On 2011March 12, nuclear leakage occurred in the first and second nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture due to a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. There are 6 reactors in Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant, of which 1-3 reactor automatically stopped running after the earthquake. Two workshops and a reactor shell were damaged due to continuous explosion. The cooling system of the power station was paralyzed by the flood caused by the tsunami, and the fuel temperature in the reactor core remained high, so rescuers had to use fire hoses to absorb seawater to cool the reactor.
When the earthquake occurred, the three reactors No.4, No.5 and No.6 stopped running, but a large amount of spent fuel stored in them also needed to be supplemented with cooling water. Due to the lack of cooling water, a fire broke out in No.4 reactor on June 5438+05. Fortunately, it was put out in time and did not cause greater disaster. According to the data, the shell of the Japanese reactor is very strong, and even after being hit by an airplane, only a small amount of leakage will occur.
The so-called spent fuel is the used fuel rods taken out of the reactor. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which is in charge of nuclear power plant operation, announced on the evening of June 5438+05 that it would consider using helicopters to participate in the cooling of the No.4 reactor of Fukushima nuclear power plant. The specific method is to lift a large amount of seawater with helicopters of the US military and the Japanese Self-Defense Force, and then sprinkle it in the pool where fuel is stored near Unit 4.
Leave a dead man behind
Four reactors in Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant in Japan have been in serious danger one after another, causing various accidents.
After a large number of radioactive materials leaked, many rescuers evacuated, and the "Fukushima 50" rescue team composed of 50 people became the last line of defense to prevent the deterioration of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
It is reported that the local TV station received a letter from the family of one of the "50 Fukushima people", saying that his father who stayed at the Fukushima nuclear power plant was still healthy and safe. However, the nuclear power plant is short of water and food, and the living environment is very bad. The letter also mentioned that his father was determined to die. Nuclear protection experts say that they have been working in ultra-high radiation environment for several days, and the radiation intensity is below 500 millisieverts. At present, it is considered that acute radiation sickness will not occur, but it may increase long-term health risks in the future.
"Fukushima 50 people" are racing against time, trying to build the last barrier to protect the Fukushima nuclear power plant with their own bodies. It is reported that the nuclear power plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company has increased its team to 18 1. These warriors are not afraid of death, do not seek fame, and only think about the safety of the whole country.
Conduct a special interview
On March 27th, the Sunday Telegraph published the first interview about these "dead people". This is the first time that "Fukushima 50 Dead" has been interviewed by the media.
15 March, late at night 1 1, Kazuhiko Fukudome, head of the "Super Rescue Team" of Tokyo Fire Brigade, was at home. Suddenly, the telephone rang. The phone call is simple: "gather your people and rush to Fukushima." And then I hung up. He turned to his wife and said, "I'm going to Fukushima." She looked scared, but soon calmed down and said only two words: "Be careful." She knows that at this time, if she is brave, it is a kind of strength for her husband. The idea of disobeying orders never crossed Fodom's mind, but other distractions surged. On the way to the nuclear power plant, there was silence and no one spoke. "Endless worries hang over us. We have performed many tasks, most of which have been practiced in normal training, but this time, we are facing an invisible enemy, "Foucault said.
It was two o'clock in the morning when we arrived at the nuclear power plant, and the nuclear fuel rods of Unit 3 began to melt. It was dark around, and smoke and steam on the reactor could be seen through the firemen's headlights. All the fire-fighting facilities were destroyed and they were told to spray seawater to cool the reactor.
The fire brigade was divided into three groups. The first group drove a fire truck to the seaside 800 meters away from the nuclear power plant to extract the needed seawater; The second group is about 2 meters away from the reactor and injected; The third group is between the first two groups, ready to meet.
"The situation is much worse than I thought. Everything is buried under the rubble, "said Fodom. "Reinforced concrete stones can be seen everywhere, all manhole covers have been pulled off, and roads have been blocked. We can't drive to the beach at all, we can only run more than 800 meters to the beach in the dark with a hose. "
There is an escape car parked nearby, which has been in the starting state. If the level of radioactive materials rises sharply, rescue vehicles will quickly evacuate the scene together with rescuers. At this time, nuclear radiation harmful to human body is constantly spreading rapidly from the reactor.
"We shouted to each other,' It will be here soon! Hang in there! "Pull a little more hose!" "It's all similar," Fodom said. We are all wearing respirators, so we must shout loudly. When we saw water spouting from the hose and shooting at the reactor, we all cheered loudly and waved our fists in the air. Then, let's step back a little, because the hose can run automatically. "
In addition to the respirator, they only wore ordinary work clothes, and the orange jumpsuit was printed with a cartoon pattern of a Swiss St. Bernard ambulance dog. "I know there are radioactive substances there, but I don't know how many, so I wear my usual clothes," Fukudome said. "There is a thin white dress outside, and there is nothing else." Regarding whether he was exposed to radiation, he said "yes", but he didn't seem to be very worried. "We stayed at the scene for 26 hours and then went to the rest area, where they tested us. There were a lot of radioactive substances on my clothes and socks, so they were confiscated. We took a bath and then had a test. I am not' completely clean' yet, but I am' clean enough'. "
The place where the "Fukushima 50 dead" temporarily rest is very special. This is a beautiful four-masted sailboat named "Kaiwo Pill". It is moored at Xiaomingbin, a seaport more than ten kilometers away from the nuclear power plant. The ship was originally intended to sail to Honolulu, Hawaii for students' sailing training, but now it has been temporarily transferred to perform this special task.
Xiaomingbin was also hit hard by the tsunami, and the ships around the pier were seriously damaged, and the hydropower facilities could not be used. However, Kaiwo Maru has its own generator, fresh water and some supplies originally intended for sailing students.
On the dining table of the ship, several "dead people" are eating food cooked in curry. This is the first hot meal they have had in days. There is a hot shower on the deck to wash, and a comfortable bed to sleep in the cabin. If you want to relax, there is also a small library with many comic books and various newspapers.
But no one feels relaxed. Fatigue and anxiety hang over these silent employees. "They are very quiet," said Captain Susum Toya. "No one talked while eating." Give them beer, they don't drink it. When you try to talk to them, you can clearly read a burst of fear and worry from their faces. Silence, or silence.
Akira Tamura, a power maintenance worker from Iwate Prefecture, said: "It's really a blessing that the nuclear power plant can restore power later, because it's terrible to work in such dark conditions, and I feel very unsafe."
These maintenance workers, like firefighters, have only the most basic protective equipment after entering the nuclear pollution area. Each of them is equipped with a respirator, but only dozens of senior staff who have stayed in the nuclear power plant for a long time have a full set of protective clothing, and it is impossible to have all of them.
Most workers wear white suits made of high-density polyethylene, which, like the uniform materials worn by ordinary painters or cleaners, can prevent radioactive substances from contacting the skin or entering the human body, but cannot resist most radiation. In order to prevent radiation from adhering to the surface of uniforms, these uniforms can only be used once. At present, hundreds of discarded uniforms have been piled up in the nuclear power plant.
Their main protection comes from two "badges" that can track radioactive materials, and once they reach the dangerous standard, they will give an alarm. "Our best hope is not to stay in the most dangerous area all the time," said a "dead man". "They (TEPCO) told us that as long as we don't stay there all the time, radioactive substances attached to the surface of uniforms will not affect our bodies."
These workers can only hope that what they say is true. But more and more facts are proving that they don't seem to tell the truth.
On March 24th, when two rescuers from the cooperative enterprise of Tokyo Electric Power Company set up cables in the basement of the turbine room of Unit 3, the skin below the ankle was irradiated by 2 to 6 sieverts (1 sievert = 1 000 millisieverts), which was 1 000 times the normal level. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare raised the legal upper limit of radiation exposure of nuclear power plant workers from 50 millisieverts to 500 millisieverts on March 16. Even according to this standard, the radiation exposure of these two workers reached 24 times of the annual exposure. At the same time, radioactive substances were also detected in their urine, which means that their bodies are also affected by radiation, and there may be burn symptoms in the future.
Japan News Network pointed out that as early as March 18, high-level radioactive substances had been detected in Unit 3; Before the operation on March 24th, 1 unit also detected ultra-high radiation, but TEPCO did not inform the field staff of this information in time. The Japan Atomic Energy Safety and Security Agency said on March 25th that 17 emergency workers suffered more than 100 millisieverts of nuclear radiation.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan admitted on March 26th that the situation at the nuclear power plant was still "unstable" and urged people within 20 to 30 kilometers to "voluntarily evacuate". Moreover, this range also includes Xiaoming Binhai Port where Kaiwo Maru is moored.
After the work of cooling the reactor, it was followed by emergency power repair. Only by restoring power supply can we really control the nuclear power plant system. Tamura went through this process.
At first, he and his colleagues could only sleep on the floor of the nuclear power plant, because there was no shift system at that time and they needed to be on standby 24 hours a day. Tamura said, "I just came to take a bath and go back tomorrow." "We usually rest for two hours after working for one hour to minimize exposure to radioactive materials. At the beginning of this work, there were only 10 people, and now there are 30 people, so that we can have time to eat. "
Although there are hundreds of people on the scene for emergency rescue, few people really have professional electrician skills. The impression that the outside world gets through reports is that the situation of nuclear power plants is improving, but the workers are not so confident. Nobuhide Japan, the captain of the maintenance team, said: "The whole team is very nervous. The situation there is very critical, but we must stick to it. We all feel a great responsibility and hope to tide over the difficulties. We have always been afraid, but the whole world is watching us. "
During the two-hour break, they evacuated to a building. It is located in the center of the nuclear power plant and has a strong earthquake. There, they can take off their breathing apparatus, sit on the floor against the wall and eat some simple food, such as instant noodles and bottled water. About 50 senior managers and operators, including the stationmaster of the nuclear power plant, stayed in the building almost all the time.
"I've always been scared," said a 32-year-old young man, "but I know my job is very important and I have to do it. This is my motivation. "
A worker who was on the scene at the time of the earthquake described the scene at that time: in an instant, the main power grid was paralyzed, Unit 4 made a terrible roar, huge cracks appeared on the ground, and the walls of the building cracked. They fled the nuclear power plant in a hurry before the arrival of the tsunami. With the deterioration of the situation, Unit 3 exploded for the first time on March 14. At that time, six soldiers of Japan's Central Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Defence Force arrived at the unit in two cars, all of whom were sacrificed and buried under the rubble.
Since the rescue mission, none of the "dead" who have rested on the sailboat have seen their families. Tamura said, "If I can do one thing now, I really want to meet my wife and parents. "I sent them an email and they replied that they were very worried." Suzuki said that he only spoke to his family by phone once, and the children said to him, "We support you." But his wife can hardly speak. "She is so sad." .
In addition to being temporarily separated from their husbands, most of these "dead" families are still suffering from another kind of pain: losing their homes. They live in a shelter, which will be their home for a long time to come.
Courage is not absent because of fear, it is always there, even when you are afraid. According to this standard, these "dead people" are the real "warriors".
But apart from pride and responsibility, there may be another reason why they stick to their posts: they have nowhere to go.