The glory, such as it is, for battling blazes and radiation leaks at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex

has belonged to firefighters, soldiers and a corps of plant workers dubbed the Fukushima 50. But much of the grinding grunt work of taming Japan's worst nuclear accident has fallen to a less-visible grouphundreds of industry foot soldiers who support the effort by carrying pipes, clearing debris and performing other manual labor amid the threat of elevated radiation. In normal times, thousands of workers perform routine tasks of reactor maintenance at the Fukushima Daiichi complex. Now, many of them are being called to volunteer to work, at standard pay, at the troubled plant. "I'm scared," says Kenji Tada, 29 years old, a worker at protective-coating specialist Tokai Toso Co. "But someone has to go." Mr. Tada's normal job includes painting corroded spots on reactor equipment. On Monday, he is scheduled to join several hundred other workers who will be on call for duty at the compound. Some are engineers and operations specialists. Others will drag electrical cables, hook up water pipes or otherwise provide on-the-ground muscle in the effort to bring the overheating reactors under control. Accounts of the work performed at the site are largely second-hand. Workers, some of whom stay at a soccer facility on the edge of the evacuation zone that surrounds the plant, have little contact with outsiders. Phone communications are spotty. Mr. Tada, a soft-spoken man with a pleasant round face and black glasses,says in an interview that colleagues at the complex who have phoned him said they have been positioning pumps needed to bring water to the site. They have told him radiation levels aren't so bad, he says.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. 9501.TO -1.51%

Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. Japan: Tokyo

522 -8 -1.51% Oct. 18, 2013 3:00 pm Volume : 25.67M P/E Ratio 20.38 Market Cap 851.72 Billion Dividend
10/17/13 Fukushima Watch: Protest Filed... 10/17/13 Fukushima

Yield N/A Rev. per Employee 125,198,000

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, or Tepco, and other

companies that are sending employees to the Fukushima Daiichi plant say they aren't paying the workers extra or providing benefits beyond existing accident and sickness insurance. The companies say they have been too busy dealing with the emergency to consider such things. Workers haven't raised the issue either, they say, in a country where pushing for more cash in such a time of crisis is seen as crass. "There isn't a single person who's been doing this because of money,'' says Tadashi Ikeda, senior managing director of Tokai Toso. Plenty of workers are locals who have been forced out of their homes by the radiation levels and are eager to help get things back to normal, he adds. Mr. Tada says he typically earns about 200,000 ($2,470) a month, well below Japan's average monthly salary of 291,000. "It can't be helped," he says, adding his mother doesn't want him to go. "Someone has to do it." Like Mr. Tada, who studied construction in technical school, many of the workers are lightly educated. Their key skill is a familiarity with radioactive environmentsa plus when working in areas where radiation levels topped 2,000 microsieverts an hour for much of Monday, around 30,000 times normal levels before the accident. Levels Thursday morning had fallen to slightly above 200 microsieverts an hour. Some 60 essential staff live on the reactor site in a heavily shielded building, leading to early impressions that the fate of the reactor-cooling effort hung in the hands of a crew somewhat misleadingly dubbed the Fukushima 50. Those core managers, led by the director of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, guide the recovery effort, operate the control room and keep an eye on reactor readings. They rarely leave the building. The rest, from firefighters to electric-line layers, are pulled out when their shifts are done, to stay where radiation levels are lower. The soccer facility that is one staging ground for forays to the complex, J-Village, is so close to the 12-mile border of the government's evacuation zone that Fukushima prefecture says it is within the zone. The Defense Ministry says it isn't. On Wednesday, Tepco dispatched 330 of its workers to the plant grounds. Another 224 workers were sent in from what Tepco calls "cooperating companies,'' such as Tokai Toso.

Mr. Tada is in a group of semiskilled workers who hover somewhere in the middle of Japan's nuclear power-plant ecosystem. At the bottom are laborers, often paid by the day. At the top are managers and engineers from plant operator Tepco and companies like Toshiba Corp. 6502.TO -0.23%

Toshiba Corp. Japan: Tokyo 429

-1 -0.23% Oct. 18, 2013 3:00 pm Volume : 16.20M P/E

09/25/13

Ratio 19.14 Market Cap 1822.17 Billion Dividend Yield 1.86% Rev. per Employee 28,735,500

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and Hitachi Ltd. , which maintain the reactors.

The Hitachi group has sent 120 people to the plant at Tepco's request, many from subsidiary Hitachi Plant Technologies Ltd. The Toshiba group is supplying 100 people. Tokai Toso, which works for Tepco subsidiary Toden Kogyo Co., has contributed six workers so far, on a voluntary basis, says Mr. Ikeda. "Tepco has been good to us for 40 years," the senior managing director said. "We want to do what we can." Radiation managers at Tepco take readings at the places where they want to send each day's workers. Shifting winds and leaks from unstable reactors have meant radiation levels in the complex have veered wildly in the space of hours, and hot spots move from one area to another. Workers wear protective gear and a mask and must have had training in dealing with radioactive environments. Each person also wears two badges, in chest pockets under gear, to track radiation exposure on each visit. Each worker is limited to a total of 250,000 microsieverts for the duration of the crisis, a limit that was lifted last week from 100,000 microsieverts the borderline for what is considered "low-dose" exposure. Mr. Tada says colleagues already at the site have told him they were exposed to around 100 microsieverts of radiation after five hours of work, an amount equivalent to one chest X-ray. That is less than the 190 microsieverts Mr. Tada says he logged in four hours of work one recent day, before the crisis. Not everyone is so sanguine. At the Saitama Super Arena, a stadium north of Tokyo that has been converted into a refugee shelter for people forced from towns near the Fukushima plant, Mitsuyoshi Oigawa says his son was among those asked to return. Mr. Oigawa says the call came six days after the quake struck and that his son will likely work at the plant for two or three days. Mr. Oigawa says he has tried without success to call his son's cellphone since then. He worries that radiation exposure could sicken his son. "There's no way to express what I'd do for him," says Mr. Oigawa, 70. "I'd go in his place if I could." In an evacuee camp in the city of Tamura, about 20 miles west of the Fukushima Daiichi complex, another worker for a nuclear-equipment maker says he got his call to report for duty earlier this week. The man says he thinks he will be carrying and laying pipes that will bring water to reactor No. 3. The high-school graduate, whose salary is similar to Mr. Tada's, says he was told he could refuse the call. But he says he felt duty-bound to accept, musing that he would be in the position of sacrificing himself for the good of others, as he says Japanese pilots did in World War II suicide missions. "If the call comes, there's only one thing I can say: 'Yes, I'll go.' I thought of the kamikazesacrificing yourself for someone else," he says. "My heart is calm." Andrew Morse contributed to this article.

Kemuliaan, seperti itu, untuk berjuang blazes dan kebocoran radiasi di Fukushima Daiichi kompleks nuklear Jepun telah dipunyai oleh anggota bomba , askar dan kor pekerja kilang digelar Fukushima 50. Tetapi banyak kerja mengomel pengisaran menjinakkan kemalangan nuklear terburuk Jepun telah jatuh kepada kurang dilihat kumpulan beratus-ratus askar kaki industri yang menyokong usaha dengan membawa paip, pembersihan serpihan dan melaksanakan kerja kasar lain di tengah-tengah ancaman radiasi tinggi. Dalam keadaan normal, beribu-ribu pekerja melaksanakan tugas-tugas rutin penyelenggaraan reaktor di Fukushima Daiichi kompleks. Kini, ramai di antara mereka yang dipanggil untuk sukarelawan untuk bekerja, dengan gaji standard, di kilang bermasalah. "Saya takut, " kata Kenji Tada , 29 tahun, seorang pekerja di perlindungan salutan pakar Tokai Toso Co "Tetapi seseorang telah pergi." Kerja normal Encik Tada termasuk lukisan tempat berkarat atas peralatan reaktor. Pada hari Isnin, beliau dijadualkan untuk menyertai beberapa ratus pekerja lain yang akan menjadi panggilan untuk bertugas di kompaun. Ada yang jurutera dan pakar-pakar operasi. Lain-lain akan mengheret kabel elektrik , menyambung paip air atau selainnya pada peringkat akar umbi otot dalam usaha untuk membawa reaktor terlalu panas di bawah kawalan. Akaun kerja yang dilakukan pada laman web ini adalah sebahagian besarnya terpakai. Pekerja, beberapa daripadanya tinggal di kemudahan bola sepak di pinggir zon pemindahan yang mengelilingi kilang, tidak ada hubungan dengan pihak luar . Komunikasi telefon yang turun naik. Encik Tada , seorang lelaki lembut dengan wajah bulat menyenangkan dan cermin mata hitam, berkata dalam satu wawancara bahawa rakan-rakan di kompleks yang telah menelefon beliau berkata mereka telah pam kedudukan yang diperlukan untuk membawa air ke tapak. Mereka telah memberitahunya tahap radiasi tidak begitu buruk , katanya.
, Atau Tepco , dan syarikat-syarikat lain yang menghantar pekerja-pekerja ke kilang Fukushima Daiichi mengatakan mereka tidak membayar pekerja tambahan atau memberi manfaat kemalangan di luar yang sedia ada dan insurans penyakit. Syarikat-syarikat mengatakan mereka telah terlalu sibuk berurusan dengan kecemasan untuk mempertimbangkan perkara-perkara seperti . Pekerja yang tidak membangkitkan isu sama ada , mereka berkata, di negara di mana menolak untuk lebih banyak wang dalam masa yang krisis dilihat sebagai kasar. "Tidak ada seorang pun yang telah melakukan ini kerana wang ,'' kata Tadashi Ikeda , pengarah kanan pengurusan Tokai Toso . Banyak pekerja tempatan yang telah dipaksa keluar dari rumah mereka dengan tahap radiasi dan tidak sabar-sabar untuk membantu mendapatkan benda-benda kembali normal, tambah beliau. Encik Tada mengatakan dia biasanya mendapat kira-kira 200,000 ($ 2,470) sebulan , jauh di bawah purata gaji bulanan Jepun dari 291,000 . "Ia tidak boleh membantu ," katanya , sambil menambah ibunya tidak mahu dia pergi. "Seseorang telah melakukannya." Seperti Mr Tada , yang mengkaji pembinaan di sekolah teknikal , banyak pekerja ringan berpendidikan. Kemahiran utama mereka adalah kebiasaan dengan radioaktif persekitaran - campur apabila bekerja di kawasan-kawasan di mana tahap radiasi mendahului 2,000 microsieverts sejam untuk banyak hari Isnin , kira-kira 30,000 kali paras biasa sebelum kemalangan itu. Tahap pagi Khamis telah jatuh ke atas sedikit 200 microsieverts sejam. Kira-kira 60 kakitangan penting hidup di tapak reaktor di bangunan banyak dilindungi, yang membawa kepada tanggapan awal bahawa nasib usaha reaktor -penyejukan digantung di tangan anak-anak kapal

yang agak mengelirukan digelar Fukushima 50. Mereka pengurus teras , yang diketuai oleh pengarah loji Fukushima Daiichi , membimbing usaha pemulihan, mengendalikan bilik kawalan dan memerhatikan bacaan reaktor. Mereka jarang meninggalkan bangunan. Selebihnya , dari anggota bomba untuk lapisan elektrik -line, ditarik keluar apabila perubahan mereka selesai, tinggal di mana tahap radiasi yang lebih rendah. Kemudahan bola sepak yang merupakan salah satu pementasan tanah untuk forays kepada kompleks , J -Village , begitu dekat dengan sempadan 12 kilometer dari zon pemindahan kerajaan bahawa wilayah Fukushima berkata, ia berada di dalam zon . Kementerian Pertahanan berkata, ia tidak.

Kumpulan Hitachi telah menghantar 120 orang ke kilang di atas permintaan Tepco , ramai daripada anak syarikat Hitachi Plant Technologies Ltd Kumpulan Toshiba membekalkan 100 orang. Tokai Toso , yang bekerja untuk Tepco anak Toden Kogyo Co , telah menyumbang enam pekerja setakat ini, secara sukarela , kata Encik Ikeda. " Tepco telah baik kepada kita selama 40 tahun, " kata Pengarah Urusan kanan. "Kami mahu melakukan apa yang kita boleh." Pengurus Sinaran di Tepco mengambil bacaan di tempat-tempat di mana mereka mahu menghantar pekerja setiap hari. Beralih angin dan kebocoran dari reaktor tidak stabil bermakna tahap radiasi di kompleks telah menyimpang liar di ruang jam, dan tempat-tempat panas bergerak dari satu kawasan yang lain. Pekerja memakai pakaian perlindungan dan topeng dan mesti mempunyai latihan dalam menangani persekitaran radioaktif. Setiap orang juga memakai dua lencana, dalam poket dada di bawah gear, untuk mengesan pendedahan sinaran pada setiap lawatan. Setiap pekerja adalah terhad kepada jumlah sebanyak 250,000 microsieverts bagi tempoh krisis, had yang telah ditarik balik minggu lepas dari 100,000 microsieverts -the sempadan untuk apa yang dianggap pendedahan " dos rendah ". Encik Tada kata rakan-rakan telah di laman web ini telah mengatakan bahawa mereka telah didedahkan kepada kira-kira 100 microsieverts sinaran selepas lima jam kerja , satu jumlah yang bersamaan dengan satu X- ray. Yang kurang daripada 190 microsieverts Encik Tada katanya log masuk empat jam kerja satu hari kebelakangan ini, sebelum krisis. Tidak semua orang begitu optimis . Di Saitama Super Arena, stadium utara Tokyo yang telah ditukar menjadi tempat tinggal bagi orang-orang pelarian terpaksa dari bandar-bandar berhampiran loji Fukushima , Mitsuyoshi Oigawa mengatakan anaknya adalah antara mereka diminta untuk kembali. Encik Oigawa berkata panggilan itu datang enam hari selepas gempa bumi melanda dan bahawa anaknya mungkin akan bekerja di kilang selama dua atau tiga hari. Encik Oigawa berkata, beliau cuba tidak berjaya untuk menghubungi telefon bimbit anaknya sejak itu. Beliau bimbang bahawa pendedahan radiasi boleh menyebabkan jatuh sakit anaknya. "Tidak ada cara untuk meluahkan apa yang saya lakukan untuk dia," kata Encik Oigawa , 70. "Saya akan pergi di tempat beliau jika saya boleh ." Dalam kem pengungsi di bandar Tamura , kira-kira 20 kilometer barat kompleks Daiichi Fukushima, pekerja lain bagi pembuat nuklear peralatan berkata, beliau menerima panggilan beliau untuk melaporkan diri untuk bertugas awal minggu ini. Lelaki itu berkata, dia fikir dia akan membawa dan meletakkan paip yang membawa air ke reaktor No 3. Siswazah sekolah menengah , yang gaji adalah sama dengan Encik Tada , kata beliau telah diberitahu dia boleh menolak panggilan. Tetapi dia berkata dia berasa bertanggungjawab untuk menerima, renungan bahawa dia akan berada dalam kedudukan yang mengorbankan dirinya untuk kebaikan orang lain, dia berkata juruterbang Jepun yang berlaku dalam Perang Dunia II

misi maut . " Jika panggilan datang, terdapat hanya satu perkara yang boleh saya katakan : '. Ya, saya akan pergi' Saya fikir yang kamikaze - mengorbankan diri untuk orang lain, "katanya. "Hati saya tenang. " -Andrew Morse menyumbang kepada artikel ini.