Japanese Evacuation Zone Residents Get First Visits Home
Nearly 100 Japanese residents have been allowed to return to their homes near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to collect bankbooks, medicines and other personal belongings.
It was the first time anyone has been officially permitted back into the 20-kilometer evacuation zone since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami destroyed cooling systems at the plant, causing radiation leaks. A few residents sneaked back before the government imposed legal restraints in late April.
The residents who returned Tuesday were provided with protective clothing, radiation-measuring dosimeters and walkie talkies (two-way radios), and were screened for radiation exposure after the two-hour visits. Additional visits are planned for residents of nine communities inside the zone before the end of May.
Radiation leaking from the nuclear plant has made the surrounding area uninhabitable and has contaminated farm crops and fish stocks in much wider areas of northeastern Japan.
The plant's operators, Tokyo Electric Power Company, approached the government Tuesday for assistance in making what are expected to be massive compensation payments to businesses and individuals who suffered financial losses because of the nuclear accident.
Officials said they are prepared to take additional restructuring steps, including salary cuts and asset sales. The company has already cut salaries by 50 percent for board members, 25 percent for managers and 20 percent for ordinary staff.
fuente: http://www.voanews.com/
It was the first time anyone has been officially permitted back into the 20-kilometer evacuation zone since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami destroyed cooling systems at the plant, causing radiation leaks. A few residents sneaked back before the government imposed legal restraints in late April.
The residents who returned Tuesday were provided with protective clothing, radiation-measuring dosimeters and walkie talkies (two-way radios), and were screened for radiation exposure after the two-hour visits. Additional visits are planned for residents of nine communities inside the zone before the end of May.
Radiation leaking from the nuclear plant has made the surrounding area uninhabitable and has contaminated farm crops and fish stocks in much wider areas of northeastern Japan.
The plant's operators, Tokyo Electric Power Company, approached the government Tuesday for assistance in making what are expected to be massive compensation payments to businesses and individuals who suffered financial losses because of the nuclear accident.
Officials said they are prepared to take additional restructuring steps, including salary cuts and asset sales. The company has already cut salaries by 50 percent for board members, 25 percent for managers and 20 percent for ordinary staff.
fuente: http://www.voanews.com/
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