Nuclear evacuees visit homes for first time since Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe began

The Japan Times has reported that nearly 200 nuclear evacuees from the towns closest to the shattered Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are being allowed to visit their homes for the first time since the triple meltdown catastrophe began nearly 6 months ago. Government agencies are reporting radiation levels of 4 to 8.5 millirem per hour in the evacuated towns. Thus, the five hour visit will expose the evacuees to 20 to 42.5 millirems of external radiation from gamma rays. If the evacuees do not wear respirators, they also risk internal ingestion or inhalation of radionuclides, which could deliver an even more severe radiation dose. Under normal regulations, people are "allowed" or "permitted" to receive 100 millirems per year of radioactivity exposure. However, the Japanese federal government now "allows" residents of Fukushima Prefecture to receive 2,000 millirems per year, a 20-fold increase post-Fukushima. This includes infants, children, pregnant women, and fetuses -- known to be more vulnerable to radioactivity's harmfulness than ordinary adults. Another risk to the visiting evacuees not mentioned in this article -- the radioactive contamination of the personal items they apparently are allowed to retrieve from their abandoned homes. Also of concern -- the apparent intent of the Japanese government to allow evacuees from the 20 km (12 mile) evacuation zone to return to live in their severely contaminated homes in January, 2012.