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Inside Japan's Nuclear Meltdown (full documentary) | FRONTLINE — Transcript

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0:09>> NARRATOR: Inside the worst
0:11nuclear disaster of the century.
0:15One year later, men who risked
0:17their lives to save the
0:19Fukushima nuclear plant reveal
0:20what really happened...
0:24>> (translated): We never
0:26imagined we'd be sent there.
0:27I was praying.
0:30>> NARRATOR: ...the life and
0:31death decisions...
0:33>> (translated): This would
0:34affect not just Japan, but the
0:35world.
0:37>> NARRATOR: ...the lives
0:38upended by radioactive
0:39fallout...
0:41>> (translated): I had one
0:43daughter left.
0:44I had to protect her.
0:47>> NARRATOR: ...and the courage.
0:49>> (translated): We did it.
0:50We did it for everyone.
0:55>> NARRATOR: The story of those
0:57tense days "Inside Japan's
0:59Nuclear Meltdown."
1:40(man speaking Japanese)
1:42>> (translated): On March 11,
1:43there was a relaxed atmosphere
1:44at work.
1:46I was at my computer,
1:48writing reports.
1:57Before that day, we'd had a few
1:58earthquakes, around magnitude
2:00four.
2:05Then, I think it was about
2:072:46 PM, I felt an incredible
2:10rumbling in the earth.
2:12It was like nothing I'd ever
2:13experienced.
2:25>> NARRATOR: The earthquake
2:26that shook the Fukushima
2:28Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was
2:29the most powerful to strike
2:31Japan since records began.
2:33The company that operates the
2:35plant, TEPCO, has forbidden its
2:37workers from speaking publicly
2:39about what followed.
2:41But one year on, they are
2:43starting to tell their stories.
2:45Some have asked for their
2:47identities to be hidden for fear
2:49of being fired.
2:56>> (translated): I saw all the
2:57pipes fixed to the wall shifting
2:59and ripping off.
3:05>> (translated): It was getting
3:06stronger and stronger.
3:08This was no ordinary quake.
3:13>> (translated): We were all on
3:15our knees, holding on to the
3:16railings.
3:18Then the power was cut.
3:23>> NARRATOR: The workers
3:25stayed calm because they knew
3:26Japanese power plants are
3:27designed to withstand
3:28earthquakes.
3:30The reactors automatically
3:31shut down within seconds.
3:34But the high radioactivity
3:36of nuclear fuel rods means
3:38they generate intense
3:39heat even after a shutdown.
3:42So backup generators kicked in
3:43to power the cooling systems and
3:45stop the fuel rods from melting.
3:55Takashi Sato is a reactor
3:57inspector who no longer works at
3:58the plant.
4:04>> (translated): I wasn't
4:05worried about the condition of
4:06the plant.
4:08I had always thought nuclear
4:09power was safe.
4:11But in the end,
4:13the plant wasn't safe, was it?
4:25>> NARRATOR: Just up the coast,
4:27the fishermen of Fukushima
4:28knew what was coming next.
4:31>> (translated): It's always
4:33been said on this shore,
4:34the tsunami will follow the
4:35earthquake.
4:38I went straight to the harbor
4:40and headed out to sea.
4:47>> NARRATOR: Yoshio Ichida
4:48wanted to save his boat.
4:51He was racing straight into the
4:52biggest tsunami waves to strike
4:54Japan in hundreds of years,
4:56hoping to crest them before they
4:57broke.
5:02>> (translated): They were like
5:03mountains.
5:05We went over three waves that
5:08came directly from the east.
5:17They were about 15 meters high.
5:20It was like this.
5:27>> NARRATOR: The biggest of the
5:28waves was more than 40 feet high
5:30and traveling at over 100 miles
5:32an hour.
5:41>> (translated): When I looked
5:42back to shore, there was a
5:43strange ocean mist.
5:49I knew something bad was
5:50happening.
5:57>> NARRATOR: At the nuclear
5:59plant, a worker was filming as
6:00his co-workers fled to higher
6:02ground.
6:17At 3:35 PM, the biggest of
6:19the waves struck.
6:23It was more than twice the
6:24height of the plant's seawall.
6:26It's now known that TEPCO had
6:30been warned by a government
6:31committee of scientists in 2009
6:33that its tsunami defenses were
6:35inadequate.
6:37The company says it was still
6:39reviewing the matter when the
6:40disaster happened.
6:42Now, the tsunami flooded the
6:45nuclear plant.
6:58>> (translated): The port area
6:59was trashed.
7:01I felt something incredible had
7:03happened.
7:08>> NARRATOR: This man is a
7:10senior nuclear engineer who
7:11still works at the plant.
7:15>> (translated): Cars had been
7:17left everywhere by the wave.
7:25Buildings and 5,000-ton fuel
7:27tanks were sucked out to sea.
7:31I watched them slowly sinking.
7:38>> NARRATOR: Most of the backup
7:40diesel generators needed to
7:42power the cooling systems were
7:43located in basements.
7:45They were destroyed by the
7:47tsunami waters, meaning the
7:49workers had no way of keeping
7:50the nuclear fuel from melting.
8:01>> (translated): When I heard
8:02the diesel generators were lost,
8:05I couldn't square that with
8:07reality.
8:09I was stunned.
8:17>> NARRATOR: This is the
8:18frantically scribbled log the
8:20engineers kept on a whiteboard
8:21in the control room as the
8:23nuclear plant slid towards
8:25disaster.
8:261542: Nuclear emergency
8:29declared.
8:321558: Loss of water level
8:34readings.
8:361636: Emergency core cooling
8:39system malfunction.
8:41No water can be injected.
8:50TEPCO turned down Frontline's
8:52requests for interviews with
8:53plant workers, but put forward
8:55the managing director of its
8:56Nuclear Division.
8:59He acknowledged the company had
9:01never imagined that one of their
9:02nuclear plants could lose all
9:04power.
9:34>> NARRATOR: In the 90 minutes
9:36since the tsunami, Japan's
9:37government had been scrambling
9:39to deal with one of the biggest
9:41natural disasters in the
9:42country's history.
9:43Now, the prime minister
9:45was informed that the cooling
9:47systems had failed at Fukushima.
10:24>> NARRATOR: The prime minister
10:25asked to be kept informed of
10:27what was happening in Fukushima.
10:30But for now, the executives
10:31at TEPCO Headquarters
10:33in Tokyo were in charge of
10:35tackling the nuclear emergency.
10:46Two hours had passed since the
10:48tsunami.
10:50The coastline was devastated.
10:53Around 20,000 people
10:55were dead or missing.
11:04Norio Kimura, a farmer from
11:06Fukushima, lived just two miles
11:07from the nuclear plant.
11:10He'd been out working
11:12when the waves struck.
11:14Now he was searching
11:15for his family.
11:17Survivors were gathering at the
11:19local sports center, unaware of
11:22the unfolding nuclear crisis.
11:29>> (translated): Many people had
11:30gathered.
11:39I was told three of my family
11:42were missing.
11:45I felt cold, like my blood was
11:48being drained.
11:53>> NARRATOR: Norio's father was
11:57missing.
11:57So was his wife, and his
11:59youngest daughter, Yuna.
12:06>> (translated): I just couldn't
12:07accept that the tsunami might
12:09have killed them.
12:17I started searching in the
12:18rubble-- not just around my
12:20house, but the whole village.
12:27>> NARRATOR: As night fell, the
12:29Japanese government ordered an
12:31evacuation of everyone within
12:32two miles of Fukushima Dai-ichi.
12:36But Norio and the others ignored
12:37the order and kept searching for
12:39their families.
12:53Just along the coast, the
12:55nuclear plant was still without
12:57power.
12:59The workers had no functioning
13:01instruments to reveal what was
13:04happening inside the reactor
13:05cores.
13:08They improvised.
13:13>> (translated): All of us who
13:16had a car or a company car
13:19were asked to get the batteries
13:20to help restore power.
13:26>> NARRATOR: The scavenged
13:29batteries allowed vital
13:31monitoring instruments in the
13:32reactor one control room to work
13:34again.
13:35Just before midnight, the
13:37workers restored power to the
13:38pressure gauge.
13:40The levels caused panic.
13:46>> (translated): The pressure
13:47was going up and up.
13:49Everyone thought,
13:50"Isn't this dangerous?
13:53Are we in trouble?"
13:56>> NARRATOR: The engineers
13:59realized the rising heat of the
14:00fuel rods in the reactor core
14:02was creating massive amounts of
14:04radioactive steam and hydrogen.
14:07The resulting pressure meant the
14:09workers could not get water onto
14:10the fuel.
14:12Even worse, it meant the
14:13containment vessel might
14:15explode-- a disaster that could
14:17leave parts of Japan
14:18uninhabitable for decades.
14:34TEPCO now knew they had to
14:35release radioactive gases into
14:37the atmosphere to prevent the
14:38reactor from exploding.
14:41But to take such a desperate
14:42measure, the company needed the
14:44permission of the prime minister
14:45himself.
15:02>> NARRATOR: Radiation has long
15:03been a sensitive subject in
15:05Japan.
15:16After the United States
15:17dropped atomic bombs on
15:19Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945,
15:22tens of thousands died of
15:23radiation sickness and cancers.
15:26Yet now Japan's prime minister
15:29felt he had no choice but to
15:30authorize the deliberate release
15:32of radioactivity.
15:46>> NARRATOR: But there was
15:47something TEPCO wasn't telling
15:49the prime minister: the company
15:51had never imagined they might
15:52have to vent a reactor without
15:54electricity.
15:56They didn't know how to do it.
16:00>> (translated): The venting
16:02valves are driven by motors.
16:06So without electricity, they
16:07won't open.
16:10It's possible to open them
16:12manually, but really difficult.
16:15>> NARRATOR: In the darkness of
16:18the reactor one control room,
16:20the workers pored over
16:22blueprints to try to work out
16:24how to open the vents.
16:27The handwritten plant logs show
16:29that radiation levels were now
16:31rising.
16:37>> (translated): To see those
16:39kinds of numbers would normally
16:40be unthinkable.
16:42And this isn't inside the
16:44reactor itself.
16:46It's in the office.
16:49It was a disaster.
16:52>> NARRATOR: The engineers
16:54suspected something that the
16:56prime minister and TEPCO would
16:57not acknowledge for months:
16:59nuclear meltdown had begun.
17:02>> (translated): I realized that
17:04the fuel had started to melt.
17:07We got our masks and put them by
17:09our feet so we could escape at
17:12any time.
17:19>> NARRATOR: Back in Tokyo, six
17:21hours after the order to vent
17:23the reactors, there was still no
17:25news from the plant.
17:28The prime minister began to
17:29suspect that TEPCO was hiding
17:31the truth.
17:33He decided to go to Fukushima
17:35Dai-ichi himself.
17:41He was later criticized for
17:43interfering with the emergency
17:44work at the plant, but he says
17:46he had to find out what was
17:48really going on.
18:07>> NARRATOR: At Fukushima
18:10Dai-ichi, the prime minister met
18:12directly with the TEPCO
18:13engineers.
18:14He insisted they vent
18:15the reactors.
18:18>> (translated): Kan was very
18:20angry.
18:23The government had given an
18:25order.
18:26What was TEPCO doing?
18:28But we were trying our best.
18:30The valves were hard to open.
18:33We were genuinely trying.
18:37We just hadn't managed it.
18:40>> NARRATOR: The plant manager,
18:43Masao Yoshida, was known for
18:45being frank.
18:47He knew the radiation near the
18:49vents was at potentially fatal
18:51levels, but he told the prime
18:52minister he'd send in a suicide
18:54squad if necessary.
19:04>> NARRATOR: The prime minister
19:06knew his orders might condemn
19:07the men who went into the
19:10reactor to death, but he felt
19:12Japan's future was at stake.
19:37>> NARRATOR: But then TEPCO got
19:38some news which meant the
19:40venting was delayed yet again.
19:43The evacuation of the
19:45surrounding villages was not yet
19:46complete.
19:49If the reactors were vented,
19:51local residents could be exposed
19:52to dangerous levels of
19:54radiation.
19:59Norio Kimura was two miles from
20:01the plant, together with his
20:03oldest daughter, Mayu.
20:05He was still searching for
20:07his youngest daughter, his
20:09wife, and his father.
20:13Now he faced a choice:
20:15abandon the search, or risk
20:17exposing his surviving daughter
20:19to radiation.
20:26>> (translated): The head of
20:27the village told me that the
20:29nuclear plant was in trouble.
20:32He persuaded me to leave.
20:38He told me...
20:47...the living were more
20:49important than the dead.
20:55That's when my feelings changed.
20:58I had one daughter left.
21:01I had to protect her.
21:08>> NARRATOR: But just after 9:00
21:10on the morning of March 12,
21:12the villages around the
21:13plant had been evacuated.
21:15At last, TEPCO ordered the
21:18venting team to go in.
21:28The plant logs show the first
21:30two volunteers set off at
21:329:04 AM.
21:34>> (translated): They knew
21:36they'd be exposed to radiation.
21:38But they went in.
21:48>> NARRATOR: This footage was
21:49filmed by TEPCO seven months
21:51later, when radiation levels
21:52remained dangerous.
21:54It shows the reactor building
21:56where the venting team had to
21:58operate.
22:05>> (translated): It was not
22:06a place for humans.
22:09The temperature was
22:13100 degrees plus.
22:15The surroundings were pitch
22:17black, and there was
22:19condensation.
22:22The radiation was high.
22:25I don't think I would have been
22:28able to go.
22:35>> NARRATOR: Each worker was
22:37limited to 17 minutes in the
22:38reactor building.
22:48After nine minutes, the
22:50workers found the wheel
22:51for opening the vent.
22:53They inched it open, then pulled
22:56back when time ran out.
22:58Four more workers followed, each
23:01spending just minutes in the
23:03reactors.
23:11>> (translated): They showed
23:12courage and resolution.
23:15Their lives were on the line.
23:24>> NARRATOR: That afternoon, a
23:26thin plume of gas signaled that
23:28the pressure in the reactor core
23:29was falling.
23:31The venting team appeared to
23:32have saved northeastern Japan
23:34from a catastrophic explosion.
23:37The Fukushima workers began to
23:39think the worst might be over.
23:44>> (translated): I started to
23:46relax.
23:47I was hoping the reactor would
23:49soon be stable, and they
23:51would let us leave soon.
23:59>> NARRATOR: With the venting
24:01complete, the workers could
24:02focus on getting vitally needed
24:04water into the reactor cores.
24:06Suddenly, the ground shook.
24:12>> (translated): I was thrown
24:13a foot from my chair.
24:16No one knew what it was.
24:19Maybe an earthquake?
24:22>> (translated): The ground was
24:25rumbling and shaking like an
24:27aftershock.
24:30It was like a thunderclap.
24:32>> (translated): Then Yoshida
24:35said, "Did reactor one just
24:37explode?"
24:49Then we all panicked.
24:57>> NARRATOR: The engineers
24:59feared that the reactor core
25:00itself had exploded, scattering
25:02radioactive fuel over the plant.
25:05In the control center, they
25:07watched the radiation levels and
25:08waited to learn if they would
25:10survive.
25:16>> (translated): Many of us
25:18thought of running away.
25:19But there was no escape.
25:26If you actually ran, you would
25:27be exposed to radiation.
25:34>> NARRATOR: After an hour, the
25:36radiation levels stabilized.
25:38The engineers figured out what
25:39had happened.
25:41Leaking hydrogen had exploded in
25:43the roof of the reactor
25:44building, but the reactor core
25:46itself was intact.
26:04>> NARRATOR: In Tokyo, the prime
26:05minister's chief cabinet
26:07secretary was playing down the
26:08crisis.
26:15>> NARRATOR: The prime minister
26:17and his team were later fiercely
26:18criticized for hiding the
26:20severity of the disaster from
26:21the Japanese people and the
26:22world.
26:25Behind the scenes, they knew the
26:26situation was sliding out of
26:28control.
26:30The explosion had halted efforts
26:34to get water onto the reactor
26:35cores.
26:37It was now only a matter of time
26:39before the fuel would melt
26:41through into the open, spewing
26:42out much worse levels of
26:44radiation.
27:28>> NARRATOR: Already, a plume of
27:30radiation from the gas released
27:31in the explosion was drifting
27:33across Japan.
27:38The government widened the
27:39evacuation zone, ordering
27:41everyone within 12 miles of the
27:43plant to flee.
27:46Norio Kimura and his surviving
27:48daughter were still in that
27:50danger zone when they got the
27:51news.
27:59>> (translated): I now thought
28:01it was dangerous to stay.
28:03Iodine tablets were being handed
28:06out in the village.
28:10I made my daughter take one.
28:20I had to take her somewhere
28:21safe.
28:22That's all I could think about.
28:24We had to get far away from the
28:25nuclear plant.
28:41>> NARRATOR: Back at the plant,
28:43the situation was deteriorating.
28:46The explosion had already set
28:49back efforts to get water into
28:50the melting cores of reactors
28:52one and two.
28:54Now reactor three was also in
28:56meltdown.
28:58TEPCO needed help.
29:01A specialist team of soldiers
29:03was ordered to the site.
29:06Another hydrogen buildup meant
29:08the reactor three housing could
29:10explode at any moment.
29:13>> (translated): I was
29:15desperately trying to work out
29:18how we could get the job done
29:19quickly.
29:22I was nervous.
29:25Although we had trained for it,
29:28this was actually our first time
29:31in a radioactive area.
29:34>> NARRATOR: Colonel Shinji
29:37Iwakuma and his team wore suits
29:39that shielded their bodies from
29:40radioactive particles, but
29:42provided no protection against
29:44lethal gamma rays.
29:46Their mission was to inject
29:48water directly into the core of
29:50reactor three.
29:53>> (translated): Just as we were
29:54about to get out of the Jeep to
29:56connect the hose...
30:00it exploded.
30:08Lumps of concrete came ripping
30:09through the roof of the Jeep.
30:17Radioactive matter was leaking
30:19in through the bindings of our
30:20masks.
30:23Our dosimeter alarms were
30:25ringing constantly.
30:29>> NARRATOR: The soldiers were
30:31now surrounded by lethally
30:33radioactive debris.
30:35They were injured in the blast,
30:37but managed to flee the scene
30:38before anyone received a fatal
30:40dose.
30:42>> (translated): I was desperate
30:44to get away from the danger.
30:46We were lucky on many levels.
30:50We were lucky.
30:52Just lucky.
31:07>> NARRATOR: Parts of the
31:08nuclear plant were now
31:09completely off-limits to the
31:10workers.
31:12Radiation levels near
31:13one of the reactor buildings
31:15were at 1,000 millisieverts per
31:16hour.
31:17After an hour of exposure
31:19at these levels, radiation
31:21sickness sets in.
31:23A few hours would mean death.
31:31>> (translated): In the control
31:33room, people were saying we were
31:34finished.
31:36They were saying it quietly,
31:38but they were saying it.
31:41We felt we had to flee.
31:43This was the end.
31:54>> NARRATOR: That night in
31:56Tokyo, the prime minister was
31:57awakened with a disturbing
31:59message.
32:00He says he was told
32:02that TEPCO planned to withdraw
32:04their workers from the plant.
32:33>> NARRATOR: At that moment in
32:35Fukushima, the plant manager,
32:38Masao Yoshida, had gathered all
32:39the workers together.
32:42>> (translated): Yoshida said,
32:45"Starting now, we are going to
32:46evacuate."
32:49At that point, Yoshida was
32:51resigned to his fate.
32:53I'm sure he was prepared to die
32:55himself, but he couldn't kill
32:58250 people.
33:00So he said, "Just go home.
33:03We've done this much.
33:06We can do no more.
33:09Just go home."
33:12>> (translated): It's probably
33:15bad to admit it, but I was
33:17relieved.
33:19I just wanted to get out.
33:28>> NARRATOR: Meanwhile, the
33:29prime minister was arriving at
33:31TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo,
33:32determined to stop total
33:34withdrawal.
33:37He demanded to speak to TEPCO's
33:38executives.
33:40Via a video-link, he was watched
33:43by the engineers in Fukushima.
34:29>> NARRATOR: To this day, there
34:31is controversy about what TEPCO
34:32intended.
34:34The company executives say they
34:36never planned to completely
34:37abandon the plant.
34:56>> NARRATOR: That morning, TEPCO
34:58evacuated all but a skeleton
35:00crew, led by plant manager
35:02Yoshida.
35:03The remaining men were
35:05to become known as the Fukushima
35:06Fifty.
35:07For now, they were locked
35:10down in the central control
35:12room.
35:13>> (translated): The radiation
35:15level was ridiculously high.
35:18We just didn't know what
35:21to do.
35:22The reactors were unmanned.
35:24Unmanned.
35:27>> NARRATOR: Hundreds of workers
35:28were on standby a few miles
35:30away, ready to lay pipes that
35:33could pump water into the
35:34reactors.
35:36But the radiation levels
35:37were now too high for
35:38them to approach the plant.
35:41A team of American nuclear
35:43specialists, who'd just arrived
35:45in Japan, were fearful that
35:46TEPCO and the government had run
35:48out of ideas.
35:52>> We were given numbers, very
35:53low numbers of people who were
35:55on the site, and we knew that
35:56that wasn't sufficient to...
35:58to do what needed to be done
36:00at that... at that time.
36:04>> NARRATOR: That day,
36:07frustrated at the lack of
36:08information the prime minister
36:10was giving them, the Americans
36:12decided to fly a surveillance
36:13drone over the plant.
36:16The data they got was
36:17disturbing.
36:20A third hydrogen explosion had
36:22exposed pools of discarded
36:24radioactive fuel to the
36:25atmosphere.
36:28These spent fuel rods were still
36:30highly radioactive.
36:32If the pools boiled dry, they
36:34could catch fire, and the
36:36contamination could be even
36:38worse than from a reactor
36:39meltdown.
36:42>> We had some pretty clear
36:44indication that there was fuel
36:47damage occurring in the spent
36:48fuel pools from the lack
36:49of water.
36:51And as they were worried about
36:53Japanese citizens, we were
36:55worried about American citizens.
36:56And we thought, to put all this
36:57to rest, put water in there.
37:07>> NARRATOR: The Japanese prime
37:09minister ordered a desperate
37:10tactic: dumping water on the
37:12spent fuel pools from the air.
37:14The first crew to take off knew
37:16that Soviet pilots who'd done
37:18this during the Chernobyl
37:19nuclear accident had
37:21subsequently died of cancer.
37:28>> (translated): That morning,
37:29before I started the engine,
37:31I called my wife.
37:37She said, "If someone has to do
37:39it, then go and do your best.
37:43I am praying for you."
37:46So she was supportive.
37:50She was crying at the time.
37:54I almost cried as well.
37:59>> NARRATOR: An earlier
38:00reconnaissance mission had been
38:02abandoned because of high levels
38:04of radiation over the reactors.
38:05Tungsten plates were now bolted
38:07to the helicopter to protect the
38:09pilots from gamma rays.
38:11The crew knew that they had
38:13to drop the water on the move,
38:15from 300 feet.
38:18If they went higher,
38:19they'd miss.
38:21If they went lower,
38:22they could receive dangerous
38:23doses of radiation.
38:26>> (translated): At the time,
38:28it felt like, "This is it.
38:32This is finally it."
38:34Like a tingle down the spine.
38:47>> NARRATOR: Their target was
38:48beneath them.
38:51>> (translated): I will never
38:52forget what I saw.
38:55The bones, the skeleton of the
38:58building.
39:00The walls were strewn
39:01everywhere.
39:03Incredible.
39:09>> NARRATOR: The world watched
39:11the mission live via a camera
39:13placed 20 miles from the plant.
39:16>> (translated): The wind was
39:18bending the water, so we sprayed
39:20it like this.
39:31We could see the steam,
39:33so I knew it had gone in.
39:46"We did it.
39:47We did it.
39:49We did it for everyone."
39:52That's how I felt.
39:55>> NARRATOR: But on their second
39:58mission, they missed.
40:01Other helicopters followed,
40:02but the wind was too strong
40:04for accurate aiming.
40:07The American nuclear team was
40:09monitoring the operation.
40:12>> We were taking radiation
40:14measurements ourselves to see,
40:16after the drop, did the
40:18radiation level go down.
40:20Uh... and it didn't.
40:22>> NARRATOR: The United States
40:26government began to draw up
40:28plans to evacuate 90,000 of its
40:30citizens from Japan.
40:32For now, they advised all
40:34Americans to stay at least
40:3650 miles from the plant.
40:38The Japanese evacuation zone
40:41remained at 12 miles.
40:45U.S. surveillance now suggested
40:48that there were flakes of deadly
40:49radioactive fuel scattered
40:51around the reactors.
40:54This meant that anyone who
40:56approached the plant would be
40:57risking their lives.
41:05Despite the danger, the Japanese
41:07government ordered a team of
41:09Tokyo firefighters to get water
41:10into the fuel pools by any
41:12means.
41:15The men had no experience of
41:16working in radioactive
41:18conditions.
41:20>> (translated): All of our
41:22troops gathered.
41:24First, we chose all the
41:26over-40s.
41:29These were the guys who weren't
41:30going to be having any more
41:32children.
41:34I didn't speak to my family.
41:37I've taught them that at any
41:40moment, I might go into these
41:42situations.
41:47>> NARRATOR: One of the
41:48firefighters went ahead to plot
41:49a route.
41:51But the radiation he was
41:52exposed to meant he couldn't
41:53accompany his men on their
41:55mission.
41:57>> (translated): I was worried
42:00about the radiation and
42:01the mental welfare of my team.
42:04But I had to leave it to them.
42:06I waited and prayed.
42:10>> NARRATOR: The plan was for
42:13the firefighters to park a truck
42:15by the sea to suck up water,
42:18then lay 800 yards of hose and
42:21leave it spraying into the fuel
42:23pool.
42:29Unique footage filmed
42:31that night from the frontline of
42:32the nuclear disaster shows the
42:34firefighters preparing to
42:36approach the reactors.
42:48>> NARRATOR: They gave
42:49themselves 60 minutes to
42:50complete the mission.
42:52Any longer would expose
42:53them to excessive radiation.
42:56>> (translated): When
42:58we arrived at Fukushima
43:01Dai-ichi, it was so quiet.
43:03No wind, an eerie silence.
43:05The first thing we saw was
43:09tsunami debris.
43:13The roads were violently
43:15twisted.
43:17I was worried we wouldn't be
43:20able to complete the mission in
43:22one hour.
43:36>> NARRATOR: A radiation-
43:37monitoring vehicle set off
43:39ahead of the firefighters.
43:48>> Within minutes, the route was
43:50blocked by tsunami debris.
43:53The firefighters now had to lay
43:54the hose by hand, taking
43:56radiation readings as they went.
44:19>> The alarms on the dosimeters
44:21signaled a dangerous increase in
44:23radiation.
44:46>> After an hour on site, the
44:48hoses were finally connected.
44:55>> (translated): I was told on
44:57the radio that the water was
44:58spraying, so I started to think
45:00we had completed our mission.
45:02Then I just wanted to get out of
45:03there.
45:05We ran to the minibus and left.
45:07>> NARRATOR: As the firefighters
45:10withdrew, radiation levels at
45:12the plant began to fall.
45:15The men started back for Tokyo.
45:17Some had still not told their
45:19families what they'd been doing.
45:22>> (translated): When I got
45:24home, I was told off.
45:26My wife said,
45:27"So where have you been?
45:29A phone call would have been
45:31nice."
45:42>> NARRATOR: With radiation
45:44levels lower, TEPCO seized their
45:46chance.
45:48The hundreds of workers
45:49who'd been on standby headed
45:50into the plant.
45:53Their mission was to lay miles
45:55of pipes that would channel a
45:57constant flow of water into the
45:58reactor cores.
46:01They had to work fast in case
46:02radiation levels spiked again.
46:10>> (translated): At the time,
46:11in March, we didn't wear
46:13dosimeters.
46:15TEPCO didn't tell us directly
46:17where radiation levels were
46:18highest.
46:21>> NARRATOR: TEPCO now says most
46:23of their dosimeters were washed
46:25away in the tsunami, but that
46:27they ensured each group of
46:29workers had one.
46:31>> (translated): It was an
46:33emergency operation and we were
46:35in a hurry.
46:38No one complained,
46:40we all understood.
46:43Even if it broke the rules,
46:45we kept quiet about it.
46:50>> NARRATOR: When the pipes were
46:52laid, a steady flow of water at
46:53last started to cool the reactor
46:55cores.
46:57After days in fear of dying, the
47:00workers in the control center
47:01began to feel hope.
47:04>> (translated): People around
47:06me, their expressions grew
47:08brighter.
47:10Angry voices fell silent.
47:12The bosses calmed down.
47:19>> NARRATOR: Weeks of difficult
47:20and often perilous work lay
47:22ahead.
47:23But the most dangerous
47:24phase of the crisis was over.
47:41>> NARRATOR: The prime minister
47:43was later forced to resign,
47:45accused by his critics of
47:46mishandling the crisis.
47:48TEPCO faces having to pay tens
47:50of billions of dollars in
47:52damages.
47:53The company is on the verge of
47:55bankruptcy.
47:57The workers who battled to save
47:59the plant face an uncertain
48:01future.
48:04None of them have died from
48:05their exposure to radiation, but
48:07more than a hundred received
48:09doses which increase their risk
48:11of developing cancer in the
48:13future.
49:07>> NARRATOR: The radiation
49:09released by the Fukushima
49:11meltdowns contaminated hundreds
49:12of square miles of northeastern
49:14Japan.
49:15More than 100,000 people
49:17fled the fallout.
49:21Norio Kimura moved to the
49:23mountains of Hakuba.
49:26Only here, on the other side of
49:28the country, did he feel his
49:30surviving daughter was safe from
49:31radiation.
49:35In the weeks after the tsunami,
49:37the bodies of his wife and
49:38father had been recovered.
49:41But his youngest daughter, Yuna,
49:43was still missing.
50:00Four months after the disaster,
50:02Norio is traveling back to
50:04Fukushima.
50:06An exclusion zone is still in
50:09force for 12 miles around the
50:11plant.
50:15>> (coughs)
50:19>> NARRATOR: Animals abandoned
50:22by their owners have starved to
50:25death.
50:26Others roam wild.
50:29Some of these districts are
50:33contaminated so badly that they
50:35will be uninhabitable for
50:37decades.
50:43>> (man praying in Japanese)
50:44>> NARRATOR: Just two miles from
50:47the nuclear power plant, the
50:49evacuees from Norio's village
50:51are holding a ceremony for those
50:53who died in the tsunami.
50:55For Norio, it's a chance to say
50:58farewell to the family he had to
51:00leave behind.
51:11>> (translated): It has been
51:14four months since you suddenly
51:15disappeared.
51:17I have been wondering why this
51:19happened.
51:21One day, we will return here to
51:23live, looking at the sea that
51:25took you from us.
51:32We do not know when this will
51:33be.
51:35But we will definitely return.
51:38On behalf of the bereaved,
51:40Norio Kimura.
52:17Captioned by
52:19Media Access Group at WGBH
52:21access.wgbh.org
52:24>> For more on this and other
52:26Frontline programs, visit our
52:27website at pbs.org/frontline.
52:39Frontline's "Inside Japan's
52:41Nuclear Meltdown" is available
52:43on DVD.
52:45To order, visit shoppbs.org
52:47or call 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
52:51Frontline is also available for
52:52download on iTunes.

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