As the Daiichi Nuclear Power Station shows more and more evidence that it is a complete meltdown waiting to occur, I can only wonder what the 50 workers who, at least as of this morning, are remaining at the plant must be thinking. As those within 30 kilometers of the site are ordered indoors, with windows closed and air conditioning off, these 50 stay put.
While 800 of their fellow employees have been told to get out, those that continue to serve must be filled with a terror of untold magnitude. Are they little more than human sacrifices? What possible function do they have? The forces of nature have combined to overwhelm all human efforts to bring this disaster under control. What can these 50 possibly do?
When calamities of this magnitude occur, the extent of the human tragedy is beyond our comprehension. The lives lost, the emotional suffering for those that remain, the scope of the physical destruction, and the enormity of what lays ahead in the months to come, all seem to combine into an amorphous jumble. In Japan, we wait for body counts to escalate as the tsunami waters recede to reveal the full extent of its devastation.
Each day seems to bring with it more and more horrific news. Rulers brutally turn on their own people, leaving those in opposition bloodied and batter. Now we see the unfolding of a 'natural' calamity of ever growing proportion.
So many people, in so many parts of the globe, lost. And yet the 50 stand guard. Is it time to admit defeat in this battle, and get those who are left at Daiichi out of harm's way?
2 comments:
Robert, these 50 are heroes. They are working to contain this disaster as much as possible. The bigger question that I have, Why build a nuclear reactor in an area that is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis ? Just for the source of needed water? And then have the backup generators and emergency batteries right on the same site?
the hows and whys of nuclear reactors is well beyond my pay grade. Suffice it to say, in the battle of man vs nature, we continually seem as if we don't stand a chance.
Post a Comment