NHK Documentary March to Recovery
Voices from 3.11
Their Fate in Their Hands
Miharu, Fukushima Prefecture
One year has passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake. Reconstruction initiatives are underway in many places, including the disaster-stricken areas. March to Recovery shows how the nation is trying to recover from the unprecedented disaster.
The movie goes into the dilemma over how and when to distribute and order the taking of iodine pills to Miharu residents, affected by radioactive fallout in March of 2011, from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear disaster.
National government, nuclear industry representatives and national health officials kept telling civilians to NOT take iodine tablets that protect somewhat against radiation or to send them back to headquarters, because they were NOT needed, due to no radiation being released.
Civilians took the iodine pills anyway on the advice of local community based government leaders, who ignored or actively fought the national/regional health officials and nuclear company advice and experts. It turned out that the exact day that they decided to take these iodine tablets, that the highest radiation readings were recorded, but no one was informed about this at the time.
Despite knowing that the worst radiation was coming out of Fukushima Daichi, TEPCO, national government officials and national health experts all kept denying permission for civilians to take iodine tablets, despite the fact that they had been handed out already, and would have protected civilians from some or most of the radioactive Iodine coming out of Fukushima Daichi.
This is also a story about how some people pay more attention to ‘authorities’ than to their own gut feeling or common sense. The movie explores in detail how national ‘experts’ argued with local community officials, trying to get them to NOT have any civilians take iodine, or to send the iodine back to ‘headquarters’, because no radiation danger existed.
This movie also explains in great detail how little health ‘experts’, including doctors and nurses, know about nuclear accidents, iodine tablets used to prevent damage to thyroid, and low level radiation dangers.
The level of ignorance and denial of any harm from radiation is explored ONLY for iodine in this video, but it also explains the general gross incompetence or ignorance of medical professionals around this subject generally, by extension.
Most doctors and nurses receive little or NO information or training around nuclear accidents, low level radiation, or internal radiation harm caused by radioactive substances. This movie shows how local health nurses and doctors had to consult ‘experts’ about how to administer the iodine, because they did not know anything about it.
When the head of emergency response agency and local doctors and nurses do not know anything about radiation, iodine treatment, and/or nuclear accidents, (as shown in this movie) it also explains how deeply in denial the whole society is, with encouragement by the nuclear industry.
The nuclear industry does not want anyone to explain, inform or have anyone get ready for nuclear disaster, because then people would actually be informed about the dangers. Obviously, the nuclear industry does NOT want ANYONE to know how dangerous nuclear power plants are, and what the effects of low level radiation are on human beings.
The nuclear industry does not want anyone to explain, inform or have anyone get ready for nuclear disaster, because then people would actually be informed about the dangers. Obviously, the nuclear industry does NOT want ANYONE to know how dangerous nuclear power plants are, and what the effects of low level radiation are on human beings.
This movie applies universally to ANY COUNTRY with nuclear plants. The same confusion, chaos, and fear is going to be present after any nuclear accident anywhere.
There is little to no preparation for any nuclear accident in ANY town, no matter where it is in the world. This fact is proven by the loss of all monitoring equipment at Fukushima Daichi. The power company said that the monitors needed power to work. Why would these power plants not have a battery backup system for all radiation monitors? Why would they not have a tie in to these radiation monitors directly to towns which could be affected negatively by any accidents, so they would not have to rely on company ‘experts’ who also did not know anything, because the monitors had ‘failed’?
Again, this points to a universally applied coverup and secrecy aspect of the nuclear industry, particularly around EVERY ACCIDENT. NONE of these nuclear accidents seem to be monitored by accurate radiation meters. These monitors all seem to fail, not have power, or be installed in the wrong place. Then there are no portable or battery power monitors available either, for some strange reason, and there is NEVER a backup plan in place either, for civilians with emergency planning or disaster management agencies to monitor or report REAL RADIATION READINGS, as they happen minute by minute.
Because all evacuation orders are based on accurate radiation readings on radiation meters, no evacuation can be ordered, if the meters stop working. Essentially, the nuclear industry position by default about how they set up these emergency responses is that all civilians are expendable, because just about every time an accident happens, most or all radiation monitoring equipment fails, as it did at Fukushima Daichi.
Universally, when monitors are supposedly not working anymore, computer models based on ‘estimates’ are used, and these estimates are universally too low by orders of magnitude and length of time, in all accidents. This minimization of radiation releases, sometimes even denying ANYTHING harmful is being released, is universally true, because the industry and power company does not want to look bad. So they lie, deceive, minimize, and cover up what is going on. This happened at Fukushima, where it took months to get minimized information somewhat adjusted, but still not to realistic levels.
The effect of this cover up and/or denial of harmful radiation releases after any nuclear accident is that many people are exposed to high levels of radiation, needlessly. It also prevents people from moving out of harm’s way, because they assume that everything is normal, because this is what is generally broadcast on the news. This movie explores this concept of insufficient emergency response to nuclear accidents in some small measure.
Civilians in the movie explain that no radiation reports or warnings from government or industry came out despite the Fukushima buildings exploding and clearly releasing radiation in great quantities, in ways that were not being filtered or controlled.
Radioactive emissions figures did not come out for months.. Radioactive iodine emissions did spike at one point, but no one was warned on Marth 15th and 16th, when the radioactive emissions were the worst.
The bottom line lessons that can be learned even from this movie is that you cannot trust national or even regional ‘experts’ in the nuclear industry, the government, or even emergency management agencies.
All you are left with is local government, local civilians, and local health experts. If they do not have radiation measurement equipment, or knowledge of how to deal with a nuclear disaster, then much hope is lost. If local ‘authorities’ always wait to hear from national or state officials, then much local suffering will be the guaranteed result.
If you want the best result and preparation, do not wait for anyone. Get a good Geiger Counter, and train people how to use the meter, and find out how to respond to a nuclear emergency. Where are the nearest radiation proof shelters? Who is in charge of decontamination? How will this process work? Where will ‘clean’ food and water come from in the shelter? What are safe evacuation routes?
Fukushima Radiation: NHK Documentary: “Their Fate In Their Hands”; via A Green Road http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-post.html
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