It turns out that there are a large number of videos on #YouTube documenting (and in a way promoting for the firms involved) cleanup and decommissioning activities at various highly contaminated nuclear sites, in significant detail. What strikes me as so bizarre is how ENTHUSIASTIC so many of these workers are in these incredibly dangerous environments, professing to love their jobs -- and they all seem sincere. It appears to be an entire subculture unto itself. I had no idea.
@lauren a huge number of older/retired japanese volunteered to help in dangerous cleanup at Fukushima because they said they felt like they were doing something positive for their community.
@smellsofbikes@lauren When I visited the area near the Fukushima power plant, someone working there told me that a big factor in that cleanup was that Tepco shipped in a lot of socially disadvantaged unemployed people and had them do cleanup at low wages on fixed-term contracts, calculating that they wouldn't get too much of a radiation dose in that time without properly educating them about the risks or taking care of them after their contracts. The way they told it, it seemed shady as fuck.
@jaseg@lauren I read the same thing. An ex-work friend's parents live in the area and their assessment was that Tepco did exactly that and older people were all well we are past reproductive age, we should be doing that instead of them.
@lauren I’ve taken the tour. You can walk right up to the face of the reactor. The really nasty parts are where they refined the plutonium and the associated byproducts.
@lauren
It would be interesting. (I was part of a small personal tour of Diablo Canyon, while it was still doing licensing hearings, and it was really amazing. The fuel was in storage - we could look through a window, but that was all.)
@lauren Is the pay awesome? I gather that if you're the kind of person who can follow the rules consistently, it probably pays well above working in a warehouse with similar rules and less exciting payloads.
@DarcMoughty I assume the pay doesn't suck for the specialized skills involved. But they really seem to love this work. I mean, I expect to see that in recruiting videos (and those are on YT too), but those workers really seem to be getting a sense of accomplishment out of being involved in removing those environmental hazards, and they seem to take all the radiation hazmat suits and equipment and procedures in stride.
Typical of dangerous heavy industrial work. Getting the job done, particularly with unique and hard won skills, builds a tremendous sense of pride and teamwork.
(Bonus: in the present day dangerous doesn’t have to mean unsafe, and managing the risks is one of the skills)
@sphealey@DarcMoughty Yes, the sense of teamwork and pride was palpable, and course that would be absolutely crucial in such situations and environments.
Add comment