Added by Annika L. Krugel on April 3, 2011
It is believed that up to 1,000 bodies remain uncollected in the exclusion zone around Japan’s tsunami damaged nuclear plant.
Police had originally intended to transport the bodies to outside of the 20km exclusion zone imposed around the Fukushima power station, but Kyodo News now report that these plans are being reconsidered.
A report is quoted as stating that the bodies have been “exposed to high levels of radiation after death.” A body found some 5km from the plant on Sunday showed elevated levels of radioactivity, leading the police to decide not to retrieve the body.
While authorities consider the option of decontaminating the bodies inside the nuclear exclusion zone, there are concerns that in doing so the already decomposing bodies would be damaged further and making identification even more difficult.
However, if bodies are returned to relatives without being decontaminated it is possible that cremation could cause radioactive plumes of smoke and burial could contaminate the soil.
The number of people reported dead or missing following the twin disaster on March 11 now stands at more than 28,000.