"There is a recognition this is a suicide mission".

[hlthe2b]

This quote from a highly concerned US official re the Japanese response: "They need to stop pulling out people—and step up with getting them back in the reactor to cool it. There is a recognition this is a suicide mission," the official said."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-send-special-nuclear-team-japan-nuclear-regulatory/story?id=13148044


Geebus. I think many of us, who remember CHernobyl, knew this, but boy has this driven home the current situation.

Discussed more at this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x663599


***********
I'm all for staying calm, urging calm, relaying the facts without a lot of excess exaggeration, but can anyone say they aren't a bit scared now? I am so very sorry for the Japanese people going through this. So very saddened and so very frustratingly helpless.

[GKirk]

1. I don't think that

U.S. officials get to suggest to the Japanese people that they go on a suicide mission to try to stop the situation at the reactor.

[itsrobert]

8. Why did the Japanese request US Military Help?

to get water in by US Military?

[Zorra]

2. Yes, I'm scared, and I'd totally prefer not to die from radiation sickness

now or anytime in the future.

:cry:

[RagAss]

12. Are you in Japan?

[hlthe2b]

19. Can't one be scared for the Japanese people?

[RagAss]

28. I didn't ask you. I asked a poster who said they were afraid of dying from radiation.

[hlthe2b]

29. and I asked you a question. That is how message boards work.

Right?

[moondust]

3. Kamikaze.

I'm sure a lot of people would do it if they could knowing it's a suicide mission as long as death was not slow and painful.

[Egnever]

4. Hmm scared?

Scared for the Japanese people perhaps but not for my personal safety no.

[hlthe2b]

6. We are truly an inter-dependent world....

Did we (in the US) have health effects from Chernobyl? No. But, that doesn't mean it didn't impact us and scare the living shit out of us. To have a part of earth rendered essentially forever unusable, poisonous for uncounted future generations--- yup, that affects us all.

[Egnever]

14. I think your hyperbole is getting the better of you

Its a tragic situation to be sure but "rendered esentaily forever unusable" is so over the top I cant really take you seriously at all.

[hlthe2b]

15. I am referring to Chernobyl...

I am not implying the entire country of Japan is at risk, but that zone around the nuclear reactors could certainly become unusuable for many many generations. Do you deny this to be a possibility? How is that hyperbole? Are you not familiar with Chernobyl?

[Ignis]

25. When you're talking about high hundreds / low thousands of years, that's not hyperbole.

Or were you planning a Chernobyl vacation in the near future? :shrug:

[tabatha]

5. They should have brought in other water delivery methods

when radiation levels were lower - but it is easy to judge from afar.

Just hope they get the alternative power source up soon.

It is very damning that the "little folk" have to be "suicided" because of corporate incompetence.

[petronius]

7. I was wondering about that last part - granted that my view of Japanese culture is heavily

influenced by samurai, WWII, and yakuza movies, but I am curious if we'll see any corporate honchos 'do the honorable thing' if it comes out that their choices are partially responsible for the tragedy.

(Note that I'm not in favor of any execs doing that - I'd far prefer that they atone through future acts rather than create the additional pain that any suicide would - just that I wonder...)

[Bluerthanblue]

9. I don't think this is a surprise to those who've been watching this

unfold who have experience with the issue of the dangers of Nuclear energy. I remember Chernobyl, TMI and was involved in fighting the construction of a Nuclear plant in my state- (unsuccessfully) as well as testifying against the proposed Nuclear Waste dump that the DOE was proposing to locate in our town back in the 80's.

It's certainly not a surprise to the workers, they understand far better than most the cost of what they're being asked to do.

Pretty terrible.

[CJvR]

10. Latest figures...

There are some 180 crew working 10-15 minute shifts.

10-15 minutes... The radiation must really have picked up on the site!

[guruoo]

11. Notice this "official" isn't rushing to volunteer

[daleo]

18. You weren't supposed to notice that

Highly concerned (and no doubt highly placed) officials order other people to die.

[guruoo]

22. Here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x663577

[daleo]

30. Quite a thread

It would be interesting to see a highly paid executive go in for an hour's shift in the hot control room and really earn some of his pay. Somehow I doubt it will ever happen, though the Japanese sense of honor (or shame) can sometimes surprise one.

[alterfurz]

20. "Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make." -- Lord Farquaad

[Octafish]

24. At its finest, hypocrisy is practiced by a certain class of individual.

Because of their, ehup, position, they feel themselves above the rest.
Some nations call them "royal" and the aristocracy.
In the United States, we call them the Have-Mores.

[ecstatic]

27. How would putting a non-experienced person in there help?

If anything, he'd make things worse. And I think we need to slow down with these types of threads. The employees do have internet access and can see what we're saying. That can't be too good for morale.

[daleo]

31. They could find something to do

I read today that workers had to clear a path for machinery, in an attempt to get a water hose near a hot spot. Some of this is basic grunt work, albeit in a deadly environment - I am not taking anything away from the workers.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. And they do not have land to really create a

exclusion zone

[patrice]

16. Where are the robots? Radio-guided robotts???

[lumberjack_jeff]

17. How bad is it? A lot of people should die so that a WHOLE lot of people don't die.

This sucks.

[grahamhgreen]

21. Send in all th pro-nuke advocates, CEO's, presidents, and everyone else who pushes this crap.

[Ignis]

26. "Everything is FINE! ...Now where's the nearest exit?"

[flying rabbit]

23. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

-Mr Spock