nuclear-news

A really INDEPENDENT radiation expert in Fukushima

Radiation expert takes on red tape in disaster zone, Japan Times, 5 April 12,  Kyodo Shinzo Kimura, a radiation hygiene expert combating the nuclear contamination in Fukushima, is a man of action who stops at nothing to accomplish his mission

After watching news footage of the nuclear disaster following the
Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Kimura, 44, immediately
geared up to go to the accident site.

But his boss at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health refused to give the green light for his trip to Fukushima, so
Kimura quit his job at the government-affiliated institute and
scrambled to the disaster area under his own steam.

Kimura says he had no qualms about losing his job.

“I feared that the government could withhold data, deliberately or
otherwise. My mission is revealing facts,” he explained.  In his new
capacity as an associate professor at Dokkyo Medical University,
Kimura is acting as adviser to the municipal government of Nihonmatsu,
Fukushima Prefecture. He heads the Nihonmatsu branch of the Tochigi
Prefecture-based university’s international epidemiology laboratory,
which opened last November.

As he helps city officials conduct a survey on internal exposure to
radiation and advises residents on health issues, Kimura has earned
their trust. One municipal official praised Kimura as a man who wastes
no time acting to resolve problems.

Kimura collects no fees in return for his work for the municipal
government, only accepting travel stipends, as he wants to retain a
free hand by remaining financially independent.

“If I’m hooked on a leash, I won’t be able to speak my mind,” he
said….. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120405f2.html

April 5, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, Religion and ethics