Just about the time we crossed into the no-entry zone surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the dosimeter clipped to our car window introduced its soundtrack: Chirp-chirp. Chirp-chirp. Chirp-chirp.
The dosimeter was blue, about the size of a pager, and it updated its readings of the airborne radiation levels every 30 seconds. Any reading over 2.50 microsieverts (uSv) per hour triggered the chirp. It was 9:30 a.m. when we entered the no-go zone, flashing a permit to five policemen at a checkpoint, and for the next six hours, the chirping never stopped.
Continue reading at Fukushima Daiichi: My trip inside Japan’s Dead Zone
