Japanese surfer in the contaminated area after the daiichi nuclear power plant irradiation, Fukushima prefecture, Tairatoyoma beach, Japan
On 11 March 2011, at 2.46 pm, Japan was hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake which generated a tsunami on the coast. 18,500 people died, 90% of them drowned in the tsunami wave. The bodies of 2,561 people were never found. The law now prohibits living in areas destroyed by the tsunami. Only industrial or commercial activities are allowed, but very few have applied.
Tairatoyoma beach, in the prefecture of Fukushima, 50 km from the nuclear plant, used to be one of the most popular areas with Japanese surfers before the accident. Despite the sand and the water being contaminated, surfers continue to come here. "The earth shook, we came back on the beach and a few minutes later, the tsunami wave arrived. None of the surfers who were on the beach died, as we had time to escape. Those who were in their homes were taken by the waves by surprise and they died. » The surfers cannot ignore the risks: on site, there are hundreds of bags of contaminated sand piled up.
30 million tons of contaminated soil are stocked in a host of open-air sites. The problem has simply been displaced for now … “We will only know the true consequences of our time in the water 20 years from now…", a surfer admits with resignation. When asked, an employee of the nuclear plant says that he would never swim here: the water is too contaminated. Some of his friends who work at the plant now have brain damages…
Camera: Sony a7r2
© Eric Lafforgue www.ericlafforgue.com
Japanese surfer in the contaminated area after the daiichi nuclear power plant irradiation, Fukushima prefecture, Tairatoyoma beach, Japan
On 11 March 2011, at 2.46 pm, Japan was hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake which generated a tsunami on the coast. 18,500 people died, 90% of them drowned in the tsunami wave. The bodies of 2,561 people were never found. The law now prohibits living in areas destroyed by the tsunami. Only industrial or commercial activities are allowed, but very few have applied.
Tairatoyoma beach, in the prefecture of Fukushima, 50 km from the nuclear plant, used to be one of the most popular areas with Japanese surfers before the accident. Despite the sand and the water being contaminated, surfers continue to come here. "The earth shook, we came back on the beach and a few minutes later, the tsunami wave arrived. None of the surfers who were on the beach died, as we had time to escape. Those who were in their homes were taken by the waves by surprise and they died. » The surfers cannot ignore the risks: on site, there are hundreds of bags of contaminated sand piled up.
30 million tons of contaminated soil are stocked in a host of open-air sites. The problem has simply been displaced for now … “We will only know the true consequences of our time in the water 20 years from now…", a surfer admits with resignation. When asked, an employee of the nuclear plant says that he would never swim here: the water is too contaminated. Some of his friends who work at the plant now have brain damages…
Camera: Sony a7r2
© Eric Lafforgue www.ericlafforgue.com