When it comes to the destructive power of nuclear energy, we're all aware of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the meltdown at the Chernobyl power plant.
But did you know about the man who was suffered some of the worst radiation burns in history after an accident at work?
This is the story of Hisashi Ouchi.
Advert
Ouchi worked at Tokaimura Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, a conversion facility which created the nuclear fuel rods for other locations.
30 September, 1999 began as any other work day would for Ouchi and his colleagues Masato Shinohara and Yutaka Yokokawa, who were unaware of how drastically their lives would change forever.
The three men were assigned to a task which required them to mix uranyl nitrate inside a huge metal vat, a task which is extremely dangerous. Unfortunately the men had little experience in handling such a volatile substance and made a miscalculation while mixing the harmful liquids - it would later be revealed the group had used16kg of uranium, 13.6kg over the limit, - which led to disaster.
The men witnessed a shocking blue flash as dangerous amounts of radiation and gamma rays were released into the atmosphere from the uncontrolled reaction - which is not good news.
All three men immediately received high does of radiation, with Yokokawa, who was the furthest away, absorbing 3,000 millisieverts (mSv) of radiation.
.webp)
Shinohara absorbed 10,000 mSv while Ouchi, who had his body pressed up against the side of the tank when the accident occurred, received a dose of 17,000 mSv.
To put this into perspective, the international radiation safety limit for those working around radiation is 20 mSv per person, per year. Meanwhile the dose absorbed by emergency responders at Chernobyl was between 20 to 500 mSv.
A dose of 5,000 mSv is considered fatal, which means that Ouchi received three times the fatal dose, and Shinohara double the amount.
As the worst effected of the three, Ouchi was the first to experience the horrifying symptoms of radiation poisoning.
Ouchi was transferred to a hospital in Tokyo where he would remain alive for 83 more days, in unimaginable pain.
Upon arrival at hospital Ouchi appeared initially healthy, but he would swiftly deteriorate as the radiation began to destroy his body.
Ouchi's white blood cell count plummeted completely, meaning he was also now completely vulnerable to infection as he no longer had an immune system. Doctors would make desperate attempts to save his life at the insistence of his family, despite the unbearable agony.
He underwent multiple skin grafts, blood transfusions, and even stem cell transplants - but none of this was able to prevent the inevitable from happening.
On his 59th day in hospital, Ouchi would suffer three heart attacks, but was revived upon the request of his relatives.
His torment would finally come to an end on 21 December when he passed away from multiple organ failure. He was just 35-years-old.
Shinohara would later pass away in 2000 from multiple organ failure at the age of 40.
Brenna Cooper