2 And Chernobyl established a precedent: at least half of the roughly 700,000 “liquidators” who cleaned up after that accident were exposed to 100 milliSieverts of radiation, and many received far higher doses. Recommendations developed by the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP) allow for higher exposures during post-accident recovery operations. ![]() In the nuclear sector, this eventuality has been codified. According to TEPCO’s latest estimate, cleaning up the mess-removing fuel rods and debris, decommissioning the reactors, and decontaminating some of the surroundings-will take four decades and cost at least $125 billion." 1 Along the way, thousands of workers will be exposed annually to levels of radiation well in excess of 20 milliSieverts, the internationally recognized maximum limit for normal working conditions.Īt one level, of course, working conditions in the three devastated reactors are anything but “normal.” By definition, states of emergency – nuclear or otherwise –entail a suspension of the ordinary, a breach of normal rules. A year after the Japanese government declared that the reactors were under control, experts continued to find radioactive leaks. The hydrogen explosions at the three Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants in March 2011 launched one of the largest disasters in industrial history. Keywords: Fukushima, liquidators, nuclear industry, nuclear meltdown, reactor accident, contract workers
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