From Sendai Mr. Nduna traveled with his hosts to Minamisōma city, an area deeply impacted by radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant accident.
As the car approached Odaka ward, the south sector of Minamisōma that was off limits to the public until April of this year, Mr. Nduna received a dramatic illustration of a radiation “hot spot”:
Travelling along a short stretch of road on the South slope of a low hill—a stretch that appeared no different from any other—radiation levels detected by the two hand-held geiger counters in the vehicle began to climb sharply from around 0.2 micro-Sieverts/hour(µSv/h).
Both counters were soon beeping constantly, indicating a level higher than 0.3µSv/h, and continued to rise past 0.65µSv/h before falling off again as the landscape flattened out 2 or 3 kilometers down the road. (By comparison, the average background radiation in Tokyo is less than 0.05µSv/h.)
Former residents of Odaka ward and some other areas, which have been re-designated as intermediate hazard zones by the government, are now allowed to visit their homes during the day, but not permitted to stay overnight.
Rev. Saigusa explained that radiation levels have indeed fallen since last year’s accident and this offers a glimmer of hope to those who wish to return to their beloved homes, knowledge that there are still many hot spots combined with the inability to see, smell, or feel radiation, is a source of constant stress—both for evacuees wanting to return home, and for the far greater number of people who were not evacuated, but live not far from evacuated communities.
Cars remain where they were deposited by last year’s tsunami, in a Minamisōma field. Such scenes are now rare in communities farther from the nuclear accident, where fields are being restored.
Mr. Nduna learned that one of the long-term challenges facing the people of Fukushima and Japan, is to provide effective convalescent programs for residents, especially children, of radiation risk areas. Experience painfully gained from Chernobyl suggests that a child’s metabolism can reduce radiation risk considerably after 2 or 3 weeks in a radiation-free environment.
Even shorter periods, although less effective phisically, can work wonders to lift the spirits of children and parents oppressed by constant stress. As summer holiday season approaches, there are many short- and long-term programs being planned to give respite to radiation-affected children and families.
(David McIntosh, NCC-JEDRO staff)
