Fukushima Worker: Protective Suits Tear Easily

A worker who had been participating in the clean up of radioactive water in reactor #1 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant talks about his concerns regarding the protective suits that workers wear:

While the suits do provide some protection against radiation, they are apparently made of paper. If the suit were to get caught on something, it can tear very easily.

Some of the suits are also being disposed of in an improper manner:

The Tamura city government received a report from a citizen on April 6 that the suits were abandoned at a site along National Highway Route 288.

Government officials found 10 suits, masks and gloves discarded on the ground that day. Two more suits were found disposed of April 12 and on Friday, respectively, at the same location. The government checked the amount of radioactivity and detected radioactive emissions at a level of about 4,000 counts per minute from one of the suits.

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Kevin not kevin

For the love God – get these people some decent protective clothing and living conditions! Fuck.

There’s no way in hell I would be hiding my face in a situation like this. I would want those TEPCO bastards walking on egg shells to make sure that everyone working to fix the plant is treated with unholy amounts of personalized care.
chimps

This is standard industry practice. The suits must be made so that they can be disposed of properly and safely. The workers are highly trained and are expected to be extremely careful when working.
I spent 4 hours in a training session on just how to dress in and out of the suit. I have to take this class every time I go to a new plant, and at least once a year if I go the same plant. There is much more training regarding many other topics in the plant. This is just to give some perspective.

flowby

That sounds very thorough, but what about the recently roped in workers with little or no expertise in the industry?

Do they receive the same training as long-term permanent workers?

chimps

I do not know the Japanese laws, but in the US no one is allowed to work in any part of a Nuclear Plant without the proper training, without exception. For example you do not need the dress out training if you will not be working in any contaminated areas. I would think it is safe to assume this is true in Japan.
When they mention that contractors are working, these are typically nuclear contractors, that go from site to site doing needed work. It would make no sense to use untrained, unskilled workers as they would cause more harm than good to the plant and probably hurt themselves and others.

jason black

The paper suits are ok, but why are they allowed to get in a car and drive away in them (dumping them by the road)? Should the staff all go through decontamination procedures after working, and the suits should be taken off and put with other potentially hazardous material before anyone goes home! A basic inability to follow safety procedure. I hope this is not a symptom of endemic negligence of safety policy in TEPCO.
RMilner

Would these suits be made of something like Tyvek?

Fukushima Worker: Protective Suits Tear Easily

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