Radiation Survey in Namie

Radiation reading from Greenpeace survey vehicle in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. The readings are in counts per second and indicate levels of radiation at least four times above the Japanese government’s decontamination target of 0.23 microsieverts per hour. n March 2017 the Japanese government opened this area of Namie for people to return to. 10km north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, this area was heavily damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. As of November 2017 the population of Namie was 440, 2.1% of the population in March 2011.

Unique identifier: GP0STRLWM

Type: Image

Shoot date: 29/09/2017

Locations: East Asia, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Namie

Credit line: © Shaun Burnie / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Radiation Survey in Fukushima Prefecture

A comprehensive survey by Greenpeace Japan in the towns of Iitate and Namie in Fukushima prefecture, including the exclusion zone, revealed radiation levels up to 100 times higher than the international limit for public exposure. The high radiation levels in these areas pose a significant risk to returning evacuees until at least the 2050’s and well into next century. The findings come just two weeks ahead of a critical decision at at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) review on Japan’s human rights record and commitments to evacuees from the nuclear disaster.

Greenpeace conducted the investigations in September and October 2017 measuring tens of thousands of data points around homes, forests, roads and farmland in the open areas of Namie and Iitate, as well as inside the closed Namie exclusion zone. The government plans to open up small areas of the exclusion zone, including Obori and Tsushima, for human habitation in 2023. The survey shows the decontamination program to be ineffective, combined with a region that is 70-80% mountainous forest which cannot be decontaminated.

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