– #Radioactive Japan: Decontamination Burned Down a House in #Fukushima City (EX-SKF, Feb 12, 2013):
Decon workers dispatched by Fukushima City used a blowtorch to melt snow in order to decontaminate a house. Instead of decontaminating, they managed to burn down the entire house.
Blowtorch?? Yes, decon contractors are free to use any method, including blowtorch, as there is no rule or regulation as to how they are supposed to remove snow in the decon manual.
Why they are doing this decon stuff in the snowy winter is a mystery to me.
From Yomiuri Shinbun (2/10/2013):
?????????????????????
Workers used blowtorch to melt snow in order to decontaminate, uninhabited house burned down
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
At 10:40AM on February 9, there was a fire from an uninhabited house in Hamada-machi in Fukushima City. The fire burned down the single-story wooden house of about 176 square meters. The fire was extinguished about an hour later, and there was no injury.
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
According to the city, workers were using a blowtorch to melt the snow in the city-ordered decontamination work in the yard of the house. The Fukushima local police is carefully assessing the situation.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
According to the police, the house belongs to Ms. Shizuko Onuma (age 62), a restaurant owner in the city. The house is in a residential area along the Route 4. There is a kindergarten 50 meters from the house, and at one point 8 kindergarteners were evacuated. There is no regulation as to how to remove snow as part of the decontamination work. The city is asking the contractor for details.