Tokyo Electric Power Co

Safety of workers compromised at Fukushima

There have been a couple of twists to the ongoing story unfolding at the crippled power station at Fukushima in Japan which could heap greater anxiety on the public still trying to come to terms with the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear crisis.

The first was an acknowledgement from the operator of the stricken facility that it knowingly sent workers into a hazardous environment without the right information.

Tokyo Electric Power Company [TEPCO] officials knew there was radioactive water on the ground of a reactor building, but didn't tell workers who were being sent in there to lay cables.

The workers were wearing inadequate footwear and some of them were exposed to high levels of radiation and hospitalised.