to me, and, who also informed me that there is a PDF file, "JCO
Criticality Accident and Local Residents: Damages, Symptoms and
Changing Attitudes", available for downloading from the Citizens'
Nuclear Information Center, http://www.cnic.or.jp/english/. Be aware
that this site maintains anti-nuclear views, and any information
should be evaluated for authenticity and validity.
Tokai nuke incident still shows afterglow
By STEPHEN HESSE
The Japan Times: July 12, 2001
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20010712sh.htm
Hisashi Ouchi died Dec. 21, 1999, less than three months after he and
two colleagues set off a criticality accident at JCO Co. in the
village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture. Masato Shinohara died seven
months later, also a victim of lethal radiation exposure. The third
employee, Yutaka Yokokawa, was hospitalized for several months then
released. He has not yet fully recovered.
Ouchi, Shinohara and Yokokawa are the most notable victims of the
Tokai accident, but they are not the only ones. Thousands of others
living in and around the village of Tokai and the town of Naka were
affected.
There were other victims as well: Japan's naivete, its national
denial that a nuclear accident could happen here; government and
industry assurances that Japan's nuclear-power industry is safe; and
trust in the nation's corporate and political leaders.
A May 27 plebescite in Kariwa Village, Niigata Prefecture, brought
this new nuclear reality into high relief. Villagers were asked
whether to allow Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to use mixed
uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel in a local reactor. Unlike
traditional uranium-based fuels, MOX includes plutonium. Fifty-three
percent of Kariwa villagers voted "No," rejecting the TEPCO proposal.
The tally was a shock because Kariwa is located in Japan's nuclear-
power heartland. The town hosts seven reactors and about one in four
households derives its principal income from nuclear power-related
employment.
Criticality is a situation "in which a nuclear chain reaction becomes
self-sustaining, [similar to] what occurs in a nuclear reactor," the
late Dr. Jinzaburo Takagi wrote in his book, "Criticality Accident at
Tokai-mura," published by the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, a
group he founded in 1975, and whose executive director he was from
1987-98. The criticality accident at Tokai "was as if a small,
completely 'exposed' nuclear reactor had suddenly appeared in a
conversion building of a nuclear fuel plant," explained Takagi, "a
facility which does not have a nuclear reactor on site."
Tokai is located about 110 km northeast of Tokyo. At the time of the
accident, JCO Co. was in the business of "uranium reconversion," a
process in which enriched uranium is converted into uranium oxide for
fabrication into fuel assemblies used in nuclear power plants. JCO
had its manufacturing license revoked in March 2000; it is now
dealing with a criminal case and compensation claims.
What effects did Japan's worst nuclear-power accident have on the
lives, health, and thoughts of local residents? CNIC conducted a
field survey of residents in Tokai and the neighboring town of Naka
in February 2000.
The results of the survey were released in Japanese last year, and in
English last month. "JCO Criticality Accident and Local Residents:
Damages, Symptoms and Changing Attitudes" is an informative and
readable 48-page report that takes a close look at the concerns and
fears of 946 households, a sample of the 2,683 homes within a 2-km
radius of the accident site.
Health and safety are primary concerns. Residents voiced "anxiety
over delayed effects from radiation" (54.6 percent of respondents),
and fears that "there might be another nuclear-related accident"
(53.9 percent). One resident said, "I am (concerned) about my
children's health -- whether they can have children even if they get
married, and the possibility of having abnormal children." Ongoing
health problems for some include headaches, weakness, tiredness and
sleeplessness.
Some locals fear the discrimination experienced by the victims of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "I am worried," one said, "that even if there
[is] no physical damage, my children will be discriminated against in
the future just because they lived near the JCO plant . . . and will
not be able to get married."
The survey found that "close to 90 percent of the residents" hold the
former Science and Technology Agency responsible for the accident and
its effects. The agency, which was responsible for overseeing JCO
Co., has since been incorporated into the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Sixty-six percent of the
villagers voiced criticism of nuclear power and were critical of
Japan building new nuclear plants.
About half of those interviewed saw their town "co-existing with the
nuclear industry." Skepticism runs deep, however, and more than 60
percent of local residents felt the construction of future nuclear-
power facilities should be decided by local referenda.
"The survey [is] extremely valuable for examining the long-term
effects of the accident," says Gaia Hoerner, translator and editor of
the report. "The results speak for themselves on the effects of the
accident, and will greatly contribute to studies on the risks of
nuclear power."
Time will tell what Japan's nuclear-power industry has learned. In
the foreword to the report, Michiaki Furukawa, a nuclear chemist and
professor emeritus at Nagoya University, writes, "The government
recognized the seriousness of the accident and has been reforming
laws and nuclear regulatory bodies to improve the administration of
nuclear matters. However, the effectiveness of such reforms can only
be evaluated after observing changes over a long period of time.
While such reforms cannot have worsened the conditions at nuclear
facilities, citizens must keep a watchful eye on whether the
countermeasures implemented by the central government are adequate."
In the meantime, the report concludes, the government must
"comprehensively review its energy policy -- with complete nuclear
phaseout as one of the options."
A final thought before you crank up your air conditioner: Summer is
the season for reactor mishaps. According to the most recent issue of
CNIC's English newsletter, "Nuke Info Tokyo," there were 32
"significant incidents" at nuclear facilities in Japan last year,
including radioactive leaks. Almost half of those were between June
and August, and two-thirds were within a year of the Tokai
criticality accident.
CNIC is a public-interest information service that provides
information and public education on nuclear power and nuclear issues.
For more information on CNIC e-mail cnic-jp@po.iijnet.or.jp or visit
the Web site at www.cnic.or.jp
Stephen Hesse welcomes questions. and comments at
stevehesse@hotmail.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service Fax:(714) 668-3149
ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/scperle
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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