Full body radiation gear and hot weather are creating challenges for workers at the plant

Workers at Fukushima plant treated for dehydration

Two workers at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been treated for dehydration at a hospital.

With 9 workers getting heatstroke, Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will take more measures to ensure the health of workers at the plant.

TEPCO said the 2 workers were installing cables near a nuclear waste disposal facility. Both are contract workers in their 40s. They were sent to a clinic inside the plant on Sunday morning after they said they felt unwell. TEPCO said they were later sent to a hospital in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, where they were treated for dehydration.

TEPCO said no radioactivity was detected, but one worker was advised to stay in hospital for about a week, and the other to stay home for 3 days.

The company said it is advising workers to wear vests containing cooling gels underneath the gear that protects against radiation, but that one of the 2 workers was not wearing a vest.

As the weather becomes hotter, the working environment at the plant will become tougher for workers wearing protective suits.

TEPCO plans to improve working conditions by setting up new rest areas and securing 2,500 cooling vests.

Monday, June 06, 2011 05:13 +0900 (JST)