On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered a major loss in nuclear energy because of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. On April 20, 2011, Japanese authorities declared the 3.5 square kilometre plant as a restricted area, initiating a 20 km no-go evacuation zone where entry to the site can only be done while under government supervision. By April 20, all four nuclear units were decommissioned. Japan then dispatched more than 40,000 men assigned as clean-up crew to remove spent nuclear fuel and debris at the Fukushima Plant in 2014. A number of these men now have cancer.
A Japanese clean-up crew member developed Leukemia after working on an area at the decommissioned Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. The man, who was not identified publicly, according to the New York Times, by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, has been awarded worker's compensation by the Japanese government. This is known as Japan's public acknowledgment that the cause of his cancer was because of the radiation that was actively emitted from the disaster site.
The man worked from October 2012 to December 2013. He was dispatched to install protective covers over the damaged reactor buildings. The compensation he received would cover treatment costs. He was exposed to 15.7 millisieverts of radiation during his clean up tenure which is well above the level of 5 millisieverts required to claim worker's comp. However, before joining the clean up, the man was also working at another nuclear plant for several months. It is possible he also absorbed a certain amount of radiation at that time, but a much smaller dose.
More than 40,000 workers were employed to clean up the disaster site in an effort to clean up the nuclear footprint left behind by the earthquake and tsunami. These men were exposed to multiple reactor leaks from meltdowns and toxic debris. A number of men were eventually diagnosed with cancer and are seeking compensation from insurance companies and Tokyo Electric Power Company. The Ministry released information that eight men have come forward to claim workers compensation: one claim was withdrawn, three rejected and three still pending.
Claims are being reviewed continuously. About 1 in 150 Japanese is diagnosed with cancer each year. Which ultimately means, pinpointing the cause of these individual claims will prove to be difficult. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan.
Fukushima Daiichi is one of the largest nuclear power stations in the world, designed and co-constructed by General Electric, Boise and TEPCO.
