The Fukushima Daiichi explosions and meltdowns released an unprecedented amount of radiation into the air that then came down as fallout and in rains later in the week, and vast quantities spread out over the Pacific Ocean. The day after the first blast, I found myself turning an idea over in my head again and again - what if it goes full-scale huge meltdown like Chernobyl? Will there be anyone to stop it from churning out lethal levels of radiation forever? What happens when no heroes step forward?
Just about a year before the events of last March I read Voices from Chernobyl. It is a detailed account of the aftermath of that disaster, told through interviews with people who worked on the plant, and the wives of the men who lost their lives. For me the most horrible story, the one that still reverberates in my head, is the chapter where a woman tells about her husband's last night. He was on scene from the very beginning, collecting nuclear material that had to be disposed of. And he got burnt, physically from the fires but also from the radiation. Doctors told his wife not to even come close to him as he lay dying in a hospital bed, but she held his hand through the night through the gloves of a protective suit they gave her. He died, but she was by his side the whole time. And then years later, she's being treated for cancer she got just being near him.
Before I read that book, though, the Chernobyl disaster had always been compelling to me. It was a story of horrible loss, heroic sacrifice and despair. How do you console the people whose loved ones were sent to their deaths to fight fires atop the plant? How do you tell people that they can no longer return to their homes because of a danger they can't see and few people really understand?
How can humanity overcome a disaster like this and still rely on nuclear energy? But if we give it up, will we be able to adapt to the new life this energy gap produces?
Those were questions that burned in my brain for many years, and I always wondered what I would do in the same situation. Would I have been able to charge into the blaze, thick smoke belching out and a tingling sensation like razors being run over your skin as the searing hot levels of radiation tear through you? I don't know. I don't think I can ever know, nor would I want to.
The day after the first blast at Fukushima, this horrible thought hit me - could any heroes like the men who gave their lives at Chernobyl come forward now? Does Japan (or any democracy) have people of that caliber? There was hesitation, I know. In his interview last weekend, Prime Minister Noda said Tepco wanted to pull its workers out immediately, but (then) Prime Minister Kan ordered them to stay and fight, and sent in troops to help out.
So of course those men were heroes and the people working at the plants now trying to keep them under control are heroes too. Fortunately it never got to the point where anyone needed to throw their lives away for the cause, but what if it had? What if some new development causes it to happen? Are there any heroes who would be able to make that kind of sacrifice?
And is it even right for me to ask these questions? Who are we (as citizens living in the modern world) to require some hero to step up to save us?
No comments:
Post a Comment