TEPCO to improve tough working conditions at Fukushima nuclear plant
Mar. 30, 2011
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is expected to improve the tough working environment of its employees and other workers who are trying to bring the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant under control, industry minister Banri Kaieda said Tuesday.
Kaieda, who serves as a deputy head of the nuclear disaster task force jointly set up by the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric, said around 500 to 600 people were at one point lodging in a building on the plant's premises and that was ''not a situation in which minimum sleep and food could be ensured.''
His remarks came after an official of the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported on the actual working environment at the radiation-leaking plant, saying that workers were only eating two meals per day, such as crackers and dried rice, and sleeping in conference rooms and hallways in the building.
The official stayed at the nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami for five days through Saturday to check on progress in the ongoing operations.
Kaieda said that he had also heard that not all of the workers had been equipped with lead sheeting to shield themselves from the possibly radiation-contaminated floors while sleeping, and some were leaning against walls as they were unable to lie down on floors.
''The workers, as well as the Self-Defense Forces and firefighters, are working under extremely harsh conditions...so (the conditions for) food and sleep must be improved first,'' the minister of economy, trade and industry said.
Amid increasing fears of workers being exposed to high levels of radiation at the plant, hospitals in Tokyo called on the workers to provide samples of their blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells ahead of possible massive exposure.
''Anything could happen at the nuclear plant, so preparation is important,'' said Shuichi Taniguchi, head of the hematology department at Toranomon Hospital.
A person's ability to form blood, when lost through radiation exposure, can be restored by transplanting his or her hematopoietic stem cells. Such a procedure is better than receiving a bone marrow transplant from another person as it avoids the risk of rejection.
Toranomon Hospital in Tokyo's Minato Ward said it is making preparations to take samples of the stem cells of around 50 to 100 workers on the front line at the plant. The cells will be preserved in a frozen state.
The National Cancer Center in Tokyo's Chuo Ward is also recommending that workers provide samples of their stem cells.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on March 29, 2011)
Kaieda, who serves as a deputy head of the nuclear disaster task force jointly set up by the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric, said around 500 to 600 people were at one point lodging in a building on the plant's premises and that was ''not a situation in which minimum sleep and food could be ensured.''
His remarks came after an official of the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported on the actual working environment at the radiation-leaking plant, saying that workers were only eating two meals per day, such as crackers and dried rice, and sleeping in conference rooms and hallways in the building.
The official stayed at the nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami for five days through Saturday to check on progress in the ongoing operations.
Kaieda said that he had also heard that not all of the workers had been equipped with lead sheeting to shield themselves from the possibly radiation-contaminated floors while sleeping, and some were leaning against walls as they were unable to lie down on floors.
''The workers, as well as the Self-Defense Forces and firefighters, are working under extremely harsh conditions...so (the conditions for) food and sleep must be improved first,'' the minister of economy, trade and industry said.
Amid increasing fears of workers being exposed to high levels of radiation at the plant, hospitals in Tokyo called on the workers to provide samples of their blood-forming hematopoietic stem cells ahead of possible massive exposure.
''Anything could happen at the nuclear plant, so preparation is important,'' said Shuichi Taniguchi, head of the hematology department at Toranomon Hospital.
A person's ability to form blood, when lost through radiation exposure, can be restored by transplanting his or her hematopoietic stem cells. Such a procedure is better than receiving a bone marrow transplant from another person as it avoids the risk of rejection.
Toranomon Hospital in Tokyo's Minato Ward said it is making preparations to take samples of the stem cells of around 50 to 100 workers on the front line at the plant. The cells will be preserved in a frozen state.
The National Cancer Center in Tokyo's Chuo Ward is also recommending that workers provide samples of their stem cells.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on March 29, 2011)
