EXPOSURE

EXPOSURE－VICTIMS OF RADIATION SPEAK OUT was first published as a series in the Chugoku Shimbun (daily newspaper) beginning in May 1989 and continuing through May 1990. The series comprised 134 articles. The original Japanese, Sekai no Hibakusha, was published in book form in Japanese in 1991 by Kodansha Ltd. The English version in 1992 by Kodansha International. The translation was done by Kirsten Mclvor.

More than twenty years have passed since the first edition came out, but this series carries information that has only grown more vital since the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) Nuclear Power Plant disaster. The Chugoku Shimbun, with gratitude to Kodansha Ltd., has prepared this web version to make this information more widely available.

To protect privacy, the names of some interviewees have been changed. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean names appear in traditional order, with the family name first. Exchange rates have not been revised and radiation units remain the same as well. Specifically, we use “rems” instead of “sieverts”. (One sievert is 100 rems.) The articles derive from investigations conducted from 1988 to 1990; the name “Soviet Union” has thus been retained throughout the series.

• Foreword
• Introduction

CHAPTER 1: THE UNITED STATES

• Part 1: Hanford's Hidden Past
  • 1. A Curse on the People of Hanford
  • 2. The Truth about Green Run
  • 3. Victims of Radiation in Hanford
  • 4. The Tri-city: Cities Getting Rich from the Bomb
  • 5. The 'Mile of Death'
  • 6. Compensation for Victims of Hanford
• Part 2: Three Mile Island-Ten Years After
  • 1. Counting the Cost of Core Meltdown
  • 2. No Chance of a Quiet Retirement
  • 3. Compensation for 'Psychological Stress'
  • 4. A Farm in Ruins
  • 5. The Need for Independent Surveys
• Part 3: Uranium Mining on the Navajo Reservation
  • 1. The Radioactive Flood
  • 2. Contamination of the Four Corners
  • 3. Victim of the Uranium Rush
  • 4. Dropping Like Flies in Red Valley
  • 5. Radioactive Houses
  • 6. A Lethal Legacy
  • 7. Fighting for the Restoration of Justice
• • Feature 1: Radioactive Contamination in Greenland
  • Feature 2: The Burden of Nuclear Supremacy

CHAPTER 2: THE SOVIET UNION

• Part 1: The Largest Nuclear Test Site in the Soviet Union
  • 1. The Seeds of Protest
  • 2. The Hydrogen-bomb Tests
  • 3. Living in the Path of the ‘Ashes of Death’
  • 4. The Atomic Lakes
  • 5. A High Incidence of Deformities
  • 6. Secret Research Carried Out by the Military
  • 7. Nevada-Semipalatinsk
• Part 2: Chernobyl Three Years After
  • 1. Victims of Chernobyl
  • 2. Survivors of Chernobyl
  • 3. Visiting the Site of the Accident
  • 4. Radiophobia
  • 5. Reporting about Chernobyl
  • 6. The Contamination of Foodstuffs
  • 7. Learning from Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Part 3: The Spread of Nuclear Contamination over Sweden
  • 1. Radiation: A threat to a Way of Life
  • 2. Traditional Lapp Foodstuffs Contaminated
  • 3. Struggling for Survival
  • 4. Dairy Farmers Fight Cesium Contamination
  • 5. Scientists Battle against Radioactive Contamination
• • Feature: Untold Nuclear Contamination

CHAPTER 3: THE CENTRAL, SOUTH PACIFIC AND AUSTRALIA

• Part 1: Toe Nuclear Refugees of the Marshall Islands
  • 1. Escaping the ‘Poison’
  • 2. Children Suffering from Previously Unknown Diseases
  • 3. Low Doses of Radiation Also Pose Threat
  • 4. The Future of Bikini
• Part 2: Caught in the Fallout-Daigo Fukuryu Maru
  • 1. The ‘Ashes of Death’
  • 2. Additional Fishermen under Threat
  • 3. An Unusually High Incidence of Liver Ailments
• Part 3: The French Cover-up in Polynesia
  • 1. Paradise Lost
  • 2. Radiation Leakage from Cracks in the Coral
  • 3. The Tragedy of Careless Planning
  • 4. French Deception
  • 5. Poisonous Fish
  • 6. Campaigning for Independence and an End to Testing
  • 7. Appealing to the World on Behalf of the Islands
• Part 4: Britain's Forgotten Legacy
  • 1. Displaced Aborigines
  • 2. Aborigines Free to Roam the Maralinga Test Site
  • 3. The Fight for Compensation
  • 4. Minor Trials Cause Major Contamination
  • 5. Ex-servicemen Fighting a Critical Battle
• Part 5: Victims of Christmas Island
  • 1. 'Atomic Kiwis'
  • 2. Hell on Earth
  • 3. Fighting for Recognition
  • 4. Genetic Defects Observed

CHAPTER 4: INDIA ・ MALAYSIA ・ KOREA

• Part 1: Living in the Shadow of Indian Nuclear Development
  • 1. The Dirtiest Nuclear Facility in the World
  • 2. The Unknown Victims of Radiation
  • 3. An Atmosphere of Fear and Distrust
  • 4. 'We Just Want to Catch Live Fish, Not Dead Ones’
  • 5. Besieged by Radiation
  • 6. Mysterious, Painful Diseases
  • 7. Fighting for a Nuclear-free Zone in South Asia
  • 8. The Radiation Coast
• Part 2: Thorium Contamination in Malaysia
  • 1.　Living on the Edge of a Nuclear-waste Dump
  • 2. Irresponsible Handling of Radioactive Substances
  • 3. The Perak Anti-radioactive Action Committee
  • 4. A High Incidence of Leukemia in Bukit Merah
  • 5. Multiple Burdens
  • 6. Doing His Utmost to Serve the People
  • 7. The Future of Bukit Merah
  • 8. Judgment Day Looming for Japanese Companies in Asia
• Part 3: South Korea's Poisonous Emissions
  • 1. Deformities Spawn Fear and Distrust
  • 2. Financial Incentives Lure Workers to the Power Plants
  • 3. Dreams Shattered by Nuclear Power
  • 4. Demands for Resettlement
  • 5. Communication Breakdown
  • 6. Learning from an A-bomb Survivor
  • 7. A Question of Social Responsibility

CHAPTER 5: BRITAIN ・ FRANCE

• Part 1: The Rough Road to Nuclear Supremacy
  • 1. The Worst Nuclear Accident in British History
  • 2. Contamination of Land and Sea
  • 3. Destruction of a Natural Paradise
  • 4. Sellafield and Leukemia
  • 5. Double Exposure
  • 6. The ‘Nuclear Village’
• Part 2: French Duplicity
  • 1. The Irresponsible Handling of Radioactive Material
  • 2. Hazardous Smoke Detectors
  • 3. The Danger of Low Doses of Radiation
  • 4. The French Cover-up in Corsica
  • 5. Accuser of the Motherland
  • 6. Subversion of the Truth

CHAPTER 6: BRAZIL ・ NAMIBIA

• Part 1: Cesium Contamination in Goiania, Brazil
  • 1. A Glittering Powder
  • 2. Playing with the Deadly Powder
  • 3. Fear of Contamination Increases with a Vengeance
  • 4. Outcasts of Society
  • 5. Victims of Secondary Exposure Ignored
  • 6. The Unknown Symptoms of Cesium Contamination
  • 7. The Burden of Four Ounces of Cesium
  • 8. Parallels with Hiroshima
• Part 2: Namibia's Uranium Mines
  • 1. Defying the United Nations
  • 2. Low Wages and Low Safety Standards
  • 3. A High Incidence of Respiratory Diseases
  • 4. Radon Checks Carried Out in Secret
  • 5. Mine Propaganda
  • 6. The MUN: Building a Future in Namibia

CHAPTER 7: NO MORE VICTIMS

• Part 1: The Future of Nuclear Power
  • 1. The Price of Nuclear Development
  • 2. The Continuing Effects of Radioactive Contamination
  • 3. The Continuing Nuclear Debate
  • 4. The Problem of Nuclear Waste
  • 5. Taking Action