Nuclear Cleanup in Japan

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/business/global/after-fukushima-disaster-a-confused-effort-at-cleanup.html?pagewanted=2&ref=earth

During the devastating 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan in March, 2011, nuclear reactors of Fukushima Daiichi were completely destroyed, resulting in the leaking of nuclear material into the soil. The Japanese government has decided to employ construction companies to perform the cleanup procedures. In Iitate, Japan, it can be easily seen that this method of removing harmful nuclear waste by employing construction companies is ineffective due to their inexperience . While this approach seems completely illogical and negligent, the motives behind the assignment of power are made obvious when the politics behind the decisions are revealed. The construction companies that are contracted by the government to perform these cleanups are those that initially profited from the construction to build them in the first place and are companies that are seen by locals as being "in-cahoots" with the government.

Describing these construction companies as unqualified for the clean up would be a huge understatement. Employers revealed that their duties involved wiping windows and walls of buildings with paper towels (one paper towel per swipe because two apparently would be just spreading the radio activity around). These ineffective and amateur cleaning methods are not even being performed at the right locations. Yes, while there the majority of radioactivity is in the immediate site, there exists more in the mountainous areas which, without being taken care of, will just leak back down into the town. This threat has prompted local citizens to perform independent cleanups, these being just as amateur as the contracted construction companies.

With 13 billion dollars allotted to cleanup efforts, it is no wonder that companies are clamoring for the opportunity to participate. Obayashi and Kajima, the two major construction companies, received $93 million dollars collectively which substantiates the claim by nuclear researcher, Kiyoshi Sakurai, that "Decontamination is becoming a huge business." We have seen examples of people's safety and health being placed below profit in priorities of government institutions. This can be added to the list. The nuclear waste in this area, if not cleaned up properly, will spread to neighboring communities, contaminating the current population and generations to follow.