Fukushima No-Go Zone

I followed the Fukushima nuclear accident from the beginning till now, covering almost two years of the story.

I followed the Fukushima nuclear accident from the beginning till now, covering almost two years of the story. And here there is my story.

On march 11, 2011 one of the worst earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaging its safety and cooling systems. In a few days the core of the nuclear power plants number 1,2,3 started melting down with the release on air and on the ocean of massive amount of radioactive radionuclides.

The Japanese government created an evacuated area of 20 km around the nuclear power plant of Fukushima Daiichi. From 20th April the Japanese government refused the admittance to the “No-Go Zone” to everyone, especially to journalists and photographers.

Inside the exclusion zone the contamination has a “leopard skin” distribution, as well as outside, where there are places heavily contaminated up to 60 kilometers from the plant, including parts of the cities of Fukushima and Koriyama. And in this area 2 million people live at risk of future disease caused by continuous exposure to low doses of radiation through inhalation and ingestion of radioactive particles.

Inside the exclusion zone empties cities are waiting for us, only some abandoned dogs are wandering, on desperate conditions, on the streets. At the time of the evacuation all the animals were abandoned. You could encounter some of cows enjoying total if ephemeral freedom after wandering away from farms. But most disgusting of all are the decomposing carcasses of hundreds of cows left unattended on farms. During the night several animal activists enter illegally inside the Exclusion Zone to rescue pets and other animals.

Most of the houses are locked, convenience stores full of goods, but some have been robbed. Stalkers started to rob inside the No-Go Zone, spreading radioactivity all around Japan. Many people, most of them elderly, are still hiding out inside the zone. One time per month residents could go back to their houses to rescue their personal things. They wander in their houses, shocked among their memories, memories lost forever.

Despite the massive contamination, life is still going on in the "No-Go Zone" and in that sort of "nuclear limbo" that stretches for 40 kilometers outside the exclusion zone, where people do not know whether to stay and learn to live with radiation, or go away forever.

The story is still ongoing and we will not know soon the real consequences of the second worst nuclear disaster ever happened.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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“Here in Minamisoma almost all the women and children,went away. The population is now more than halved. We do not know yet what to do, whether to stay where we always lived on or go away. Unlike the first months after the accident now there is a lot of work, due to the work of decontamination that the government started in April 2012. All the hotels are full. But we do not see a future anymore, mothers do not want to bring their children to grow up in a place where there are radiations. What future can have a country without children? For now, let's move on, we live with radiation. We have grown accustomed, we do not think most of their presence. We have a feeling of resignation, this frightens us surely, the resignation takes you to accept, not to fight, but this eventually allows us to move forward, otherwise we become fools.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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Because of the radiation leak from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant the population fled in haste, leaving everything, including animals. The Japanese government in the days following the incident, tried to find veterinary volunteers to go into the exclusion zone to begin a program of euthanasia of abandoned animals, but did not find anyone willing to enter the contaminated area. In addition, in the face of a tsunami that has killed more than 20000 persons and a dramatic emergency, the problem of abandoned animals is finished in second place, and the Japanese government has not taken more action, leaving the animals to their fate . According to official estimates in the forbidden area were abandoned 10 000 dogs, 7,000 cats, 3,000 cattle, 30,000 pigs and 600,000 chickens. The worst situation was for the animals on farms, most of them died of hunger and exhaustion, tied up and locked up in pens.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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Odaka city before the evacuation had 13 000 inhabitants. Some houses have been damaged by the earthquake, but most of the structures have survived.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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One of the attractions of this area were the swans arriving during the winter. People came on these artificial lakes and enjoy the spectacle of nature. Mikiko Kobayashi is an animal activist that is part of the "Animal Forest" NGO. She came often in the exclusion zone to try to save the last remaining animals still alive. Mikiko here is detecting the levels of radioactivity around the lake.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
© Pierpaolo Mittica - During the night several animal activists enter illegally inside the Exclusion Zone to rescue pets and other animals.
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During the night several animal activists enter illegally inside the Exclusion Zone to rescue pets and other animals.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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The Japanese government in April 2012 has reopened some parts of the exclusion zone, the zones of Minamisoma, Kawauchi, Tamura and Naraha, considered below the limit imposed by the government of 20 milliSv/year (international limit 1 milliSv/year). Until they have finished the work of decontamination people can come only during the day and do not stop the night.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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The port of Soma has suffered devastating damage from the tsunami, with the destruction of most of its structures and vessels. But the greatest damage it has suffered came from contamination poured into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety has estimated that from 21 March 2011 to mid-July 2011 were discarded approximately 27.1 PetaBq of radioactive material. On 26 October 2012 a study published in the journal Science says that half of the fish off the coast of Fukushima is contaminated with cesium-134 and cesium-137 beyond the limits of safety. It is still forbidden to fish within 5 kilometers from the center and in the rest of the sea off the central fish are caught only to monitor the concentration of radionuclides. Having no opportunity to fish, local fishermen have been "recycled" by the government and now with their vessels clean up the sea by the tsunami debris. The consequences are serious for the Japanese fishing industry in 2011, after the nuclear tragedy, suffered losses measured between 1.3 and 2.6 billion dollars.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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At the time of the evacuation the inhabitants fled from the radioactive cloud and must leave everything. 134.000 people have been forced to evacuate. Once a month, residents of the evacuated towns have special permission from the authorities to return to their homes to check that everything is in place and takes their personal belongings. A recent survey done among the evacuees has determined that 80% of the people was absolutely not aware of what was going on and had no information on the type of protection to be taken.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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Mutzumi in her house in Namie, in the evacuated area. she falls into depression collecting their belongings. Namie was a town of 21 000 inhabitants.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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Currently around 3,000 people are working for the safety of the plant, but for the next year is expected to considerably shortage of staff, especially specialist. From time to time many people reach the maximum absorbed dose and should be dismissed from their jobs. Moreover, in recent months, the government and TEPCO have slashed wages and so there is not even the economic motivation to attract labor. In addition to workers hired by Tepco, which act mainly by foreman and do audit work, there are plenty of men hired by the subcontractors of Tepco. Many of these, before arriving at a company contractor, have not only a passage but often several steps through sub-contracting firms. In the worst cases, for the existence of several intermediaries, these workers make little money in his pocket, less than ten thousand yen (one hundred euro) per day. On 21 July 2012, the Asahi Shimbun report, with a months-long investigation, that some of the subcontractors Tepco forced the workers to cover with lead the dosimeter, which records the radiation absorbed, to avoid reaching too quickly the maximum threshold of exposure permitted. In some cases, the workers themselves used this expedient to not exceed the threshold and not lose their jobs. The workers directly employed by TEPCO are protected in this way and once they reach the threshold, they are moved to another job, but the whole mass of workers, which is the majority, assumed by subcontractors, are not protected in any way , and are fired once they reach the threshold. On 4 September 2012 the Asahi Shimbun published the news that 40% of workers, about 3,000 people who worked at the plant during the first 15 days of the disaster, were not equipped with dosimeters. Only after April 1, the government forced the Tepco to provide all workers with dosimeters. According to a statement by the Director of the Agency for Nuclear Safety and Industrial Research (NISA), Terasaka Nonbuaki, 4956 workers have reported an internal contamination in excess of the legal dose, for the workers at Fukushima Daiichi has been raised from 20 to 250 milliSv / year, and only 10% of workers have been subjected to such a test.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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Mr. Matsumoto, a former member of the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia, is a sub-contractor of Tepco. Provides manpower "to lose" as he calls it. Mr. Matsumoto took us illegally inside the exclusion zone hidden in his van to document what was going on. Following the Tepco is aware of the fact that Mr. Matsumoto had brought journalists inside the exclusion zone and for this reason no longer has renewed the contract work. Here is praying on the family tomb located within the exclusion zone. "When I die I want to be buried here, along with my ancestors, in my land." A desire that Mr. Matsumoto knows it will not be feasible.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the Fukushima No-Go Zone photography project
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Shortly after the evacuation of the exclusion zone thieves have begun stealing everything they could steal and sell on the black market, spreading radioactive objects throughout Japan.

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