Parents facing tough decision to move children out of Fukushima amid radiation fears

[kristopher]

Parents facing tough decision to move children out of Fukushima amid radiation fears

Parents of children in Fukushima Prefecture, where the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant continues, are using the school summer holidays as a chance to move their children to other schools amid radiation fears.

A survey by the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education found that more than 1,000 students at public elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima Prefecture were due to transfer to schools outside the prefecture during the summer vacation. In some cases this has resulted in families being split up.

One 36-year-old woman living in the Oyama district of Fukushima, where relatively high levels of radiation have been detected, moved with her 9-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter to Kyoto Prefecture in late July, after the first term ended at the elementary school her son was attending. She heard that she would be able to live in housing for government workers rent free for a year, and receive support to buy household appliances and other necessary items. Though she didn't have any connection with the area, she decided to make it her new home. Her husband, who is a high school teacher, has remained in Fukushima.

The area where the family lived in Fukushima is about 60 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex, which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and they never thought that radiation would be a threat. But after witnessing the hydrogen explosion at the plant they became uneasy and attended a meeting organized by a citizens group at the end of April. They learned that the elementary school their son was attending had recorded higher radiation levels than other areas. The radiation survey was conducted by the prefecture, but they had been given no opportunities to find out the results before then. They recalled that their baby daughter had put fallen leaves in her mouth and were left in shock.

The family later borrowed a dosimeter...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110809p2a00m0na008000c.html

[AndyTiedye]

1. "When Can I Go Outside and Play?"

In Fukushima? Not in your lifetime. Not in your great-grandchildren's lifetime, for that matter.

K/R