HIRONO, Fukushima Prefecture -- They survived the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, narrowly escaped hydrogen explosions and are now braving radiation levels that force them to leave after only a few minutes.
HIRONO, Fukushima Prefecture -- They survived the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, narrowly escaped hydrogen explosions and are now braving radiation levels that force them to leave after only a few minutes.
But Hideo Kawai and Ikuzo Tomioka, who have continued working at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant since the disaster struck on March 11, have no plans to leave.
"We are responsible for giving it our all as a manufacturer," Kawai said.
Kawai, 57, of Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd. and Tomioka, 51, of Hitachi Plant Technologies Ltd. are the leaders of about 600 workers of Hitachi Ltd.'s group companies who are staying in Hirono, Fukushima Prefecture, a little more than 20 kilometers from the nuclear plant.
The workers are now preparing to install equipment to remove gas containing radioactive materials from the No. 1 reactor building where a hydrogen explosion occurred in the early stages of the disaster.
At some places in the No. 1 reactor building, radiation has exceeded 1 sievert per hour, a level that can cause acute radiation damage unless adequate precautions are taken.
The Hitachi group set a maximum of 30 millisieverts for annual accumulated radiation levels for workers at the plant, which is stricter than the government standard of 50 millisieverts. Workers are not allowed to work if radiation levels exceed the Hitachi group's limit.
Radiation levels are measured strictly before workers enter the hot spots within the plant. Shielding made of copper and other materials has been set up to protect the workers, but they can only stay in certain hot spots for about five minutes.
Few people in responsible positions have publicly discussed what happened and is happening at the Fukushima No. 1 plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant's operator, has declined requests for interviews with Masao Yoshida, site superintendent of the Fukushima plant, and other company officials.
But Kawai and Tomioka explained to The Asahi Shimbun their experiences so far in trying to bring the situation under control.
When the magnitude-9 earthquake struck on March 11, Kawai told almost all of the 1,800 workers of Hitachi group companies at the plant to evacuate. About 6,400 employees of TEPCO and other companies were at the site during the quake.
The plant premises soon became jam-packed with cars. Kawai remained at the plant, and received a phone call from a TEPCO official in the late afternoon.
"We are in a grave situation. We want your cooperation," Kawai was told.
About 30 workers connected power panels of turbine buildings to power source vehicles via cable to restore the electricity supply to the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, Kawai said.
Work continued until the morning of March 12, and about 10 workers returned home.
When the hydrogen explosion rocked the No. 1 reactor building just past 3:30 p.m. on March 12, Kawai and others were at TEPCO's work base about 20 kilometers away.
Kawai returned to the plant to find the cables in tatters. When he asked his subordinates if they would stay, most of them chose to leave.
On March 14, only four Hitachi group workers remained, including Kawai and Tomioka. They heard an explosion at the No. 3 reactor building around 11 a.m. when they were trying to restore the electricity supply to the No. 2 reactor.
Thirty minutes earlier, they had been working on a road beside the No. 3 reactor building.
In the No. 2 reactor turbine building, Tomioka said he felt the blast from the explosion on his face through an opening for cabling.
When they left the building, they found their car crushed under rubble blown off from the No. 3 reactor building.
The wind was blowing toward the sea. A TEPCO worker measured radiation levels and told Hitachi group workers to flee toward the mountain.
Kawai ran on a rubble-strewn road, wearing protective gear and a full-face mask. His thoughts were filled with gloom and doom. "It's all over now," he told himself.
He soon had difficulty breathing and could no longer run. He finally reached the earthquake-proof building, taking 20 to 30 minutes to cover the 1-km distance.
After the three explosions on March 14 and 15, many workers evacuated the plant, leaving only about 70.
Kawai and other Hitachi group workers returned to a factory in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, on March 15 at the instruction of their companies.
But Kawai was soon told to return to the Fukushima No. 1 plant. Around the same time, Prime Minister Naoto Kan was at the TEPCO head office yelling that the company could not withdraw from the plant.
In the Hitachi group, heated discussions were held over who would be sent to the plant.
About 30 section chiefs or employees in higher positions were assembled for the mission, including an engineer who had never worked at a nuclear power plant and an elderly president of a subcontractor.
Kawai said he is still not sure if he made the right decision to continue working at the plant.
"What if someone was killed?" he asks himself.
(This article was written by Hiroaki Kojima and Noriyoshi Ohtsuki.)