Two employees of Fukushima nuclear power plant suspected of being exposed to nuclear radiation or due to inadequate protective measures
China News Service, November 23. According to Kyodo News, Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company announced on the 22nd that two male employees in their 40s were exposed to nuclear radiation while operating at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. TEPCO believes that the cause of the accident may be that the two people’s protective measures were not in place.
Screenshot of Kyodo News Report
According to reports, TEPCO stated that the two suspected of inhaling a trace amount of radioactive material from the nasal cavity and causing internal exposure. Although they wear light equipment including work clothes and dust masks according to the regulations, TEPCO believes that they should wear masks that cover their entire faces and wear protective clothing.
According to the report, the radioactive substance cesium 137 was not detected in both of them, and they may have suffered only a small amount of radiation. The relevant parties will continue to investigate the impact of radiation on the health of the two.
According to TEPCO, in order to prevent the nuclear sewage desalination device from freezing, the two employees have carried out pipe exchange operations in facilities equipped with heating and air circulation devices from more than 10 am local time on the 19th. The operation lasted about one time. half an hour. During the post-operation inspection, they were found to have attached radioactive material in their nasal cavity.
Radioactive materials were also attached to the work clothes of two other male employees who were also on the scene. This may be caused by the flying dust of radioactive materials when the pipes were exchanged.
In addition, the names of two of the four persons were not registered on the operator list. In addition to the cause of the radiation incident, TEPCO is also investigating the management system in detail.