2 of 3 radiation-exposed workers suffer internal exposure
Mar. 28, 2011
Two of the three workers who were exposed to high-level radiation and sustained possible burns at a crisis-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture have likely suffered ''internal exposure'' in which radioactive substances have entered their bodies, but they are not showing early symptoms and do not require treatment, a national radiation research center said Friday.
The National Institute of Radiological Sciences, where the three arrived earlier in the day for highly specialized treatment, said the two were exposed to 2 to 6 sieverts of radiation below their ankles, whereas exposure to 250 millisieverts is the limit set for workers dealing with the ongoing crisis, the worst in Japan's history.
While the two in their late 20s and early 30s may develop symptoms of burns later, all three can walk without assistance and are expected to leave the institute as early as Monday, it said, adding it will continue monitoring them over time.
The accident on Thursday highlighted the plant operator's lax radiation management, with industry minister Banri Kaieda pointing to the absence of a person who should have been checking the on-site radiation level.
The three workers were exposed to radiation amounting to 173 to 180 millisieverts while laying cable underground at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's No. 3 reactor, and two of them were taken to Fukushima Medical University Hospital due to possible radiation burns to their feet.
The two men were not wearing rubber boots as they stood in water that contained radioactive materials 10,000 times the normal level, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The two, who were working in contaminated water up to 15 centimeters deep, had their feet and lower legs below the knee soaked as the water seeped through their protective suits.
Electrical engineering firm Kandenko Co., which employs the two, said its workers were not required to wear rubber boots as its safety manuals did not assume a scenario in which its employees would carry out work standing in water at a nuclear power plant. The remaining worker from Kandenko's subcontractor was not hospitalized but was also sent to the national institute in Chiba, which is the tertiary medical institution to deal with emergency cases of serious radiation exposure.
The revelation that the workers may have suffered radiation injuries underlines the possibility that part of the No. 3 reactor may have been damaged, releasing radioactive materials, the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, said almost no water was present during an on-site inspection on Wednesday, and that the level of radiation was low at the time.
''Because of this, the workers are believed to have continued working even after the alarm on their dosimeter went off, assuming there was a problem with the device,'' a TEPCO official said.
TEPCO plans to strictly enforce the rule of evacuating the site whenever dosimeter alarms sound after the radiation level tops 20 millisieverts.
Referring to the absence of a person who should have been in charge of radiation-level monitoring, Kaieda, the minister of economy, trade and industry, told a press conference in Tokyo, ''This is a very big, basic oversight.''
The nuclear safety agency, which belongs to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, ordered TEPCO on Friday to review its radiation management procedures to prevent a recurrence of a similar incident.
Including the three, a total of 17 workers have been exposed to radiation exceeding 100 millisieverts so far in the ongoing crisis. Workers are usually allowed to be exposed to up to 100 millisieverts in an emergency situation. The limit, however, has been raised to 250 millisieverts during the ongoing crisis at Fukushima.
TEPCO's Fukushima office said the two workers have not complained of pain or nausea but are suspected of having suffered gamma ray exposure or sustaining beta ray burns. Doctors said their condition is generally good, the utility added.
Before departing from the hospital in the city of Fukushima, the two went through a decontamination process, which involved repeatedly wiping their feet with warm towels. As they walked through the Fukushima hospital, about 15 Self-Defense Force members wearing radiation protective suits shielded them with blue sheets.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on March 25, 2011)
The National Institute of Radiological Sciences, where the three arrived earlier in the day for highly specialized treatment, said the two were exposed to 2 to 6 sieverts of radiation below their ankles, whereas exposure to 250 millisieverts is the limit set for workers dealing with the ongoing crisis, the worst in Japan's history.
While the two in their late 20s and early 30s may develop symptoms of burns later, all three can walk without assistance and are expected to leave the institute as early as Monday, it said, adding it will continue monitoring them over time.
The accident on Thursday highlighted the plant operator's lax radiation management, with industry minister Banri Kaieda pointing to the absence of a person who should have been checking the on-site radiation level.
The three workers were exposed to radiation amounting to 173 to 180 millisieverts while laying cable underground at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's No. 3 reactor, and two of them were taken to Fukushima Medical University Hospital due to possible radiation burns to their feet.
The two men were not wearing rubber boots as they stood in water that contained radioactive materials 10,000 times the normal level, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The two, who were working in contaminated water up to 15 centimeters deep, had their feet and lower legs below the knee soaked as the water seeped through their protective suits.
Electrical engineering firm Kandenko Co., which employs the two, said its workers were not required to wear rubber boots as its safety manuals did not assume a scenario in which its employees would carry out work standing in water at a nuclear power plant. The remaining worker from Kandenko's subcontractor was not hospitalized but was also sent to the national institute in Chiba, which is the tertiary medical institution to deal with emergency cases of serious radiation exposure.
The revelation that the workers may have suffered radiation injuries underlines the possibility that part of the No. 3 reactor may have been damaged, releasing radioactive materials, the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, said almost no water was present during an on-site inspection on Wednesday, and that the level of radiation was low at the time.
''Because of this, the workers are believed to have continued working even after the alarm on their dosimeter went off, assuming there was a problem with the device,'' a TEPCO official said.
TEPCO plans to strictly enforce the rule of evacuating the site whenever dosimeter alarms sound after the radiation level tops 20 millisieverts.
Referring to the absence of a person who should have been in charge of radiation-level monitoring, Kaieda, the minister of economy, trade and industry, told a press conference in Tokyo, ''This is a very big, basic oversight.''
The nuclear safety agency, which belongs to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, ordered TEPCO on Friday to review its radiation management procedures to prevent a recurrence of a similar incident.
Including the three, a total of 17 workers have been exposed to radiation exceeding 100 millisieverts so far in the ongoing crisis. Workers are usually allowed to be exposed to up to 100 millisieverts in an emergency situation. The limit, however, has been raised to 250 millisieverts during the ongoing crisis at Fukushima.
TEPCO's Fukushima office said the two workers have not complained of pain or nausea but are suspected of having suffered gamma ray exposure or sustaining beta ray burns. Doctors said their condition is generally good, the utility added.
Before departing from the hospital in the city of Fukushima, the two went through a decontamination process, which involved repeatedly wiping their feet with warm towels. As they walked through the Fukushima hospital, about 15 Self-Defense Force members wearing radiation protective suits shielded them with blue sheets.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on March 25, 2011)
