/jp/ - Otaku Culture

[Anonymous No.]

>Last Defense at Troubled Reactors: 50 Japanese Workers

>A small crew of technicians, braving radiation and fire, became the only people remaining at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday — and perhaps Japan’s last chance of preventing a broader nuclear catastrophe.

>They crawl through labyrinths of equipment in utter darkness pierced only by their flashlights, listening for periodic explosions as hydrogen gas escaping from crippled reactors ignites on contact with air.

>They breathe through uncomfortable respirators or carry heavy oxygen tanks on their backs. They wear white, full-body jumpsuits with snug-fitting hoods that provide scant protection from the invisible radiation sleeting through their bodies.

>They are the faceless 50, the unnamed operators who stayed behind. They have volunteered, or been assigned, to pump seawater on dangerously exposed nuclear fuel, already thought to be partly melting and spewing radioactive material, to prevent full meltdowns that could throw thousands of tons of radioactive dust high into the air and imperil millions of their compatriots.

[Anonymous No.]

>They struggled on Tuesday and Wednesday to keep hundreds of gallons of seawater a minute flowing through temporary fire pumps into the three stricken reactors, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Among the many problems they faced was what appeared to be yet another fire at the plant.

>The workers are being asked to make escalating — and perhaps existential — sacrifices that so far are being only implicitly acknowledged: Japan’s Health Ministry said Tuesday it was raising the legal limit on the amount of radiation to which each worker could be exposed, to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts, five times the maximum exposure permitted for American nuclear plant workers.

>The change means that workers can now remain on site longer, the ministry said. “It would be unthinkable to raise it further than that, considering the health of the workers,” the health minister, Yoko Komiyama, said at a news conference.

>Tokyo Electric Power, the plant’s operator, has said almost nothing at all about the workers, including how long a worker is expected to endure exposure.

[b.b.hood !ponpOnMgkc No.]

They should give them those kamikaze bandanas. Poor them, but nice to hear about these strong willed people who always just 'do their jobs' even in such circumstances.

Fukushima TruBro Crew®

[Anonymous No.]

Step aside lads, this one's a pro.

[Anonymous No.]

source?

[Anonymous No.]

I've heard that one employee is already dead, having manually vented that radioactive steam a couple day ago. Don't know if it's true or not.

[Anonymous No.]

does nobody else realize how fucked up that is?

in japanese culture, the government raising the legal cap for exposure like that amounts to an order for them to stay there beyond what is considered acceptable worldwide.

whether or not it's a necessary sacrifice is another question that i don't know the answer to. and of course i'm assuming the workers didn't ask for it(and not out of cultural obligation).

[Anonymous No.]

Those workers have my respect.

[PRINNY !nLFbzB/0pw No.]

>>7103321
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16workers.html

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103390
They could quit at any time. By staying they are going far and beyond their job description. Even if the cap was not raised, I'm sure they all would still stay up to fatal amounts of radiation.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103390
Nothing's completely black and white. While I'm sure there's pressure from the higher ups for them to take care of this, they probably also realize if they don't get the situation under control many more lives will be affected, maybe even their own families.

[Anonymous No.]

;_;

[Sakurada !Jun.1bGALk No.]

>>7103418
Their lives will almost certainly be dramatically shortened from these amounts, too. By remaining there now, they've already pretty much sacrificed themselves.

[Anonymous No.]

JESUS CHRIST JAPAN STOP BEING SO AMAZING. FUCK ME.

God I wish I could do more for those poor people ;_;

[Anonymous No.]

[Anonymous No.]

these workers...they probably will not live much longer.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103390
>does nobody else realize how fucked up that is?

Really? I can't be the only one who can only dream my death would be as meaningful as theirs, they're potentially saving millions of lives, better to burn out in glory than die of old age, right?

[Anonymous No.]

Hey, hey, they're not dead yet; it's possible that the workers are being rotated to limit the doses, as is sometimes common when working with radioactive materials. Workers at Chernobyl had it far worse and many of them survived.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103478
If you bothered to read the article it's said that they are rotating, however there's 50 of them. Chernobyl had thousands.

That said, we've no idea how bad it is in there, 50 might be enough to limit the damage.

[b.b.hood !ponpOnMgkc No.]

I predict that because of this, Japan will finally seriously start producing mecha. To handle nuclear materials, to help rebuild the country, etc. The mechs will begin production with each one being named after one of these Fukushima workers.

[Anonymous No.]

Maybe they'll get superpowers or something.

[Anonymous No.]

These guys are king among men and gods among kings srsly you guys, im pretty much lost for words to say something its fucking badass knowing that if they do this they'll leave a mark on the world knowing that they died for millions of people, i hope they get the right kind of respect on what they are doing.

[TheGreek No.]

2500 years ago, 300 men along with their king (made popular by a recent film adaptation of a certain comic book) stood before certain death to save their country.

Today, 50 stand in Fukushima.
Wether they make it or not, they are already heroes that will live forever.

[Anonymous No.]

They are basically super heroes.
This disaster will only make Japan stronger. Just look at them after WW2.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103418
>>7103427
It's not completely black and white, you're right. The entire situation, that is. The social aspect is very near it.

What is completely black and white is that the government allowed it to happen, and even encouraged it.

You're right, they could leave at any time. But you're talking about a society in which if a person fails their job, suicide is a primary consideration, not America. It's not just the government putting pressure on them, it's the way their society works. If they leave when they are still allowed to stay, especially in a time of crisis, then it could be a shame that would follow them for the rest of their lives the same as going AWOL on a war field, no matter how terrible the prospects are.

But I am a believer in necessary sacrifice, so perhaps it's something that has to be done. I do find it likely that they would stay either way, understanding that without their sacrifice many more could suffer. But the government didn't have to make it so they were expected to do so given the horrific aftereffects or guaranteed death they could experience even if they are successful. Assuming it's not in truth what happened, letting them choose to stay there themselves would have been preferable.

Either way, I suppose we don't know now what would have happened if the government hadn't done that and never will.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103289
i think when i goto bed im going to pray tonight for their safety i really do hope they'll do make it.

[Anonymous No.]

>Radiation causes random recombinant mutations in local plants and wildlife.

>30 years later Ash Ketchum is born

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103513
Shame it wasn't 300 men, that's just the film. In reality they weren't even outnumbered 2 to 1, but it was close.

Xerxes didn't have trolls either incase you were wondering.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103529

[Anonymous No.]

GODZIRRAAAAA!!

[Anonymous No.]

>everyone in this thread talking about the Japanese workers as if they're already dead
>there is no data on ambient radiation levels in the plant
>also no data on what level of radiation protection their suits provide

You guys don't want heroes, you WANT martyrs. Whether or not they actually are martyrs.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103538
/jp/ - Projecting

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103538
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/16/us-japan-quake-nuclear-us-idUSTRE72F08720110316
>Japan's nuclear safety agency said two workers are missing

[Sakurada !Jun.1bGALk No.]

>>7103538
You're right. I want them all to die. In fact, I caused the earthquake just so it would eventually come to this.

[Anonymous No.]

>A spike in radiation levels at Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has forced workers to suspend their operation, a government spokesman says.
>It is believed that about 50 employees had been working at the plant to try to stabilise its four reactors.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12755739

lol

[Anonymous No.]

The Japs are throwing in the towel. The Russians fought like hell to get Chernobyl under control, The US did at Three Mile Island. The Japs are walking away without continuing to fight it looks like,.

[Freezing !I8PjSaya5Y No.]

am i the only one who doesnt care?

[TheGreek No.]

>>7103529

300 spartans. 4.000~ Atheneans and other greeks joined in the next few days.

I thought xerxes didn't have trolls too, but after reading your post, I'm no longer sure. Go back to 480BC troll.

[gui !LTYgEAra4Q No.]

/salute

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103566
>>7103587
I don't think they can go in even if they wanted to....

[Anonymous No.]

I know it's horrible, but I kind of want shit to go down just to ease the boredom of my life since I know I will be largely unaffected (east coast U.S) and I want to see the rest of the world in a shitstorm from the safety of my basement.

I know it's terrible, I'm not even trying to be edgy or anything, I literally just want this to blow up for my own excitement. I've been realizing what a fucking horrible person I've become over these past few years and it sickens me. I keep telling myself that it would be terrible if it went off and a lot of people would suffer yet deep down I want to see it happen so I could watch the results...I don't want to feel this way, how do I become a better person?

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103639
Looks like it's time to put that noose around your neck.

[Sakurada !Jun.1bGALk No.]

>>7103587
More like the Americans and Russians ordered their men to sacrifice themselves while the Japanese ordered their men to pull out.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103610
dumbass that was a ogre if it was a troll they'd have to use fire to kill it god

[Anonymous No.]

>light water nuclear reactor on coast
>coast
>get dredging/pump ship
>pump whole facility full of seawater
>problem solved.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103639
I envy them. I wish I was forced to have excitement like that.
I'm pretty much set. I have nothing to do with my life other than whatever I want from the safety of my home. No reason to leave, no reason to stay awake, so I spent most of my day on /jp/ or sleeping.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103639
>I know I will be largely unaffected (east coast U.S)
>look at U.S. nuclear power plant map
>Eastern seaboard is absolutely covered with nuclear reactors.

[Anonymous No.]

So if all six reactors melt down, is Japan pretty much done then?

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103679
1 reactor is already "killed"
3 reactors never had any fuel in them in the first place
2 are going to be pumped full of coolant, and failing that, seawater.
Japan isn't fucked. Read harder.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103676
Yeah they're not going anywhere. It took a once in a lifetime disaster of catastrophic proportions to hit the plant head on and odds are things will turn out fine anyways.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103676
We don't get any disasters on the East Coast though.

[Anonymous No.]

If one were to make a last trip into Tohoku to see the sites before the entire region becomes a Zone of Alienation, what should their itinerary be?

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103713
pillage
rape

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103709
Katrina? 9/11? Yeah... no disasters...

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103729
But 9/11 wasn't a disaster, you idiot, it was an attack.

[Anonymous No.]

http://mitnse.com/

From MIT's nuclear science and engineering dept.
Read it.

[Anonymous No.]

>>7103729
Katrina was more south than eastern seaboard, east coast just has to worry about snowmaggeddon.