http://solamonenergysources.com/2012/08/09/japan-had-missteps-in-radiation-problem/

1. Solamon Energy Sources
Japan had missteps in radiation
problem

2. Japan’s current administration is reportedly prepared
to restart nuclear reactors to support the
massive energy expenditure of the nation even
amidst massive public protests. And according to a
new government-supported study regarding the
Fukushima crisis, the “myth of nuclear safety” could
be playing a part in this.
The 450-page study was compiled by various experts
from the field of engineering, law, media and a group
of scholars. It said the officials were not trained well
enough to ha­ndle the crisis following the reactors’
meltdown last year.

3. “The fundamental problem lies in the fact that
utilities, including TEPCO and the government, have
failed to see the danger as reality as they were bound
by a myth of nuclear safety and the notion that
severe accidents do not happen at nuclear plants in
our country,” the report said.
The report is the latest made into the worse nuclear
disaster in modern times that happened after an
unprecedented tsunami on March 2011 hit the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Also according to the report, TEPCO and NISA
(Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency were both
unprepared to cope with severe accidents and
weather conditions, and that the government itself
has messed up the evacuation.

4. “Both the government and companies should establish a new
philosophy of disaster prevention that requires safety and disaster
measures against any massive accident and disaster … regardless
of event probability,” according to the report.
The report also noted that even though NISA is under the
economic ministry of the country, it was a “toothless entity” which
could not come up to the public’s expectations. Now, the
government is apparently trying to overhaul the agency in an
attempt to make it more effective and independent.
A notable incident was when the workers at the Fukushima No. 1
nuclear power plant were instructed to cover their dosimeters
with lead plates in order to cheat radiation measurements and
continue working even under hazardous conditions. There were
some of the employees who questioned their safety and refused
to comply but a senior official of the TEPCO’s subcontractor
responsible for the work has threatened that they would lose any
chance of employment if they don’t follow.

5. The dosimeter is pocket-sized device used
to measure a person’s exposure to
radiation and will give an alarm once it
detects a high level. For instance, an
individual who has been measure to be
exposed to have an accumulated dose of 50
millisieverts in one year will be required to
stop working and keep away from the high-
radiation area for a specific amount of time.
On December 1, the foreman has allegedly
directed his team to cover their dosimeters
with lead plates but when three of the
employees have refused to comply, he held
a meeting with them the next day.

6. “Everybody who works for nuclear plants know
that the limit is 50 millisieverts per year. If you
get exposed to a lot of radiation, you will reach
that limit in less than a year. It could run out in
three or four months. You can’t live by nuclear
plants around the year unless you take care of
your own radiation doses.
You simply can’t go and work somewhere else
when you are not allowed to work for nuclear
plants. You can no longer make a living when
the dose runs out. Do you understand that? The
50 millisieverts just keeps running out,” said the
foreman on the recording.