Safety is always the number one priority at any job. However, sometimes companies do not have their workers' wellbeing as their main concern. This is the story about the worst-case scenario.  

Working with nuclear materials is already a dangerous job. Hisashi Ouchi, husband and father, took a job at a power plant in Tokaimura, Japan to support his family. His job was to purify uranium oxide to make fuel rods for a research reactor. Point is, he was a smart man. However, he was untrained for the job. And his company knew it. Two other untrained men were also hired to do the job. Despite his intelligence, mistakes were made. On the morning of September 30th, 1999, seven times the amount of uranium was hand poured into the wrong tank. What followed was the beginning of the end for Ouchi.  

A blue flash. An explosion.

Ouchi was the closest to the blast, and he was immediately taken to the hospital. His symptoms were not alarming at first; a swollen, red face, bloodshot eyes. But after tests were run, it was found that he was exposed to over 17 sieverts of radiation. If you know nothing about radiation- like most of us- sieverts are a unit dose equal to a joule of energy per kilogram of recipient mass. In simpler terms, it’s not good. Over 7 is deadly to humans. Ouchi’s fate was already confirmed the next day when he had trouble breathing and a swollen abdomen.  

Doctors found that his body wasn’t able to generate new cells and his bone marrow was broken into pieces. This is when he was transferred to the University of Tokyo.  

Ouchi began to receive blood cell transfers and stem cell procedures. His sister, in an effort to save his life, donated stem cells and bone marrow. It seemed to work at first. Then it got even worse. Two weeks after the blast, Ouchi was unable to eat or breathe on his own. His skin started to fall off after removing the bandages. Blisters covered his entire body. This is because the radiation killed the chromosomes that enable his skin to generate. He also began to cry blood. His DNA was obliterated, and he had brain damage. Ouchi was frequently heard calling for his mother. He even begged to be killed; “I can’t take it anymore. I am not a guinea pig.”  

Many to this day still believe in a conspiracy that Ouchi was kept alive for research purposes. Doctors wanted to keep him alive to study what radiation does to the body. This is believed because of the length he was kept alive. Even after he suffered heart attacks, he was brought back to life.  

This theory is simply not true. 

While yes, Ouchi was kept alive for too long, this was not because of the doctors. In reality, his family wanted him to survive. Any doctor would not let his patient suffer under Ouchi’s conditions.

Towards the end of his life, Ouchi’s organs started to collapse. He was hooked up to machines. His heart attacks started to increase to three every hour. He was brought back to life each time. On December 11th at 11:21pm, Ouchi’s pain finally ended when he had his final cardiac arrest. The disturbing photos of Ouchi’s body continue to remind us of his continued agony.   

The only person to survive the blast was Ouchi’s supervisor. The other worker was exposed to 10 sieverts of radiation and died quickly after attempts to save his life. Ouchi was kept in agony for 83 days simply because his family did not want to say goodbye. Obviously, saying goodbye to a family member is an impossibly hard task. But it is heartbreaking that this man had to endure this pain for that long- even when he begged to be let go.  

After the blast, 310,00 villagers within six miles stayed indoors for 24 hours. 10,00 people were checked for radiation. Over 600 villagers had low levels of radiation. Of course, none of this compares to what Ouchi went through. Despite the dangerous malpractice that killed two people, the nuclear plant continued to operate after a different company for more than a decade.  

Ouchi’s tragic story is a disturbing reminder of what can happen when a company takes shortcuts to a job. If Ouchi had been given the proper training, he may not have had one of the most agonizing deaths in history. If there is anything to take away from this story, it is to always trust your gut. If something seems off, you have no obligation to do it. Obviously, not everyone works with nuclear matter, but any workplace injury can be easily avoided before it turns into a tragedy.  

TRIGGER WARNING: EXTREME PHOTO OF HISASHI’S BODY WHILE ALIVE IN THE HOSPITAL (GORE, BLOOD)