53,000 Fukushima nuclear plant workers receive high radiation doses

More than 53,000 workers at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 power plant have received radiation doses exceeding a key level of 5 millisieverts per year. The 5-millisievert level is a threshold for determining whether nuclear plant workers suffering from leukemia are eligible for compensation benefits for work-related injuries and illnesses under public insurance. The figure, which covered the 15 years to the end of March this year, is based on Jiji Press analysis of data in Tepco’s annual reports on radiation management submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority after the March 2011 triple meltdown at the plant in Fukushima Prefecture.