Slashdot Mirror
Senior Citizens Lining Up to Tackle Fukushima
Some have compared them to kamikazes, but the more than 200 elderly volunteers who want clean up the Fukushima power station say they are just being practical. 72-year-old retired engineer Yasuteru Yamada says: "I am 72 and on average I probably have 13 to 15 years left to live. Even if I were exposed to radiation, cancer could take 20 or 30 years or longer to develop. Therefore us older ones have less chance of getting cancer." So far the government is hesitant to let the volunteers into the power station but Yamada and the others have been lobbying for the right to aid in the clean up. He says: "At this moment I can say that I am talking with many key government and Tepco people. But I am sorry I can't say any more at this moment. It is on the way but it is a very, very sensitive issue politically."
"I am 72 and on average I probably have 13 to 15 years left to live. Even if I were exposed to radiation, cancer could take 20 or 30 years or longer to develop. Therefore us older ones have less chance of getting cancer."
Isn't the "time to cancer" a function of both exposure AND age? It would seem sensible that the senior citizens' cells are already damaged by old age, so exposure to radiation would have a head start as opposed to a 20 year old.
IANARH (I am not anything relevant here) so I'm really curious about this question.
Are you kidding? The US is the nation of the scared. Politicians mention terrorists and the US citizens sell their freedom for some "protection" from the scary thoughts.
Their strength is their weakness. The same nobility that inspired these geezers (and i use that term with respect) to volunteer will prevent anyone in government or management from allowing them to go through with it. If they do it, some of them will certainly develop cancer or other serious maladies, and Japan's black eye would only get worse if they were seen sending in their most revered citizens in to die cleaning up a mess caused by some whippersnapper 40 year olds and their slipshod safety procedures.
No, the only thing that would float is if the Tepco management team themselves "volunteered" to do the clean up, as penance for the disaster they caused.
this only continues to prop up the disproven evil Capitalist "privatize the profits, socialize the risks" mindset.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Stories of the "heroism" of the workers at the plant have confounded Americans, it seems.
While I am sure there is plenty of actual heroism going on, I start to think part of it is just a matter of being level-headed about it.
It reminds me of the idea that to the uneducated, science seems like magic. Similarly, it seems that belief in science to the uneducated seems heroic.
These citizens should be applauded, not for their heroism - for in reality they are risking nothing - but for their willingness to conclude that they are risking nothing, and therefore can save others and improve their world with knowledge and intelligence instead of give in to fear and commercially driven FUD at the detriment of society.
News Flash from Japan: Brave, Brave souls make smart decisions based on facts instead of media FUD! Pictures (You Gotta see these pictures!) at 11!
Nuclear engineers, most of them, have been supporting a deadly industry which will inevitable harm people. It is good that some are willing to step up and take responsibility, but it is much more like cleaning up a mess they have contributed to than the heroism of soldiers.
*cough* *cough* *splutter*
As a former Nuclear Engineer, turned code monkey, let me call you an ignorant bigot.
Nuclear Engineers and Scientists know very well how to design safe nuclear power plants. What we end up having to live with are the cost-downs and idiocies after the bean-counters and politicians take charge. "Have you got anything cheaper?"
Not that I'm bitter and twisted, but my current job is heading to India because of bean-counters...
See here, here and here.
The Western World doesn't do Engineering any more.
Nuclear engineers, most of them, have been supporting a deadly industry which will inevitable harm people.
That's true of almost every industry you could care to mention. A coal burning power plant will release more radiation every year than a normally operating nuclear plant will in its lifetime.
Speaking of coal, all the minerals we depend upon for our way of life are provided to us by miners. They do dangerous work deep underground and, no matter how safe we make it, some of them will die. Our entire way of life is built on their blood; our lives are indebted to theirs.
You might then ask,what the point of industry is then if it's so dangerous and deadly? Well, it builds us a civilisation that is largely free of the constraints of a life built on subsistence agriculture. It's less deadly but still not perfect, just better in some ways.
Nick