Dave Elliott: The nuclear disaster at Fukushima was seven years ago, in March 2011. In the immediate aftermath, over 130,000 people left or were evacuated from the region. Some have now returned. And the government wants more to do so. However, a comprehensive survey by Greenpeace Japan in the towns of Iitate and Namie in Fukushima prefecture, including the exclusion zone, found radiation levels up to 100 times higher than the international limit for public exposure. They claim that the high radiation levels in these areas pose a significant risk to returning evacuees until at least the 2050’s and maybe well into next century. ‘In all of the areas we surveyed, including where people are permitted to live, the radiation levels are such that if it was in a nuclear facility it would require strict controls. Yet this is public land. Citizens, including children and pregnant women returning to their contaminated homes, are at risk of receiving radiation doses equivalent to one chest X-ray every week. This is unacceptable and a clear violation of their human rights,’ said Jan Vande Putte, radiation specialist with Greenpeace Belgium and leader of the survey project.
Renew Extra 2nd July 2018 read more »