Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown (full documentary) | FRONTLINE
Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown (full documentary) | FRONTLINE
A devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011 triggering a crisis inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex. This 2012 documentary reveals how close the world came to a nuclear nightmare.
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In the desperate hours and days after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the fate of thousands of Japanese citizens fell into the hands of a small corps of engineers, firemen and soldiers who risked their lives to prevent the Daiichi nuclear complex from complete meltdown. FRONTLINE tells the story of the workers struggling frantically to reconnect power inside the plant’s pitch-dark and highly radioactive reactor buildings; the nuclear experts and officials in the prime minister’s office fighting to get information as the crisis spiraled out of control; and the plant manager who disobeyed his executives’ orders when he thought it would save the lives of his workers.
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Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by the Ford Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.
Content
9.242 -> >> NARRATOR: Inside the worst
11.177 -> nuclear disaster of the century.
15.014 -> One year later, men who risked
17.617 -> their lives to save the
19.085 -> Fukushima nuclear plant reveal
20.954 -> what really happened...
24.424 -> >> (translated): We never
26.126 -> imagined we'd be sent there.
27.66 -> I was praying.
30.43 -> >> NARRATOR: ...the life and
31.664 -> death decisions...
33.133 -> >> (translated): This would
34.4 -> affect not just Japan, but the
35.668 -> world.
37.37 -> >> NARRATOR: ...the lives
38.404 -> upended by radioactive
39.606 -> fallout...
41.508 -> >> (translated): I had one
43.209 -> daughter left.
44.878 -> I had to protect her.
47.147 -> >> NARRATOR: ...and the courage.
49.516 -> >> (translated): We did it.
50.884 -> We did it for everyone.
55.121 -> >> NARRATOR: The story of those
57.023 -> tense days "Inside Japan's
59.225 -> Nuclear Meltdown."
100.6 -> (man speaking Japanese)
102.001 -> >> (translated): On March 11,
103.369 -> there was a relaxed atmosphere
104.671 -> at work.
106.973 -> I was at my computer,
108.308 -> writing reports.
117.016 -> Before that day, we'd had a few
118.618 -> earthquakes, around magnitude
120.587 -> four.
125.592 -> Then, I think it was about
127.126 -> 2:46 PM, I felt an incredible
129.996 -> rumbling in the earth.
132.398 -> It was like nothing I'd ever
133.7 -> experienced.
145.378 -> >> NARRATOR: The earthquake
146.779 -> that shook the Fukushima
148.181 -> Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was
149.716 -> the most powerful to strike
151.117 -> Japan since records began.
153.786 -> The company that operates the
155.388 -> plant, TEPCO, has forbidden its
157.557 -> workers from speaking publicly
159.392 -> about what followed.
161.761 -> But one year on, they are
163.763 -> starting to tell their stories.
165.932 -> Some have asked for their
167.834 -> identities to be hidden for fear
169.502 -> of being fired.
176.376 -> >> (translated): I saw all the
177.677 -> pipes fixed to the wall shifting
179.412 -> and ripping off.
185.084 -> >> (translated): It was getting
186.319 -> stronger and stronger.
188.321 -> This was no ordinary quake.
193.993 -> >> (translated): We were all on
195.161 -> our knees, holding on to the
196.429 -> railings.
198.264 -> Then the power was cut.
203.469 -> >> NARRATOR: The workers
205.004 -> stayed calm because they knew
206.339 -> Japanese power plants are
207.774 -> designed to withstand
208.741 -> earthquakes.
210.543 -> The reactors automatically
211.644 -> shut down within seconds.
214.247 -> But the high radioactivity
216.182 -> of nuclear fuel rods means
218.184 -> they generate intense
219.819 -> heat even after a shutdown.
222.355 -> So backup generators kicked in
223.856 -> to power the cooling systems and
225.725 -> stop the fuel rods from melting.
235.435 -> Takashi Sato is a reactor
237.036 -> inspector who no longer works at
238.504 -> the plant.
244.11 -> >> (translated): I wasn't
245.378 -> worried about the condition of
246.512 -> the plant.
248.014 -> I had always thought nuclear
249.315 -> power was safe.
251.718 -> But in the end,
253.119 -> the plant wasn't safe, was it?
265.598 -> >> NARRATOR: Just up the coast,
267.133 -> the fishermen of Fukushima
268.901 -> knew what was coming next.
271.437 -> >> (translated): It's always
273.039 -> been said on this shore,
274.44 -> the tsunami will follow the
275.942 -> earthquake.
278.211 -> I went straight to the harbor
280.646 -> and headed out to sea.
287.453 -> >> NARRATOR: Yoshio Ichida
288.988 -> wanted to save his boat.
291.157 -> He was racing straight into the
292.759 -> biggest tsunami waves to strike
294.293 -> Japan in hundreds of years,
296.362 -> hoping to crest them before they
297.864 -> broke.
302.535 -> >> (translated): They were like
303.803 -> mountains.
305.872 -> We went over three waves that
308.541 -> came directly from the east.
317.283 -> They were about 15 meters high.
320.286 -> It was like this.
327.527 -> >> NARRATOR: The biggest of the
328.928 -> waves was more than 40 feet high
330.73 -> and traveling at over 100 miles
332.298 -> an hour.
341.14 -> >> (translated): When I looked
342.408 -> back to shore, there was a
343.609 -> strange ocean mist.
349.182 -> I knew something bad was
350.65 -> happening.
357.857 -> >> NARRATOR: At the nuclear
359.358 -> plant, a worker was filming as
360.726 -> his co-workers fled to higher
362.161 -> ground.
377.777 -> At 3:35 PM, the biggest of
379.912 -> the waves struck.
383.149 -> It was more than twice the
384.65 -> height of the plant's seawall.
386.686 -> It's now known that TEPCO had
390.056 -> been warned by a government
391.557 -> committee of scientists in 2009
393.826 -> that its tsunami defenses were
395.695 -> inadequate.
397.797 -> The company says it was still
399.332 -> reviewing the matter when the
400.7 -> disaster happened.
402.768 -> Now, the tsunami flooded the
405.671 -> nuclear plant.
418.184 -> >> (translated): The port area
419.418 -> was trashed.
421.32 -> I felt something incredible had
423.189 -> happened.
428.728 -> >> NARRATOR: This man is a
430.196 -> senior nuclear engineer who
431.797 -> still works at the plant.
435.301 -> >> (translated): Cars had been
437.87 -> left everywhere by the wave.
445.378 -> Buildings and 5,000-ton fuel
447.647 -> tanks were sucked out to sea.
451.584 -> I watched them slowly sinking.
458.958 -> >> NARRATOR: Most of the backup
460.426 -> diesel generators needed to
462.161 -> power the cooling systems were
463.729 -> located in basements.
465.932 -> They were destroyed by the
467.366 -> tsunami waters, meaning the
469.268 -> workers had no way of keeping
470.903 -> the nuclear fuel from melting.
481.147 -> >> (translated): When I heard
482.448 -> the diesel generators were lost,
485.484 -> I couldn't square that with
487.453 -> reality.
489.155 -> I was stunned.
497.163 -> >> NARRATOR: This is the
498.631 -> frantically scribbled log the
500.166 -> engineers kept on a whiteboard
501.5 -> in the control room as the
503.469 -> nuclear plant slid towards
505.404 -> disaster.
506.739 -> 1542: Nuclear emergency
509.175 -> declared.
512.778 -> 1558: Loss of water level
514.614 -> readings.
516.882 -> 1636: Emergency core cooling
519.952 -> system malfunction.
521.921 -> No water can be injected.
530.63 -> TEPCO turned down Frontline's
532.198 -> requests for interviews with
533.966 -> plant workers, but put forward
535.468 -> the managing director of its
536.969 -> Nuclear Division.
539.238 -> He acknowledged the company had
541.007 -> never imagined that one of their
542.508 -> nuclear plants could lose all
544.01 -> power.
574.607 -> >> NARRATOR: In the 90 minutes
576.075 -> since the tsunami, Japan's
577.743 -> government had been scrambling
579.345 -> to deal with one of the biggest
581.047 -> natural disasters in the
582.381 -> country's history.
583.949 -> Now, the prime minister
585.818 -> was informed that the cooling
587.019 -> systems had failed at Fukushima.
624.223 -> >> NARRATOR: The prime minister
625.658 -> asked to be kept informed of
627.126 -> what was happening in Fukushima.
630.196 -> But for now, the executives
631.731 -> at TEPCO Headquarters
633.599 -> in Tokyo were in charge of
635.234 -> tackling the nuclear emergency.
646.679 -> Two hours had passed since the
648.614 -> tsunami.
650.516 -> The coastline was devastated.
653.853 -> Around 20,000 people
655.821 -> were dead or missing.
664.263 -> Norio Kimura, a farmer from
666.031 -> Fukushima, lived just two miles
667.967 -> from the nuclear plant.
670.87 -> He'd been out working
672.404 -> when the waves struck.
674.473 -> Now he was searching
675.975 -> for his family.
677.81 -> Survivors were gathering at the
679.945 -> local sports center, unaware of
682.248 -> the unfolding nuclear crisis.
689.555 -> >> (translated): Many people had
690.923 -> gathered.
699.465 -> I was told three of my family
702.101 -> were missing.
705.604 -> I felt cold, like my blood was
708.741 -> being drained.
713.879 -> >> NARRATOR: Norio's father was
717.383 -> missing.
717.65 -> So was his wife, and his
719.318 -> youngest daughter, Yuna.
726.692 -> >> (translated): I just couldn't
727.993 -> accept that the tsunami might
729.395 -> have killed them.
737.269 -> I started searching in the
738.771 -> rubble-- not just around my
740.606 -> house, but the whole village.
747.613 -> >> NARRATOR: As night fell, the
749.348 -> Japanese government ordered an
751.016 -> evacuation of everyone within
752.918 -> two miles of Fukushima Dai-ichi.
756.222 -> But Norio and the others ignored
757.723 -> the order and kept searching for
759.959 -> their families.
773.873 -> Just along the coast, the
775.708 -> nuclear plant was still without
777.343 -> power.
779.545 -> The workers had no functioning
781.881 -> instruments to reveal what was
784.183 -> happening inside the reactor
785.985 -> cores.
788.12 -> They improvised.
793.392 -> >> (translated): All of us who
796.028 -> had a car or a company car
798.998 -> were asked to get the batteries
800.866 -> to help restore power.
806.839 -> >> NARRATOR: The scavenged
809.241 -> batteries allowed vital
811.01 -> monitoring instruments in the
812.645 -> reactor one control room to work
814.813 -> again.
815.814 -> Just before midnight, the
817.149 -> workers restored power to the
818.751 -> pressure gauge.
820.953 -> The levels caused panic.
826.625 -> >> (translated): The pressure
827.927 -> was going up and up.
829.295 -> Everyone thought,
830.596 -> "Isn't this dangerous?
833.332 -> Are we in trouble?"
836.035 -> >> NARRATOR: The engineers
839.004 -> realized the rising heat of the
840.606 -> fuel rods in the reactor core
842.374 -> was creating massive amounts of
844.076 -> radioactive steam and hydrogen.
847.313 -> The resulting pressure meant the
849.181 -> workers could not get water onto
850.816 -> the fuel.
852.384 -> Even worse, it meant the
853.919 -> containment vessel might
855.321 -> explode-- a disaster that could
857.189 -> leave parts of Japan
858.791 -> uninhabitable for decades.
874.139 -> TEPCO now knew they had to
875.641 -> release radioactive gases into
877.276 -> the atmosphere to prevent the
878.777 -> reactor from exploding.
881.38 -> But to take such a desperate
882.815 -> measure, the company needed the
884.383 -> permission of the prime minister
885.884 -> himself.
902.534 -> >> NARRATOR: Radiation has long
903.869 -> been a sensitive subject in
905.237 -> Japan.
916.181 -> After the United States
917.583 -> dropped atomic bombs on
919.184 -> Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945,
922.121 -> tens of thousands died of
923.922 -> radiation sickness and cancers.
926.959 -> Yet now Japan's prime minister
929.061 -> felt he had no choice but to
930.863 -> authorize the deliberate release
932.698 -> of radioactivity.
946.045 -> >> NARRATOR: But there was
947.479 -> something TEPCO wasn't telling
949.048 -> the prime minister: the company
951.016 -> had never imagined they might
952.451 -> have to vent a reactor without
954.153 -> electricity.
956.155 -> They didn't know how to do it.
960.993 -> >> (translated): The venting
962.828 -> valves are driven by motors.
966.198 -> So without electricity, they
967.633 -> won't open.
970.436 -> It's possible to open them
972.337 -> manually, but really difficult.
975.808 -> >> NARRATOR: In the darkness of
978.31 -> the reactor one control room,
980.345 -> the workers pored over
982.414 -> blueprints to try to work out
984.149 -> how to open the vents.
987.386 -> The handwritten plant logs show
989.721 -> that radiation levels were now
991.723 -> rising.
997.396 -> >> (translated): To see those
998.997 -> kinds of numbers would normally
1000.532 -> be unthinkable.
1002.568 -> And this isn't inside the
1004.57 -> reactor itself.
1006.438 -> It's in the office.
1009.408 -> It was a disaster.
1012.311 -> >> NARRATOR: The engineers
1014.446 -> suspected something that the
1016.081 -> prime minister and TEPCO would
1017.683 -> not acknowledge for months:
1019.284 -> nuclear meltdown had begun.
1022.187 -> >> (translated): I realized that
1024.756 -> the fuel had started to melt.
1027.326 -> We got our masks and put them by
1029.862 -> our feet so we could escape at
1032.531 -> any time.
1039.771 -> >> NARRATOR: Back in Tokyo, six
1041.74 -> hours after the order to vent
1043.442 -> the reactors, there was still no
1045.043 -> news from the plant.
1048.113 -> The prime minister began to
1049.848 -> suspect that TEPCO was hiding
1051.416 -> the truth.
1053.452 -> He decided to go to Fukushima
1055.053 -> Dai-ichi himself.
1061.727 -> He was later criticized for
1063.128 -> interfering with the emergency
1064.63 -> work at the plant, but he says
1066.465 -> he had to find out what was
1068.1 -> really going on.
1087.786 -> >> NARRATOR: At Fukushima
1090.189 -> Dai-ichi, the prime minister met
1092.09 -> directly with the TEPCO
1093.358 -> engineers.
1094.626 -> He insisted they vent
1095.894 -> the reactors.
1098.23 -> >> (translated): Kan was very
1100.299 -> angry.
1103.502 -> The government had given an
1105.237 -> order.
1106.572 -> What was TEPCO doing?
1108.607 -> But we were trying our best.
1110.909 -> The valves were hard to open.
1113.445 -> We were genuinely trying.
1117.916 -> We just hadn't managed it.
1120.786 -> >> NARRATOR: The plant manager,
1123.355 -> Masao Yoshida, was known for
1125.591 -> being frank.
1127.893 -> He knew the radiation near the
1129.494 -> vents was at potentially fatal
1131.096 -> levels, but he told the prime
1132.798 -> minister he'd send in a suicide
1134.399 -> squad if necessary.
1144.443 -> >> NARRATOR: The prime minister
1146.078 -> knew his orders might condemn
1147.713 -> the men who went into the
1150.182 -> reactor to death, but he felt
1152.351 -> Japan's future was at stake.
1177.142 -> >> NARRATOR: But then TEPCO got
1178.777 -> some news which meant the
1180.312 -> venting was delayed yet again.
1183.782 -> The evacuation of the
1185.284 -> surrounding villages was not yet
1186.852 -> complete.
1189.621 -> If the reactors were vented,
1191.256 -> local residents could be exposed
1192.891 -> to dangerous levels of
1194.626 -> radiation.
1199.398 -> Norio Kimura was two miles from
1201.833 -> the plant, together with his
1203.402 -> oldest daughter, Mayu.
1205.537 -> He was still searching for
1207.839 -> his youngest daughter, his
1209.474 -> wife, and his father.
1213.779 -> Now he faced a choice:
1215.881 -> abandon the search, or risk
1217.916 -> exposing his surviving daughter
1219.318 -> to radiation.
1226.291 -> >> (translated): The head of
1227.726 -> the village told me that the
1229.094 -> nuclear plant was in trouble.
1232.364 -> He persuaded me to leave.
1238.47 -> He told me...
1247.913 -> ...the living were more
1249.481 -> important than the dead.
1255.354 -> That's when my feelings changed.
1258.59 -> I had one daughter left.
1261.259 -> I had to protect her.
1268.867 -> >> NARRATOR: But just after 9:00
1270.402 -> on the morning of March 12,
1272.17 -> the villages around the
1273.939 -> plant had been evacuated.
1275.707 -> At last, TEPCO ordered the
1278.143 -> venting team to go in.
1288.887 -> The plant logs show the first
1290.589 -> two volunteers set off at
1292.791 -> 9:04 AM.
1294.526 -> >> (translated): They knew
1296.094 -> they'd be exposed to radiation.
1298.163 -> But they went in.
1308.006 -> >> NARRATOR: This footage was
1309.641 -> filmed by TEPCO seven months
1311.343 -> later, when radiation levels
1312.944 -> remained dangerous.
1314.913 -> It shows the reactor building
1316.715 -> where the venting team had to
1318.183 -> operate.
1325.09 -> >> (translated): It was not
1326.958 -> a place for humans.
1329.494 -> The temperature was
1333.131 -> 100 degrees plus.
1335.801 -> The surroundings were pitch
1337.569 -> black, and there was
1339.504 -> condensation.
1342.073 -> The radiation was high.
1345.977 -> I don't think I would have been
1348.213 -> able to go.
1355.954 -> >> NARRATOR: Each worker was
1357.122 -> limited to 17 minutes in the
1358.356 -> reactor building.
1368.934 -> After nine minutes, the
1370.302 -> workers found the wheel
1371.937 -> for opening the vent.
1373.872 -> They inched it open, then pulled
1376.007 -> back when time ran out.
1378.844 -> Four more workers followed, each
1381.379 -> spending just minutes in the
1383.215 -> reactors.
1391.256 -> >> (translated): They showed
1392.791 -> courage and resolution.
1395.227 -> Their lives were on the line.
1404.803 -> >> NARRATOR: That afternoon, a
1406.705 -> thin plume of gas signaled that
1408.273 -> the pressure in the reactor core
1409.774 -> was falling.
1411.343 -> The venting team appeared to
1412.811 -> have saved northeastern Japan
1414.346 -> from a catastrophic explosion.
1417.048 -> The Fukushima workers began to
1419.484 -> think the worst might be over.
1424.99 -> >> (translated): I started to
1426.658 -> relax.
1427.959 -> I was hoping the reactor would
1429.394 -> soon be stable, and they
1431.596 -> would let us leave soon.
1439.538 -> >> NARRATOR: With the venting
1441.139 -> complete, the workers could
1442.741 -> focus on getting vitally needed
1444.376 -> water into the reactor cores.
1446.478 -> Suddenly, the ground shook.
1452.15 -> >> (translated): I was thrown
1453.618 -> a foot from my chair.
1456.288 -> No one knew what it was.
1459.558 -> Maybe an earthquake?
1462.661 -> >> (translated): The ground was
1465.397 -> rumbling and shaking like an
1467.599 -> aftershock.
1470.035 -> It was like a thunderclap.
1472.904 -> >> (translated): Then Yoshida
1475.173 -> said, "Did reactor one just
1477.943 -> explode?"
1489.254 -> Then we all panicked.
1497.696 -> >> NARRATOR: The engineers
1499.197 -> feared that the reactor core
1500.632 -> itself had exploded, scattering
1502.267 -> radioactive fuel over the plant.
1505.47 -> In the control center, they
1507.205 -> watched the radiation levels and
1508.94 -> waited to learn if they would
1510.809 -> survive.
1516.781 -> >> (translated): Many of us
1518.316 -> thought of running away.
1519.718 -> But there was no escape.
1526.091 -> If you actually ran, you would
1527.959 -> be exposed to radiation.
1534.499 -> >> NARRATOR: After an hour, the
1536.234 -> radiation levels stabilized.
1538.269 -> The engineers figured out what
1539.671 -> had happened.
1541.239 -> Leaking hydrogen had exploded in
1543.308 -> the roof of the reactor
1544.943 -> building, but the reactor core
1546.778 -> itself was intact.
1564.062 -> >> NARRATOR: In Tokyo, the prime
1565.597 -> minister's chief cabinet
1566.998 -> secretary was playing down the
1568.566 -> crisis.
1575.974 -> >> NARRATOR: The prime minister
1577.442 -> and his team were later fiercely
1578.843 -> criticized for hiding the
1580.245 -> severity of the disaster from
1581.579 -> the Japanese people and the
1582.914 -> world.
1585.05 -> Behind the scenes, they knew the
1586.818 -> situation was sliding out of
1588.42 -> control.
1590.622 -> The explosion had halted efforts
1594.025 -> to get water onto the reactor
1595.627 -> cores.
1597.929 -> It was now only a matter of time
1599.664 -> before the fuel would melt
1601.232 -> through into the open, spewing
1602.834 -> out much worse levels of
1604.569 -> radiation.
1648.213 -> >> NARRATOR: Already, a plume of
1650.081 -> radiation from the gas released
1651.516 -> in the explosion was drifting
1653.017 -> across Japan.
1658.256 -> The government widened the
1659.824 -> evacuation zone, ordering
1661.659 -> everyone within 12 miles of the
1663.161 -> plant to flee.
1666.03 -> Norio Kimura and his surviving
1668.133 -> daughter were still in that
1670.101 -> danger zone when they got the
1671.703 -> news.
1679.911 -> >> (translated): I now thought
1681.312 -> it was dangerous to stay.
1683.581 -> Iodine tablets were being handed
1686.184 -> out in the village.
1690.155 -> I made my daughter take one.
1700.064 -> I had to take her somewhere
1701.432 -> safe.
1702.7 -> That's all I could think about.
1704.135 -> We had to get far away from the
1705.603 -> nuclear plant.
1721.486 -> >> NARRATOR: Back at the plant,
1723.588 -> the situation was deteriorating.
1726.991 -> The explosion had already set
1729.093 -> back efforts to get water into
1730.728 -> the melting cores of reactors
1732.263 -> one and two.
1734.465 -> Now reactor three was also in
1736.067 -> meltdown.
1738.269 -> TEPCO needed help.
1741.272 -> A specialist team of soldiers
1743.775 -> was ordered to the site.
1746.611 -> Another hydrogen buildup meant
1748.446 -> the reactor three housing could
1750.048 -> explode at any moment.
1753.284 -> >> (translated): I was
1755.854 -> desperately trying to work out
1758.056 -> how we could get the job done
1759.891 -> quickly.
1762.36 -> I was nervous.
1765.563 -> Although we had trained for it,
1768.933 -> this was actually our first time
1771.636 -> in a radioactive area.
1774.706 -> >> NARRATOR: Colonel Shinji
1777.075 -> Iwakuma and his team wore suits
1779.01 -> that shielded their bodies from
1780.945 -> radioactive particles, but
1782.747 -> provided no protection against
1784.349 -> lethal gamma rays.
1786.985 -> Their mission was to inject
1788.72 -> water directly into the core of
1790.288 -> reactor three.
1793.224 -> >> (translated): Just as we were
1794.859 -> about to get out of the Jeep to
1796.261 -> connect the hose...
1800.565 -> it exploded.
1808.039 -> Lumps of concrete came ripping
1809.574 -> through the roof of the Jeep.
1817.515 -> Radioactive matter was leaking
1819.017 -> in through the bindings of our
1820.685 -> masks.
1823.521 -> Our dosimeter alarms were
1825.39 -> ringing constantly.
1829.694 -> >> NARRATOR: The soldiers were
1831.362 -> now surrounded by lethally
1832.997 -> radioactive debris.
1835.366 -> They were injured in the blast,
1837.035 -> but managed to flee the scene
1838.569 -> before anyone received a fatal
1840.071 -> dose.
1842.373 -> >> (translated): I was desperate
1844.108 -> to get away from the danger.
1846.945 -> We were lucky on many levels.
1850.381 -> We were lucky.
1852.55 -> Just lucky.
1867.165 -> >> NARRATOR: Parts of the
1868.333 -> nuclear plant were now
1869.6 -> completely off-limits to the
1870.768 -> workers.
1872.236 -> Radiation levels near
1873.705 -> one of the reactor buildings
1875.006 -> were at 1,000 millisieverts per
1876.541 -> hour.
1877.809 -> After an hour of exposure
1879.377 -> at these levels, radiation
1881.312 -> sickness sets in.
1883.181 -> A few hours would mean death.
1891.522 -> >> (translated): In the control
1893.157 -> room, people were saying we were
1894.659 -> finished.
1896.361 -> They were saying it quietly,
1898.563 -> but they were saying it.
1901.332 -> We felt we had to flee.
1903.201 -> This was the end.
1914.679 -> >> NARRATOR: That night in
1916.314 -> Tokyo, the prime minister was
1917.682 -> awakened with a disturbing
1919.884 -> message.
1920.918 -> He says he was told
1922.286 -> that TEPCO planned to withdraw
1924.088 -> their workers from the plant.
1953.618 -> >> NARRATOR: At that moment in
1955.787 -> Fukushima, the plant manager,
1958.022 -> Masao Yoshida, had gathered all
1959.824 -> the workers together.
1962.593 -> >> (translated): Yoshida said,
1965.263 -> "Starting now, we are going to
1966.864 -> evacuate."
1969.801 -> At that point, Yoshida was
1971.803 -> resigned to his fate.
1973.771 -> I'm sure he was prepared to die
1975.44 -> himself, but he couldn't kill
1978.009 -> 250 people.
1980.711 -> So he said, "Just go home.
1983.481 -> We've done this much.
1986.918 -> We can do no more.
1989.02 -> Just go home."
1992.957 -> >> (translated): It's probably
1995.193 -> bad to admit it, but I was
1997.395 -> relieved.
1998.996 -> I just wanted to get out.
2008.139 -> >> NARRATOR: Meanwhile, the
2009.774 -> prime minister was arriving at
2011.375 -> TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo,
2012.877 -> determined to stop total
2014.479 -> withdrawal.
2017.014 -> He demanded to speak to TEPCO's
2018.883 -> executives.
2020.751 -> Via a video-link, he was watched
2023.02 -> by the engineers in Fukushima.
2069.367 -> >> NARRATOR: To this day, there
2071.135 -> is controversy about what TEPCO
2072.87 -> intended.
2074.605 -> The company executives say they
2076.207 -> never planned to completely
2077.808 -> abandon the plant.
2096.16 -> >> NARRATOR: That morning, TEPCO
2098.396 -> evacuated all but a skeleton
2100.765 -> crew, led by plant manager
2102.6 -> Yoshida.
2103.601 -> The remaining men were
2105.002 -> to become known as the Fukushima
2106.304 -> Fifty.
2107.738 -> For now, they were locked
2110.508 -> down in the central control
2112.176 -> room.
2113.477 -> >> (translated): The radiation
2115.713 -> level was ridiculously high.
2118.683 -> We just didn't know what
2121.185 -> to do.
2122.653 -> The reactors were unmanned.
2124.322 -> Unmanned.
2127.158 -> >> NARRATOR: Hundreds of workers
2128.96 -> were on standby a few miles
2130.595 -> away, ready to lay pipes that
2133.03 -> could pump water into the
2134.298 -> reactors.
2136.267 -> But the radiation levels
2137.401 -> were now too high for
2138.569 -> them to approach the plant.
2141.906 -> A team of American nuclear
2143.507 -> specialists, who'd just arrived
2145.009 -> in Japan, were fearful that
2146.877 -> TEPCO and the government had run
2148.679 -> out of ideas.
2152.216 -> >> We were given numbers, very
2153.784 -> low numbers of people who were
2155.353 -> on the site, and we knew that
2156.954 -> that wasn't sufficient to...
2158.456 -> to do what needed to be done
2160.057 -> at that... at that time.
2164.762 -> >> NARRATOR: That day,
2167.064 -> frustrated at the lack of
2168.699 -> information the prime minister
2170.434 -> was giving them, the Americans
2172.003 -> decided to fly a surveillance
2173.671 -> drone over the plant.
2176.007 -> The data they got was
2177.608 -> disturbing.
2180.344 -> A third hydrogen explosion had
2182.246 -> exposed pools of discarded
2184.315 -> radioactive fuel to the
2185.95 -> atmosphere.
2188.486 -> These spent fuel rods were still
2190.554 -> highly radioactive.
2192.99 -> If the pools boiled dry, they
2194.725 -> could catch fire, and the
2196.494 -> contamination could be even
2198.229 -> worse than from a reactor
2199.797 -> meltdown.
2202.566 -> >> We had some pretty clear
2204.835 -> indication that there was fuel
2207.038 -> damage occurring in the spent
2208.873 -> fuel pools from the lack
2209.974 -> of water.
2211.809 -> And as they were worried about
2213.577 -> Japanese citizens, we were
2215.146 -> worried about American citizens.
2216.48 -> And we thought, to put all this
2217.915 -> to rest, put water in there.
2227.692 -> >> NARRATOR: The Japanese prime
2229.193 -> minister ordered a desperate
2230.861 -> tactic: dumping water on the
2232.496 -> spent fuel pools from the air.
2234.465 -> The first crew to take off knew
2236.6 -> that Soviet pilots who'd done
2238.369 -> this during the Chernobyl
2239.904 -> nuclear accident had
2241.372 -> subsequently died of cancer.
2248.446 -> >> (translated): That morning,
2249.847 -> before I started the engine,
2251.182 -> I called my wife.
2257.254 -> She said, "If someone has to do
2259.557 -> it, then go and do your best.
2263.16 -> I am praying for you."
2266.831 -> So she was supportive.
2270.868 -> She was crying at the time.
2274.171 -> I almost cried as well.
2279.076 -> >> NARRATOR: An earlier
2280.911 -> reconnaissance mission had been
2282.513 -> abandoned because of high levels
2284.048 -> of radiation over the reactors.
2285.916 -> Tungsten plates were now bolted
2287.618 -> to the helicopter to protect the
2289.153 -> pilots from gamma rays.
2291.255 -> The crew knew that they had
2293.424 -> to drop the water on the move,
2295.426 -> from 300 feet.
2298.095 -> If they went higher,
2299.597 -> they'd miss.
2301.031 -> If they went lower,
2302.433 -> they could receive dangerous
2303.834 -> doses of radiation.
2306.07 -> >> (translated): At the time,
2308.406 -> it felt like, "This is it.
2312.209 -> This is finally it."
2314.779 -> Like a tingle down the spine.
2327.291 -> >> NARRATOR: Their target was
2328.893 -> beneath them.
2331.328 -> >> (translated): I will never
2332.963 -> forget what I saw.
2335.166 -> The bones, the skeleton of the
2338.135 -> building.
2340.137 -> The walls were strewn
2341.772 -> everywhere.
2343.574 -> Incredible.
2349.747 -> >> NARRATOR: The world watched
2351.715 -> the mission live via a camera
2353.584 -> placed 20 miles from the plant.
2356.387 -> >> (translated): The wind was
2358.522 -> bending the water, so we sprayed
2360.691 -> it like this.
2371.969 -> We could see the steam,
2373.938 -> so I knew it had gone in.
2386.15 -> "We did it.
2387.885 -> We did it.
2389.687 -> We did it for everyone."
2392.857 -> That's how I felt.
2395.326 -> >> NARRATOR: But on their second
2398.028 -> mission, they missed.
2401.031 -> Other helicopters followed,
2402.7 -> but the wind was too strong
2404.335 -> for accurate aiming.
2407.204 -> The American nuclear team was
2409.306 -> monitoring the operation.
2412.776 -> >> We were taking radiation
2414.178 -> measurements ourselves to see,
2416.18 -> after the drop, did the
2418.883 -> radiation level go down.
2420.918 -> Uh... and it didn't.
2422.887 -> >> NARRATOR: The United States
2426.423 -> government began to draw up
2428.626 -> plans to evacuate 90,000 of its
2430.394 -> citizens from Japan.
2432.796 -> For now, they advised all
2434.431 -> Americans to stay at least
2436.1 -> 50 miles from the plant.
2438.836 -> The Japanese evacuation zone
2441.305 -> remained at 12 miles.
2445.309 -> U.S. surveillance now suggested
2448.078 -> that there were flakes of deadly
2449.847 -> radioactive fuel scattered
2451.615 -> around the reactors.
2454.552 -> This meant that anyone who
2456.22 -> approached the plant would be
2457.755 -> risking their lives.
2465.429 -> Despite the danger, the Japanese
2467.231 -> government ordered a team of
2469.266 -> Tokyo firefighters to get water
2470.935 -> into the fuel pools by any
2472.67 -> means.
2475.306 -> The men had no experience of
2476.807 -> working in radioactive
2478.242 -> conditions.
2480.177 -> >> (translated): All of our
2482.479 -> troops gathered.
2484.615 -> First, we chose all the
2486.75 -> over-40s.
2489.086 -> These were the guys who weren't
2490.754 -> going to be having any more
2492.256 -> children.
2494.525 -> I didn't speak to my family.
2497.895 -> I've taught them that at any
2500.698 -> moment, I might go into these
2502.633 -> situations.
2507.438 -> >> NARRATOR: One of the
2508.672 -> firefighters went ahead to plot
2509.873 -> a route.
2511.008 -> But the radiation he was
2512.076 -> exposed to meant he couldn't
2513.577 -> accompany his men on their
2515.145 -> mission.
2517.114 -> >> (translated): I was worried
2520.05 -> about the radiation and
2521.952 -> the mental welfare of my team.
2524.188 -> But I had to leave it to them.
2526.624 -> I waited and prayed.
2530.527 -> >> NARRATOR: The plan was for
2533.464 -> the firefighters to park a truck
2535.399 -> by the sea to suck up water,
2538.769 -> then lay 800 yards of hose and
2541.171 -> leave it spraying into the fuel
2543.54 -> pool.
2549.847 -> Unique footage filmed
2551.081 -> that night from the frontline of
2552.816 -> the nuclear disaster shows the
2554.652 -> firefighters preparing to
2556.286 -> approach the reactors.
2568.465 -> >> NARRATOR: They gave
2569.333 -> themselves 60 minutes to
2570.734 -> complete the mission.
2572.436 -> Any longer would expose
2573.671 -> them to excessive radiation.
2576.74 -> >> (translated): When
2578.842 -> we arrived at Fukushima
2581.178 -> Dai-ichi, it was so quiet.
2583.113 -> No wind, an eerie silence.
2585.749 -> The first thing we saw was
2589.186 -> tsunami debris.
2593.29 -> The roads were violently
2595.159 -> twisted.
2597.628 -> I was worried we wouldn't be
2600.23 -> able to complete the mission in
2602.499 -> one hour.
2616.38 -> >> NARRATOR: A radiation-
2617.981 -> monitoring vehicle set off
2619.817 -> ahead of the firefighters.
2628.659 -> >> Within minutes, the route was
2630.627 -> blocked by tsunami debris.
2633.13 -> The firefighters now had to lay
2634.698 -> the hose by hand, taking
2636.6 -> radiation readings as they went.
2659.99 -> >> The alarms on the dosimeters
2661.625 -> signaled a dangerous increase in
2663.227 -> radiation.
2686.016 -> >> After an hour on site, the
2688.018 -> hoses were finally connected.
2695.659 -> >> (translated): I was told on
2697.261 -> the radio that the water was
2698.562 -> spraying, so I started to think
2700.03 -> we had completed our mission.
2702.065 -> Then I just wanted to get out of
2703.801 -> there.
2705.369 -> We ran to the minibus and left.
2707.204 -> >> NARRATOR: As the firefighters
2710.741 -> withdrew, radiation levels at
2712.943 -> the plant began to fall.
2715.145 -> The men started back for Tokyo.
2717.781 -> Some had still not told their
2719.883 -> families what they'd been doing.
2722.719 -> >> (translated): When I got
2724.521 -> home, I was told off.
2726.223 -> My wife said,
2727.858 -> "So where have you been?
2729.693 -> A phone call would have been
2731.762 -> nice."
2742.573 -> >> NARRATOR: With radiation
2744.341 -> levels lower, TEPCO seized their
2746.777 -> chance.
2748.045 -> The hundreds of workers
2749.413 -> who'd been on standby headed
2750.981 -> into the plant.
2753.217 -> Their mission was to lay miles
2755.219 -> of pipes that would channel a
2757.154 -> constant flow of water into the
2758.889 -> reactor cores.
2761.124 -> They had to work fast in case
2762.726 -> radiation levels spiked again.
2770.467 -> >> (translated): At the time,
2771.735 -> in March, we didn't wear
2773.17 -> dosimeters.
2775.439 -> TEPCO didn't tell us directly
2777.174 -> where radiation levels were
2778.909 -> highest.
2781.144 -> >> NARRATOR: TEPCO now says most
2783.647 -> of their dosimeters were washed
2785.415 -> away in the tsunami, but that
2787.417 -> they ensured each group of
2789.119 -> workers had one.
2791.622 -> >> (translated): It was an
2793.857 -> emergency operation and we were
2795.459 -> in a hurry.
2798.695 -> No one complained,
2800.831 -> we all understood.
2803.901 -> Even if it broke the rules,
2805.535 -> we kept quiet about it.
2810.607 -> >> NARRATOR: When the pipes were
2812.276 -> laid, a steady flow of water at
2813.877 -> last started to cool the reactor
2815.379 -> cores.
2817.314 -> After days in fear of dying, the
2820.017 -> workers in the control center
2821.919 -> began to feel hope.
2824.187 -> >> (translated): People around
2826.823 -> me, their expressions grew
2828.692 -> brighter.
2830.494 -> Angry voices fell silent.
2832.462 -> The bosses calmed down.
2839.169 -> >> NARRATOR: Weeks of difficult
2840.737 -> and often perilous work lay
2842.372 -> ahead.
2843.64 -> But the most dangerous
2844.775 -> phase of the crisis was over.
2861.558 -> >> NARRATOR: The prime minister
2863.093 -> was later forced to resign,
2865.128 -> accused by his critics of
2866.763 -> mishandling the crisis.
2868.966 -> TEPCO faces having to pay tens
2870.6 -> of billions of dollars in
2872.235 -> damages.
2873.804 -> The company is on the verge of
2875.372 -> bankruptcy.
2877.407 -> The workers who battled to save
2879.376 -> the plant face an uncertain
2881.244 -> future.
2884.014 -> None of them have died from
2885.415 -> their exposure to radiation, but
2887.751 -> more than a hundred received
2889.386 -> doses which increase their risk
2891.288 -> of developing cancer in the
2893.056 -> future.
2947.677 -> >> NARRATOR: The radiation
2949.379 -> released by the Fukushima
2951.114 -> meltdowns contaminated hundreds
2952.682 -> of square miles of northeastern
2954.418 -> Japan.
2955.786 -> More than 100,000 people
2957.387 -> fled the fallout.
2961.691 -> Norio Kimura moved to the
2963.193 -> mountains of Hakuba.
2966.73 -> Only here, on the other side of
2968.432 -> the country, did he feel his
2970.2 -> surviving daughter was safe from
2971.902 -> radiation.
2975.072 -> In the weeks after the tsunami,
2977.14 -> the bodies of his wife and
2978.708 -> father had been recovered.
2981.211 -> But his youngest daughter, Yuna,
2983.513 -> was still missing.
3000.764 -> Four months after the disaster,
3002.966 -> Norio is traveling back to
3004.568 -> Fukushima.
3006.97 -> An exclusion zone is still in
3009.339 -> force for 12 miles around the
3011.274 -> plant.
3015.479 -> >> (coughs)
3019.916 -> >> NARRATOR: Animals abandoned
3022.018 -> by their owners have starved to
3025.422 -> death.
3026.69 -> Others roam wild.
3029.993 -> Some of these districts are
3033.063 -> contaminated so badly that they
3035.265 -> will be uninhabitable for
3037.134 -> decades.
3043.206 -> >> (man praying in Japanese)
3044.608 -> >> NARRATOR: Just two miles from
3047.344 -> the nuclear power plant, the
3049.646 -> evacuees from Norio's village
3051.515 -> are holding a ceremony for those
3053.35 -> who died in the tsunami.
3055.886 -> For Norio, it's a chance to say
3058.188 -> farewell to the family he had to
3060.524 -> leave behind.
3071.401 -> >> (translated): It has been
3074.004 -> four months since you suddenly
3075.572 -> disappeared.
3077.874 -> I have been wondering why this
3079.276 -> happened.
3081.244 -> One day, we will return here to
3083.613 -> live, looking at the sea that
3085.815 -> took you from us.
3092.389 -> We do not know when this will
3093.957 -> be.
3095.492 -> But we will definitely return.
3098.461 -> On behalf of the bereaved,
3100.897 -> Norio Kimura.
3137.634 -> Captioned by
3139.102 -> Media Access Group at WGBH
3141.238 -> access.wgbh.org
3144.774 -> >> For more on this and other
3146.076 -> Frontline programs, visit our
3147.377 -> website at pbs.org/frontline.
3159.889 -> Frontline's "Inside Japan's
3161.891 -> Nuclear Meltdown" is available
3163.56 -> on DVD.
3165.028 -> To order, visit shoppbs.org
3167.497 -> or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
3171.167 -> Frontline is also available for
3172.602 -> download on iTunes.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRKScRgsUaE