When the Fukushima nuclear disaster is finally resolved the people of Japan are going to owe quite a debt of gratitude to the 50 TEPCO workers who have worked non-stop in conditions that will likely lead to future health problems for these workers:

Employees at Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have been hailed as heroes for subjecting themselves to dangerous levels of radiation while they desperately labor to prevent a massive meltdown. Now, details of the conditions and fears of the so-called Fukushima 50 — the small group that stayed behind when most of the plant’s workers were evacuated after the March 11 tsunami — have begun to emerge. Here, a glimpse of the life-threatening ordeal of the Fukushima 50:

Are their lives in danger?
Yes. Distraught relatives say that many of the plant’s workers assume they are undertaking a suicide mission. They have been exposed to extremely high doses of radiation, and several have been treated for radiation burns. Through tears, the mother of a 32-year-old worker told Fox News by phone that her son and his colleagues know they are probably sacrificing their lives, and could have only weeks or months to live. “They have accepted they will all probably die from radiation sickness in the short term or cancer in the long-term,” she said. “They know it is impossible for them not to have been exposed to lethal doses of radiation.”  [The Week]

You can read much more at the link.