Japan admits first Fukushima radiation death

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Japan for the first time accepted that a worker employed at the Fukushima nuclear plant, destroyed during a powerful tsunami around seven years back, died due to excessive radiation exposure, Japanese media reported.

The 50-year-old man was suffering from lung cancer, detected in 2016. The victim’s primary job was to measure the radiation level in the plant after the meltdown of the nuclear reactors.

According to records, he had worked at nuclear power stations for nearly three decades. After the plant’s meltdown, he worked at the plant twice wearing protective gears.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry after hearing the case ruled on Friday that compensation should be paid to the family of the victim, an official told Reuters by phone.

Earlier, the Japanese government confirmed radiation-related illness among four workers; however, this is the first time it acknowledged death.

A powerful 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a strong tsunami killing more than 18,000 people in the region in March 2011.

The severe jolt affected the cooling system at the nuclear station, leading to leakage of radioactive materials. Authorities had been measuring radiation levels at the site to control the contamination.

After the meltdown, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the main operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, is facing a series of compensation-related lawsuits.

Initially, a series of inspections showed no significant damage to reactors from the earthquake. But it was later revealed that three of the six reactors had partial meltdowns leaking radioactive materials.

The government deputed TEPCO to clean up and safely handle radioactive materials at the Fukushima Daiichi site and in the surrounding exclusion zone. The company hired hundreds of workers to clean up the contaminated area.

The Fukushima meltdown is counted as one of the worst nuclear disasters after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in 1986.

(Cover Image: A staff member of the Tokyo Electric Power Company measures radiation levels at Fukushima nuclear power plant, July 27, 2018. /VCG Photo)