Greenpeace radiation specialists in Obori, inside the Namie exclusion zone, Fukushima prefecture.
The community of Obori in Namie was heavily contaminated by the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The Japanese government has plans to open a very small area of Obori as early as 2023 for citizens to return. Radiation levels measured in Obori along this road by Greenpeace in 2018 show that contamination is so high that decontamination workers would be subjected to the equivalent of tens to hundreds of chest X rays per year in this area. United Nations human rights Special Rapporteurs have expressed urgent concern over the radiation risks to decontamination workers, including their long term health. They have also raised reports of widespread exploitation, including recruitment of the homeless, asylum seekers, low pay and lack of radiation training. Over 70,000 decontamination workers have been employed in a decontamination program since 2011.Greenpeace nuclear expert Heinz Smital measuring