In her backyard and other areas, “The Geiger counter starts going beep, beep, beep, beep,” she said. “The beeps are coming so fast. You know radiation is going through our bodies. It's because it's invisible. If we could see it, we wouldn't be living here.”
The Japanese government says it is safe to live in areas that have not been forced to evacuate, but it also has admitted errors in responding to the radiation danger.
Shortly after the tsunami, the government could have doled out potassium iodide pills to block children's thyroids from accumulating radioactive iodine. It had the pills, but failed to deliver them in time to be effective, and it has acknowledged that it was not properly prepared.
The government also has acknowledged that it failed to effectively use data that accurately forecast where radioactive plumes were headed. While a zone around the nuclear plant was cleared, residents beyond the zone who were in the predicted paths of the plumes were not warned.
Sugenoya, a slightly built man with a gentle smile, said his offer is intended to help concerned families play it safe.
“Radiation doesn't hurt. It doesn't even itch,” he said. “A terrible thing has happened, but people don't realize it at all.”
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