So I know this is an election site, and the nuclear dangers in Japan aren’t exactly related to the 2012 elections…but I still think this CBS article is worth posting:
Since the disaster struck in Japan, about 800 workers have been evacuated from the damaged nuclear complex in Fukushima. The radiation danger is that great.
However, CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod reports that a handful have stayed on the job, risking their lives, to try to save the lives of countless people they don’t even know. The exact number of workers is unclear and has been reported to be anywhere from 50 to 180.
Although communication with the workers inside the nuclear plant is nearly impossible, a CBS News consultant spoke to a Japanese official who made contact with one of the workers inside the control center.
The official said that his friend told him that he was not afraid to die, that that was his job.
And later:
If the contamination threat isn’t contained in a few weeks, finding enough workers willing to face the risks could become a crucial challenge.
Dallas said he expects that in that scenario, the Japanese energy authorities may have to find volunteers willing to undergo similar dangers, which will be hard to do, but not impossible.
Keep in mind they’d be volunteering to head into a place so potentially dangerous, that anyone within 20 miles of it was just asked to evacuate.
Prayers for the survival and health of these brave people, and may God keep them safe.
March 16th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
I knew they’d get volunteers for that. God bless those men and women.
March 16th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
It will be interesting to see whether these men are treated as well for their efforts as the liquidators were after Chernobyl…they certainly deserve it.
March 16th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
The response by the Japanese from top to bottom in this tragedy has been a testament to the people and their culture.
March 16th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Its an interesting question: why have the japanese behaved so differently from other disasters? Is it simply culture? I don’t think so. The brits, afterall, survived the Blitz and the Cold War…yet even moderately bad flooding led to looting.
March 16th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Lot’s of hero’s and heroines in Japan.
March 16th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
The way the Japanese people have conducted themselves in the wake of this tragedy is worthy of the highest respect.
I heard on TV that the Japanese government even accepted the help of the Chinese. The fact that China offered to help and Japan accepted their help is very… honorable, considering the history between the two nations.
March 16th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
Jonathan,
I was wondering if help from the Chinese would be asked, offered, or accepted.
March 16th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Mathew K: Red this in Slate, here is their argument why there is so little looting.
Crux is it’s culturally formed and reinforced by the legal system and oddly enough, organized crime.
It’s an interesting argument they put forward
http://www.slate.com/id/2288514/?from=rss
March 17th, 2011 at 12:49 am
It’s one thing to face an enemy you can see. It takes a special person to go into a situation where they may be suffering severe or even fatal injuries and probably not even know it until later. God bless them all.
March 17th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Aaah, the wah of the Japanese people manifests itself.