OKUMA, Fukushima Prefecture--Carrying dosimeters that were emitting radiation warnings while nearing the destroyed No. 3 reactor, anxious members of the media got their first up-close look at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Nov. 12.
OKUMA, Fukushima Prefecture--Carrying dosimeters that were emitting radiation warnings while nearing the destroyed No. 3 reactor, anxious members of the media got their first up-close look at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Nov. 12.
Reporters accompanied Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of handling the nuclear accident, who was inspecting the progress toward bringing the plant to a cold shutdown state.
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the plant operator, opened the compound to the media for the first time since the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
At 10 a.m. on Nov. 12, 36 reporters donned protective suits and double gloves in the "J-Village" in Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, a facility that currently accommodates dormitories for workers of the Fukushima No. 1 plant. Then, the reporters headed for the plant on two buses.
When the buses were about three kilometers from the plant, the reporters were instructed to put on full face masks.
After entering the plant's compound through a white gate, the journalists were taken to a high vantage point that overlooks the No. 1 to No. 4 reactor buildings from the south. Walls of some of the buildings showed traces of serious damage. Near the buildings, workers who were also wearing full face masks were engaged in work.
The number of workers in the compound on Nov. 12 was about 1,500, half of that on weekdays. Some workers were constructing a facility to store sludge that is produced in the processing of water contaminated with radioactive materials.
The plant's director, Masao Yoshida, 56, who has supervised the on-site operation since the accident, answered questions from reporters. It marked the first time he took questions in an official setting.
Yoshida also spoke with Hosono in the quake-resistant headquarters building in the compound, which can block out radiation.
In the discussion, Yoshida told Hosono, "Some workers have been working here since the serious accidents in March. I am thinking about how to re-energize them."
The working conditions, including days off and vacations, are improving gradually. It is said that morale among workers is high.
Immediately after the accidents, however, workers were fed only emergency rations, such as hardtack wafers and crackers. Soon after that, retort food that can be heated in microwave ovens became available. "Bento" lunch boxes also began to be distributed in October.
Walls along corridors in the building were filled with papers that carried words of encouragement, such as "Thank you" and "Do your best." Folded paper cranes were also hanging there.
On the tour, the reporters could get an overall glimpse of the plant from the high vantage point.
The damaged No. 4 reactor building was seen over Japanese silver grass swaying in the breeze. The walls of the building had been blown off due to a hydrogen explosion. Inside the building, the containment vessel's yellow lid could be seen, which had been removed for a regular inspection before the explosion.
The No. 3 reactor building, which stands next to the No. 4 building, also suffered serious damage to its roof and walls due to a hydrogen explosion. Only the rusted brown frame of the building could be glimpsed.
Large cranes were parked around the buildings to remove rubble. Next to the No. 3 building, the No. 2 reactor building and the sheet-covered No. 1 reactor building could be seen.
On an incline in the northern part of the compound, a steel tower supporting electric power cables had been bent and toppled by the March 11 quake. Because of that, the reactor buildings lost outside electrical supply and could not cool fuel in the reactors, leading to the explosions.
The buses then went down a slope toward the sea side, and headed for the turbine building of the No. 4 reactor. On the left side of the turbine building the No. 4 reactor building, whose walls were mostly destroyed and steel frames were exposed, could be seen.
Vehicles that were overturned by the tsunami were left as they were near the turbine buildings of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors. Areas around there were stained in green from agents sprayed to prevent the spread of radioactive materials.
From the buses, the sea appeared very calm. On the day of the March 11 disaster, however, the height of tsunami that hit the nuclear power plant would have been higher than that of the buses.
Judging from the destroyed walls and shutters of buildings and the damaged breakwaters, the immense force of the tsunami was overpowering.
It seemed that if the nuclear power plant was hit by another powerful earthquake and tsunami, it could not withstand them.
Temporary sea walls that were completed in June as an emergency safeguard measure consisted of wire mesh baskets containing stones that were piled up.
Hoses for water for cleaning contaminated water were seen here and there.
In the compound, there are still places with high radiation levels. Buses carrying journalists passed through areas where radiation levels were measured to be low.
Despite that, however, some reporters' dosimeters issued warning alarms when the buses neared the No. 3 reactor building. When a TEPCO employee measured the radiation level there, it showed one millisievert (1,000 microsieverts) per hour.
TEPCO employees continued to monitor radiation levels in the buses during the reporters' visit. The figures continued to rise from several tens of microsieverts per hour to several hundreds and further to 1,000 microsieverts.
During that time, an Asahi Shimbun reporter ended up being exposed to a cumulative total of 69 microsieverts.
The reporter has been covering the accidents at the Fukushima plant since March. From the images provided by TEPCO, the plant appeared a bleak and heartless place. However, there were small birds and crows near damaged buildings. Red dragonflies were mating near a contaminated water processing facility.
Such peaceful scenes are in contrast to those of the foreboding site where Japan's worst nuclear accident took place. But there also hung in the air the sense of eeriness of radiation that cannot be felt by creatures.
The areas made available to the media on Nov. 12 were only part of those in the compound.
Since the accidents in March, The Asahi Shimbun has repeatedly asked the government and TEPCO to allow reporters to visit the compound. However, the government and TEPCO had declined, saying, "Work toward settling the accidents will be obstructed" and "radiation levels are still high in the compound."
As work on achieving a cold shutdown made progress, however, it became difficult for the government and TEPCO to continue to refuse. In a news conference following a Cabinet meeting on Nov. 1, Hosono said that he would allow the media to enter the compound by having them accompany him on his inspection tour.
However, the number of reporters was restricted to 36. They were from 19 organizations that are regular members to the press club covering the Cabinet; seven firms that belong to the press club covering the Fukushima prefectural government; and foreign media. Freelance journalists and Internet media reporters were not chosen for the tour.
Initially, the Cabinet Secretariat said TEPCO would check photos and video footage taken by reporters and would ask them to delete images and footage, if necessary, to guard against nuclear terrorism.
In conventional news coverage of nuclear power plants, reporters are sometimes restricted from taking pictures at certain locations as measures against terrorism. But they have never been requested to submit their photos or video footage for checking.
Therefore, The Asahi Shimbun pointed out that checking photos or video footage constitutes censorship prohibited under the Constitution.
Eventually, the Cabinet Secretariat relented and withdrew its request. Only a restriction on places where reporters could take photos or video footage was imposed.