During the late 1990s, repeated problems at
the power plant in Tōkai village, Ibaraki
Prefecture and the response of its owner,
the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development
Corporation, led critics to realize that lack
of proper training and security measures in
nuclear plants can result in horrible injuries
and fatalities.
March 11, 1997: A small explosion occurs at
the power plant, leaving at least 37 workers
exposed to elevated levels of radiation.
Meteorologists later detect high levels of
caesium 25 miles southwest of the plant.
There were no known fatalities.
On the International Nuclear Event Scale,
the incident rates a 3, which indicates an
incident of severe radiation contamination
but with little likelihood of significant
public threat.
Two years later, on September 30, 1999, the
Tōkai village plant experiences a second,
and far worse, accident.
In a failed attempt to prepare a small quantity
of fuel for a nearby reactor, three workers
- Ouchi Hisashi, Shinohara Masato, and Yokokawa
Yutaka - accidentally initiate a nuclear fission
chain reaction that emits intense gamma and
neutron radiation.
Though no explosion occurs, the reaction continues
for about 20 hours.
On the International Nuclear Event Scale,
the 1999 incident at Tōkai village rates
a 4, which indicates a deadly release of radiation
contamination with a high risk of significant
public exposure.
Hundreds of thousands of nearby residents
were forced to remain indoors for 24 hours.
667 workers, emergency responders and nearby
residents were exposed to high levels of radioactivity.
Dozens were hospitalized.
Among them, Ouchi Hisashi and Shinohara Masato
develop severe radiation burns, suffer major
damage to their immune systems, and eventually
die.
The plight of Ouchi is particularly horrible.
He was exposed to 1,700 rem of radiation,
arguably the most intense radiation exposure
since the bombing of Hiroshima.
After 83 days of blood transfusions, skin
grafts, and numerous heart resuscitations,
doctors finally allowed Ouchi to die.
After a long investigation, the International
Atomic Energy Agency concludes that the cause
of the Tōkai village accident was "human
error and serious breaches of safety principles."
Little did the agency realize at that time
the damage that would be caused 17 years later,
when the nuclear power plant at Fukushima
would be affected by a natural disaster.
