The Fukushima Evacuate Children Lawsuit
Message from Noam Chomsky about support to the Fukushima Evacuate Children Lawsuit
On 2012/01/12, at 11:50, Noam Chomsky wrote:
It is a privilege to be able to lend personal support to the Fukushima Evacuate Children Lawsuit. There is no better measure of the moral health of a society than how it treats the most vulnerable people within it, and none or more vulnerable, or more precious, than children who are the victims of unconscionable actions. For Japan, and for all of us, this is a test that we must not fail.
Noam Chomsky
Other links:
Announcement by The "Fukushima Evacuate Children Lawsuit Group". Twelve angry citizens decide to hold an "International Citizens' Tribunal" to save the children in Fukushima as their lives are at urgent risk.
The following is an abridged version of:
The Petition for a Provisional Ruling
June 24, 2011
Judges of Kohriyama branch, Fukushima District Court
Interested Parties
Petitioners:
14 children attending elementary and junior high and schools in Kohriyama City
Defendant:
Purposes of the Petition
The petitioners seek the ruling as follows;
1. The defendant should not conduct educational activities for the petitioners in such school facilities located on the points where the average air dose measurements equal or exceed 0.2 micro-Sv per hour at 50 cm or 1 m in height as shown in the attached list of environmental radiation monitoring.
2. The defendant must conduct educational activities for the petitioners in school facilities not located on the sites where the average air dose measurements equal or exceed 0.2 micro-Sv per hour at 50 cm or 1 m in height.
Grounds for the Petition
1. Petitioners
The petitioners are the pupils and students who inhabit inKohriyama City , Fukushima Prefecture
The petitioners are the pupils and students who inhabit in
2. Defendant
The board of education of the defendant (Kohriyama City
II. Prehistory
1. Installation of the Fukushima
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is installed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. (TEPCO), and located in Ohkuma-machi, Futaba-gun, Fukushima Prefecture
2. Fukushima
Hit by the earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean off the Tohoku district on March 11, 2011, external power supplies and emergency diesel generators of nuclear power reactors in operation at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami, resulting in a total power loss in the plant.
In such a situation, none of equipments could cool any of reactors and used-nuclear-fuels in a storage pool, resulting in a nuclear plant disaster, which is regarded to be the world worst one since Chernobyl
Moreover, a series of ruins such as a breakage in one of pressure suppression chambers coupled to reactor containments, hydrogen explosions in reactor buildings and so on resulted in the situation in which radioactive materials, once contained in nuclear fuel rods, have been leaking in a big scale outside (into the ocean and atmosphere), and even now such situation is not yet restored to its normal state. In terms of such a continuing leakage of radioactive materials to the outside, the Fukushima accident is the most serious humanitarian disaster unprecedented in history, and even the Chernobyl
3. Spread of radioactive materials due to the Fukushima
Due to the Fukushima nuclear accident, large amounts of radioactive materials have been released to the outside, and many parts of Japan
Especially radioactive contaminations of food, tap water, ocean and soil are posing the most serious, unprecedented problem.
4. Measures by the state
As a measure for such unprecedented nuclear accident, the state instructed the evacuation to the inhabitants living within 20 km from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 12, based on Article 15, Paragraph 3, Clauses 2 and 3 of the Nuclear Disaster Special Measure Law, and then issued the indoor evacuation instructions to those living between 20 km and 30 km radii from the plant on March 22. Then on April 22, the area within 20 km radius was set to be the “caution zone” which meant no-go area.
5. Measures by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
(1) On April 19, the nation (MEXT) issued to the Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education as an addressee a notification on the government decision on adopting a range of the exposure doze levels between 1 and 20 mSv per year as a temporary guideline for determining whether to use school playgrounds.
(2) But, on May 27, the nation (MEXT) effectively modified its notification issued on April 19, and expressed it would strive to attain annual exposure dose for children lower than 1mSv.
III. Rights to be Preserved
1. General Remark
However, in many areas of Fukushima Prefecture , the air radiation doses cumulated since the Fukushima Fukushima Prefecture
2. Effects of radiation on the human bodies
(Snip)
(6) Conclusion
As mentioned above, any of the children attending junior high and elementary schools, preschools or kindergartens has a potential to get a disease such as cancer and leukemia, or even in cases he or she escapes death, to get gene (DNA) damages which may cause ill effects to generations to come, as he or she continues his or her school life based on the above mentioned government notification.
3. Basis for the “1 mSv per year” standard
Introduction
Though various opinions being divided, the public dose limit allowed in terms of human health is set on 1 mSv per year based on the ICRP recommendations followed by the MEXT.
Though various opinions being divided, the public dose limit allowed in terms of human health is set on 1 mSv per year based on the ICRP recommendations followed by the MEXT.
The 2007 Recommendations of the ICPR
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICPR), in its Paris
And, the 1990 recommendations of ICPR still maintained traditional “1 mSv per year as the public dose limit”.
(3) The 2010 recommendations of the ECRR
It should be noted that the 2010 recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) recommended that “The total maximum permissible dose to members of the public arising from all human practices should not be more than 0.1mSv, with a value of 2mSv for nuclear workers” (Executive Summary 14). That is to say, even the 1mSv annual dose is not allowed for the general public on the ECRR criteria (allowing only its one-tenth).
The reason was described as follows; “This would severely curtail the operation of nuclear power stations and reprocessing plants, and this reflects the Committee’s belief that nuclear power is a costly way of producing energy when human health deficits are included in the overall assessment. All new practices must be justified in such a way that the rights of all individuals are considered. Radiation exposures must be kept as low as reasonably achievable using best available technology. Finally, the environmental consequences of radioactive discharges must be assessed in relation to the total environment, including both direct and indirect effects on all living systems” (Id.
(4) Adoption of the 2007 recommendations of the ICPR to the national system of Japan
On January 12, 2011, after the 2007 recommendations of the ICPR were issued, the Basic Division of the Radiation Committee of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology issued the report, “Adoption of the 2007 recommendations of the ICPR to the national system”, which was then approved at the Radiation Committee meeting held on January 28.
In the report, the Basic Division explains its adoption was for “complying with an annual dose limit of 1 mSv”.
(5) The national legislation
In the current national legislation also, the annual public exposure limit has been configured to be 1 mSv as a criterion.
4. The integrated value of the air dose
(1) Introduction
Ever since March 11, 2011, elementary and junior high school pupils and students in Fukushima Prefecture
(2) The cumulative values of the air dose in schools the petitioners attend
A. Reference value
In order to calculate the cumulative values of the air dose in elementary and junior high schools the petitioners attend, estimated total value of radiation from 6:00 on March 12, 2011, to 24:00 on May 25 at “Tomita-machi, Kohriyama City”, listed on the table, "Cumulative dose estimates based on actual data at each point", created by the Ministry of Education and other authorities is adopted as the base value here. Because any of schools the petitioners attend is located at a point very close to above mentioned “Tomita-machi, Kohriyama City”, in a distance within 5 km from that point.
Then, the cumulative value of the air dose during 75 days from March 12, 2011, to May 25 at “Tomita-machi, Kohriyama City” is 2.9 mSv, already much higher than 1 mSv at that time point.
Moreover, the cumulative values of air doses at the schools the petitioners attend are not the same as that of “Tomita-machi, Kohriyama City Kohriyama City
B. The cumulative values from May 12 to May 25
Therefore, the cumulative values from May 12 to May 25 at 7 schools the petitioners attend should be at minimum:
2.9 mSv x 1.3 = 3.8 mSv.
And at maximum:
2.9 mSv x 2.3 = 6.67 mSv.
Therefore, even though external exposures alone are considered, and even if adopting the calculation procedure leading to unreasonably low values, assuming a reduction factor applied for the cases inside wooden buildings to be 0.6, the cumulative values of air doze for petitioners during those 75 days alone come out to be 3.8 mSv to 6.67 mSv, or 3.8 to 6.67 times higher exposure doses than that of the annual limit (1 mSv).
C. Estimated values of annual cumulative air doses
The table, "Estimated cumulative doses based on actual data at each point", lists up the “cumulative values from March 12 to May 25” at each point in Fukushima Prefecture
Even though external exposures alone are considered, and even if adopting the calculation procedure leading to unreasonably low values, as it assumes a reduction factor applied for the cases inside wooden buildings as 0.6, the cumulative values of annual air exposure doses come out to be 12.7 to 24 mSv, or 12.7 to 24 times higher doses than that of the annual limit (1 mSv).
(3) The elementary and junior high schools, in Fukushima Prefecture
A. The method of estimate
As a conclusion, cumulative values of annual air doses at points, where average measured values during May 23 and 25 exceed 0.2 micro-Sv, can be expected surely to exceed 1 mSv. (The reason omitted here in this abridged version)
B. Specific points with cumulative values of annual air doses exceeding 1 mSv
(a) Kohriyama City
At 55 points out of 60 measurement locations, measured values exceed 0.2 micro-Sv per hour, and the cumulative values of annual air dozes at those points are expected to exceed 1 mSv. And though, at other 5 points, the measured values do not reach 0.2 micro-Sv per hour, at 3 points where values of 0.17 micro-Sv were recorded, the annual cumulative values can be sufficiently expected to exceed 1 mSv.
(b) Fukushima City
At 32 measurement locations, all of the values exceed 0.2 micro-Sv, and the cumulative values of annual air dozes at those points are expected surely to exceed 1 mSv.
(Snip)
C. Conclusion
Therefore, at 243 points out of schools in Fukushima Prefecture (266 in total), the cumulative values of annual air dozes are expected to exceed the annual limit (1 mSv), and at 18 points, leaving only 5 others, they can be sufficiently expected to exceed the limit.
5. Summary
In assessing the impact of radioactive exposures to human bodies, considering external exposures alone, not only exposures to air doses, but doses from radioactive materials accumulated on the ground should be taken into account, and moreover, internal exposures due to radioactive substances taken into the body through respiratory apparatus or as contaminants in food and water also should be considered. In order to rescue children in Fukushima
Therefore it is all too obvious that, when educational activities for students and pupils including the above mentioned petitioners are carried out in areas where air dose of radioactivity has already exceeded or is expected to exceed 1 mSv per year, lives, bodies and health of students, pupils and infants attending junior high schools, elementary schools and kindergartens in Fukushima Prefecture are to be exposed to serious risks of developing cancer and leukemia caused as radiation damages, which in turn should be corresponding to serious violations to the fundamental humanitarian rights of lives, bodies and health.
7. Rights of pupils and students in Fukushima Prefecture
(1) Right to receive an education
The article 26, clause 1 of the Constitution provides that "All people shall have the right to receive an equal education correspondent to their ability, as provided by law", and the article 26, clause 2 provides that "Such compulsory education shall be free".
The right to receive an education guaranteed here naturally includes “the guaranteed right to receive an education in safety”. So, any of pupils and students retains the constitutional right to receive an education without damages in their lives, bodies and health. Such a guaranteed right, even in this situation affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident, nay, furthermore in such a case, is required to fulfilll.
(2) The right to exist – the right to life (personal profit)
All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living (the right to life, the article 25, clause 1 of the Constitution), and the State shall guarantee the right (the article 25, clause 2 of the Constitution). And, their right to life shall be the supreme consideration (the article 13 of the Constitution).
It is a matter of course that people retain the right to be protected from the injury to their lives, bodies and health by large amount of radioactive materials released in Fukushima nuclear plant accident.
(3) Health measures
In schools, to maintain the health of puplis and students, medical checkups and other necessary measures must be fulfilled (the article 12 of the School Education Law). So, pupils, students and their parents retain the right to require the fulfillment of adaquate health measures.
(4) The best interests
Article 3, clause 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that "In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a elementary consideration", and claims to respect the best interests of each child.
In this case also, such respect is indispensable in any aspect.
(8) The duties of defendant
A. Duty to considerate safety
To fulfill the rights of pupils and students, as mentioned above in the clause 7 (specifically, the right provided in the article 26 of the Constitution), the state and local governments assume the "duty to considerate safety" which requires neccesary measures to protect lives, bodies and health of pupils and students.
Therefore, in Fukushima Prefecture where a large amount of radioactive materials released from Fukushima nuclear plant accident continues to affect daily livings most closedly ever since March 11, the state, Fukushima Prefecture, cities and towns in the prefecture assume the duty to positively take measures, such as suspending educational activities in specifically risky areas, in order to avoid diseases such as canser and leukemia, namely radiaton caused injuries on human lives, bodies and health of pupils and studens attending schools and kindergartens.
The article 26 of the School Health and Safety Act provides "Those who set a school shall prepare equipments and its managemant system of the school and and take other necessary measures to avoid risks to pupils and students caused by accidents and disasters and to deal effectively with the risk in the school", clearly indicating the duty to considerate safety.
B. Locations of elementary and junior high schools
In this court case, the duty to considerate safety can not be fulfilled in elementary and junior high schools located in risky areas where cumulated values of annual air exposure doses are expectd to exceed the annual limit (1 mSv).
Concerning locations of elementary and junior high schools, although the article 38 of the School Education Law provides that "City, town and village shall set elementary school which is necessary for pupils in its area to educate", it privides just a principle and naturally permitts each local government unit to set one out of its administrative district in unavoidable circumstances.
A noticification (issued by the Ministory of Education on April 23. 1959) concluded that "When city, town, and village set elementary or junior high school, it is principle to set it in its area, but it is permitted to set it out of its area in unavoidable circumstances".
In this court case, as a large amount of radioactive materials have been coninuously released ever since the occurance of Fukushima nuclear plant accident, integrated values of air exposure doses at the elementary and junior high schools the petitioners attend reached up to 3.8 mSv at minimum, and to 6.67 mSv at maxmum -- in other words, 3.8 to 6.67 times higher than the annual dose limit (1 mSv) -- within just 75 days alone during March 12 and May 25; in such a situation, it is obvious that the human lives, bodies and health of pupils and students are already seriously affected by such radiation exposures, and that they are slready in the above mentioned “unavoidable circumstances".
C. Conclusion
In such circumtances mentioned above, while the defendant owes the duty to considerate safety for protecting the human lives, bodies and health of pupils and students including the petitioners, continuing educational activities in such risky areas violates such a duty, and is acknowledged to be not permitted.
The defendant owes the legal duty to move elementary and junior high schools out of risky areas with the least delay to fulfill the duty to considerate safety. And such a measure should be due to be carried out naturally with the expense of the local public body, who set the school, in accordance with the article 26, clause 2 of the Constitution providing that the compulsory education shall be free.
III. The need for preservation
1. The only measurement
As the above mentiond facts clarify, when the educational activities continue to be conducted in such areas where air radiation exposure doses on the above mentioned pupils and students including petitioning children exceed -- or are expected to exceed -- 1 mSv (danger zones), the petitioning children are threatened by the concrete risks of injuries to their human lives, bodies and health with cancer and leukemia onset by radiation damage.
And, such a state of things can not be resolved unless evacuation measures are to be implemented with expense of the state and local public bodies; and there is no other measure to be promoted effectively.
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