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A 48-year-old former contract employee at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has filed a damages suit against plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), claiming the company exposed him and other workers to dangerously high levels of radiation.
The man was among hundreds of contract employees sent in to work at the plant, following the catastrophic events of March 11, 2011.
The man told a news conference in Tokyo that he was sent to work at the plant only two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami, and came into contact with large amounts of accumulated radioactive water, which according to reports, was measured at over 20 millisieverts per hour, TBS reported Thursday.
He filed the lawsuit against TEPCO on the grounds that although TEPCO knew that a large amount of dangerously high radioactive water was present on site, they did not divulge that information to workers.
The man is seeking a settlement of 11 million yen in the Fukushima District Court.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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semperfi
There ought to be a class action suit brought against the TEPCO Board of Directors ( at the time of the accident). ..WHY has NO ONE at TEPCO leadership been made to be accountable????????????????????....... It's outrageous !!!!!
some14some
petty small amount, tepco should settle it fast before other workers know & demand more.
Trapped
You've surely made a mistake JT, that's USD not JPY, right? No, most likely 48y.o.様 made the mistake。
Magnet
Just 11 million yen? I'll be surprised if TEPCO doesn't just pay him a settlement to brush him off.
tmarie
Excellent. I hope others join him and let the world know what these men have been dealing with. Shady, shady, shady and TEPCO needs to be held accountable.
Crazedinjapan
11 million yen ?? At his point in life it hardly covers his and (possible) children's loss if he becomes a loss... Eg; private high school 1.5 a year.
Never mind the support through university ...and what's common if you have daughters ..,the extra spousal endorsement before during beginnings of marriage ...
He should be compensated 10X higher.
Bear27840
I really hate to say this, however, he will die before the case is settled from one thing or another.
Fadamor
Let me get this straight... the guy goes to work for a contractor involved in cleaning up the failed nuclear power plant... AND HE WAS EXPOSED TO "DANGEROUSLY HIGH" RADIATION?!?!? If there ever was a moment in time where "Duh!" says it all, this is it. Maybe he thought the reason why everybody in the surrounding 25 km were gone was because they had all gone to Okinawa to get a break from the March weather? (rolls eyes)
Nevertheless, a brilliant scam on this guy's part. Get a job with a contractor for TEPCO, do some work, then sue TEPCO (not the people who actually EMPLOYED HIM and put him to work there in the radiation) - but only sue for a low enough amount that TEPCO is likely to settle rather than challenge. Make sure to throw in "dangerously high" because it sounds bad even though biologists can't agree on how much radiation is "dangerously high". They can tell you how much exposure is certainly fatal, but nobody agrees on what level is dangerous over the long term. Everybody has a different number. For every expert who refutes this guy's claim, he'll be able to find an expert who supports his claim. A nice ambiguous and unprovable or disprovable term.
Mike Will
IS HE SUFFERING FROM ANYTHING?
Fox Cloud Lelean
Um, isn't that a risk that you sign on for when working in a nuclear power plant? That's like a checkout operator suing a supermarket for getting verbal abuse from a customer. It's something you have to face. So, this lawsuit doesn't really make any sense.
kurisupisu
If doses of radiation above the legal limits are found in the worker and/or it is found that this information was hidden then Tepco is in breach of Japanese law and the plaintiff is entitled to compensation.
If this case sees trial and a precedent is set , thousands of workers will seek damages leading to Tepco's bankruptcy
Tepco will settle out of court and the truth will once again be hidden....
Utrack
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/battle-to-control-fukushima-has-just-stored-up-dangers-6277669.html
..........................
hereforever
Fadamor, are you a TEPCO director?
Scrote
It will take at least 30 years before this lawsuit is concluded, by which time this man will probably be dead. That's the way the Japanese "justice" system works when you try to take on a company or the government.
jpntdytmrow
In recent years, the former workers at US nuclear weapons plants have been able to receive compensation for their time at the weapons plants and do not have to declare any particular relationship between their illnesses and their time at work. This was a long overdue process and too many employees have died without benefits. The ruling only covers through a certain year and those who worked after that year are still having legal issues. Residents near such facilities are not compensated for illnesses related to living near them. It may not include the many who were recruited to clean up the former weapons plants in the last decade. Interesting to compare how other countries treat their nuclear workers.
spucky
Doubtful that he succeed, because the Plant was already under a "declared State of nuclear Emergency"!
This means that "normal Working Laws" are not that valid anymore, but as i read this Worker don't sue Tepco because of Money but to improve the Situation of the Workers in Daiichi and this is very much needed!
johndpugh
It doesnt surprise me (and many others ) that tepco is getting sued somehow ;)