Original subtitles

[operator 1] Good. Next, the oxygen tank. Hold that end.

[operator 2] I'm placing a dosimeter on the Unit 1 side.

[clicks]

[operator 1] You all right?

BASED ON TRUE EVENTS

[operator 3] The tank?

[operator 2] I'm placing one on the Unit 2 side too.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI CONTROL ROOM FOR UNITS 1 AND 2

What's wrong?

Uh, nothing.

[heavy breathing]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION

INSIDE AUXILIARY BUILDING FOR UNITS 1 AND 2

[loud click]

-[panting through respirator] -[dripping]

[tense music playing]

[footsteps splashing]

[tense music continues]

[Osugi] The radiation level is higher than we expected.

Should we hurry?

-[Furuya] Yeah. -[Osugi] Okay.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI INSIDE UNIT 1 TURBINE BUILDING

[tense music builds]

[grunts]

[loud clicking]

[music fades]

NUCLEAR AND INDUSTRIAL SAFETY AGENCY

[keyboards clacking]

DEPUTY CHIEF

[man] Should we show this to the prime minister?

Are you sure… these numbers are right?

[man] Yes, sir.

We've run simulations using the data we got.

The same results every single time.

IF VENT FOR DEPRESSURIZATION IS NOT COMPLETED SOON,

THE PRIMARY CONTAINMENT VESSEL WILL RUPTURE AT 11:00 P.M. ON MARCH 12.

IF THAT HAPPENS, A HIGH VOLUME OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS WILL BE EXPELLED

FROM FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION TO THE OUTSIDE.

[quiet tense music playing]

THE RADIATION DOSAGE WITHIN THE STATION GROUNDS

WILL LIKELY REACH OR EXCEED SEVERAL SIEVERTS.

A few sieverts?

[tense music continues]

And projected not even in the station,

but on the outside of the grounds?

A few sieverts…

The Tokai accident had radiation levels that were about that high.

There were a couple of people that died there as well.

The radiation will reach that high over the entire area?

At least that high.

[tense music continues]

[music fades]

Can you get the '99 record for me ASAP?

Here, sir. I brought it with me.

REPORT ON IBARAKI PREFECTURE URANIUM ENRICHMENT ACCIDENT

[pages flipping]

[ominous music playing]

[pages flipping]

PHOTOGRAPHED ON OCTOBER 9, 1999 8TH DAY SINCE ACCIDENT

[quiet tense music playing]

PHOTOGRAPHED ON OCTOBER 15, 1999 14TH DAY SINCE ACCIDENT

PHOTOGRAPHED ON OCTOBER 21, 1999 20TH DAY SINCE ACCIDENT

PHOTOGRAPHED ON OCTOBER 27, 1999 26TH DAY SINCE ACCIDENT

PHOTOGRAPHED ON NOVEMBER 1, 1999 31ST DAY SINCE ACCIDENT

1999, CRITICAL ACCIDENT OCCURS AT NUCLEAR FUEL-PROCESSING PLANT

CLEAN ROOM 1

[machine beeping steadily]

[man groaning in pain]

[beeping continues]

[tense music builds]

[music fades]

PATIENT DIED 80 DAYS AFTER EXPOSURE

I heard the exposed worker's condition was so bad that

the one who reported it ended up with PTSD just from seeing the guy.

I was the worker that

reported it.

-[background voices chattering] -[keyboards clacking]

IF VENT FOR DEPRESSURIZATION IS NOT COMPLETED SOON,

A HIGH VOLUME OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS WILL BE EXPELLED…

…3-5 KILOMETERS FROM THE POWER STATION…

…CONCERN OF RADIATION EXPOSURE TO PUBLIC.

I have to report this to Chief.

He needs to tell the prime minister.

PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE FIFTH FLOOR CORRIDOR

[Wakiya] Uh, Mr. Prime Minister. Sorry to disturb you.

-I must inform you of something. -What is it?

What is it? Come on.

No, never mind. I'll wait till you have time.

…A HIGH VOLUME OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS WILL BE EXPELLED…

…CONCERN OF RADIATION EXPOSURE TO PUBLIC.

EPISODE 4

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI

NEAR THE ENTRANCE TO UNIT 1 REACTOR BUILDING

[operators breathe heavily]

NUCLEAR REACTOR BUILDING BEYOND THIS POINT

MARCH 11, 11:05 P.M. OFF-LIMITS

[Furuya] All right. What does the meter say?

-[Osugi] Still good to go. -[Furuya] Okay.

Let's open it.

[Osugi grunts]

[Osugi grunts]

[Osugi grunts]

[Osugi] Opening it.

[Osugi strains]

[Osugi grunts]

[Furuya] All right. Go ahead.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI INSIDE UNIT 1 REACTOR BUILDING

[Osugi grunts]

[Furuya] Good.

[both breathe heavily]

[ominous music playing]

[Furuya] Here we go.

All right.

[Osugi strains]

[Osugi strains]

-[metal clangs] -[Osugi groans]

[Osugi strains]

[Furuya] Hey! Are you okay?

[Osugi breathing heavily]

[Furuya] Come on.

[grunting]

[Osugi groans]

[Osugi panting]

-[Furuya] Are you okay? -[Osugi] I hooked a rail with my tank.

Sorry. I wasn't thinking.

[Furuya] I understand. Not much time to think.

[Osugi] True.

-[Furuya] Let's be careful. -[Osugi] Got it.

[Furuya] Let's go.

[tense music playing]

[Furuya] I've found it, Osugi! Confirm the number.

Valve number

two, one, zero.

[Osugi] That's the one. No doubt about it.

[Furuya] Good. I'm opening it.

All right.

[Furuya straining]

[Furuya] Oh, damn it!

[Furuya grunts]

[Furuya strains]

[Furuya] Come on, turn for me!

[grunts] Come on now!

[Furuya strains]

[creaking]

[Furuya grunts]

[creaking]

[Furuya] Yes! There it goes.

[Furuya grunts]

-[Furuya strains] -[dosimeter beeps]

[Furuya straining]

[Furuya strains]

[Furuya] Come on!

Open up already.

[tense music playing]

[Osugi] Open five percent.

[Furuya straining]

[Furuya strains]

[Furuya strains]

[tense music continues]

-[Furuya strains] -[Osugi] Open 10%.

[Furuya grunts]

[Furuya breathes heavily]

[tense music continues]

[Furuya strains]

[Furuya strains]

[Osugi] Open 15%!

[tense music continues]

[Furuya breathes heavily]

[Furuya strains]

[tense music builds]

[Furuya strains]

[Furuya grunts]

-[creaking] -[Furuya strains]

[tense music continues]

[Osugi] Open 25%!

Please double check.

[music fades]

[Furuya breathes rapidly]

-[Furuya] Confirmed. -[Osugi] Let's get out of here.

[Furuya] Sounds good. Let's hurry.

[grunting]

[door opens]

[operator 1] Welcome back!

-[operator 2] Welcome back. -[Osugi] Thanks.

[operator 3] Good job.

-[Furuya groans] -[operator 1] You okay?

[operator 2] Are you all right?

[operator 1] Are you okay? Let's get this off.

[Furuya] Thank you.

Hey… it's opened!

-[operator 1 sighs] Great! -[operator 2] Great work.

[operators chuckling]

I appreciate

your efforts today.

-Kinoshita? -[Kinoshita] Yes, sir.

Get Yoshida for me.

Okay.

SEISMIC ISOLATED BUILDING EMERGENCY OPERATION ROOM

This is Yoshida.

They opened it.

Furu-san and Osugi.

Good.

Good work.

Can I talk to them?

[Maejima] Sure.

-Furu-san… -Did Team 1 do it?

[man] Yeah.

Hello? This is Furuya.

[Yoshida] Furu-san.

Thank you for making it back safely. Well done.

It's nothing.

It's a living.

[chuckles]

[Furuya] More importantly,

we were able to get you a meter reading

on the primary containment vessel pressure.

Currently,

it reads 840 kilopascals.

[exhales]

Boy, there's not much time.

[Furuya] Nope.

Tell Maejima it's time we sent Team 2 in.

Right away.

Yes, sir.

MUTSU CITY, AOMORI PREFECTURE FAMILY HOME OF UNIT 4 OPERATOR KIRIHARA

When the tsunami hit, we believe Koki was around here

in the basement floor of the Unit 4 building.

Where are the stairs that lead to it?

[man] They're here.

What about the tsunami waves' height?

When the tsunami hit,

apparently the building was completely submerged up to the second floor.

The first basement floor,

we believe it's still flooded.

[Atsuko sighs]

[clock ticking]

Origami.

Do we have origami paper here?

I'm not sure.

Why?

'Cause folding paper cranes

is all I can handle.

I'll see what I can find.

[man] Mr. Osugi, 25 millisieverts.

Mr. Furuya, 20 millisieverts.

Mr. Furuya's team made it back all right,

So Team 2 should be fine too,

shouldn't they?

The MO valve we opened is outside the primary containment vessel.

The AO valve Shimoda is going for is right above the suppression chamber.

We were lucky to only get this much.

How high do you think the radiation will be?

Right.

That bad, huh?

What scares me most

is dying before we reach the AO valve.

As long as I get it open,

then… it'll be worth my death.

[tense music playing]

[tense music continues]

[tense music builds]

[music fades]

[breathing heavily]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI INSIDE UNIT 1 REACTOR BUILDING

[heavy door sliding]

Do you know how long they've been in?

[Kinoshita] Four minutes.

-I'm pretty worried. -Yeah.

Team 1 opened up the valve

outside the protective wall of the primary containment.

The valve Team 2 is headed for,

there's no concrete wall stopping the radiation.

[Kinoshita] You're right.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI UNIT 1 IN FRONT OF SUPPRESSION CHAMBER

[breathing heavily]

[Shimoda] Five hundred millisieverts right now.

It'll be even higher inside.

[Kumagaya] I'm ready! [breathing rapidly]

Let's do this!

[Shimoda] All right. Let's go.

[tense music playing]

[Shimoda] Nine hundred per hour.

[Kumagaya] All right.

[Shimoda] Let's go as far as the meter can measure.

We'll go clockwise, as we planned. All right?

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI UNIT 1 ABOVE SUPPRESSION CHAMBER

[tense music playing]

[dosimeter beeps]

[tense music continues]

[music builds]

[dosimeter beeping continuously]

[Shimoda] It's

too high to measure.

[dosimeter continues beeping]

[Shimoda] This is as far as we go. We have to turn back.

[dosimeter continues beeping]

[Shimoda] No, Kumagaya! Let's turn back.

Kumagaya, we can't. There's too much radiation.

No, Kumagaya!

-Turn back! -[Kumagaya] I don't want to!

I'm going to the valve!

-[Shimoda] Kumagaya! -[Kumagaya] Let me go!

[Shimoda] Kumagaya!

[Kumagaya] It won't kill me until after I open the valve! It's fine!

[Shimoda] Kumagaya, do as I tell you!

[Kumagaya groans]

[Kumagaya whimpering]

[Shimoda] Kumagaya…

[dosimeter keeps beeping]

[beeping stops]

[operators] Welcome back!

[Shimoda and Kumagaya breathe heavily]

-[operator 1] Are you okay? Let me help. -[Shimoda and Kumagaya breathe heavily]

[Shimoda gasping for air]

We couldn't.

The radiation level… it was too high.

We had to turn back.

Our meter…

couldn't read it.

[unzips]

[gasps]

[Kumagaya gasping]

That's both of their measurements?

Yes.

Have Shimoda and Kumagaya start evacuating.

[Maejima] Yes, sir.

The Control Room, I suppose, is rising also?

[Maejima] Yes, it is.

If we stay here much longer,

we'll go over the yearly exposure limit of 100 millisieverts.

[gasping continues]

They did the right thing.

Make sure they know that. It's what they should have done.

[Maejima] Yes, sir.

[Yoshida] Listen, Maejima. You can't blame yourself.

What you and I have to do now is send them to a doctor to be looked after

and figure out what we can do next.

Thanks to Shimoda and Kumagaya,

we know the situation's worse than we thought.

We'll make good use of that.

But if we think too long about it,

Fukushima will become a ghost town.

Right.

[Yoshida] All right.

[hangs up]

Oh my God.

All righty.

We need a new method. Go.

-Yes, sir. -[man] Yes, sir.

Hey, boss, do you have a minute?

What's up?

Well, uh,

us younger guys were just discussing…

Mm?

Discussing?

I know this isn't good timing.

But please just let us evacuate from here.

We do understand how grave the situation is now.

But we…

We all have families that need us.

We can't die here.

Besides…

we aren't even useful half the time.

If we're not needed, then we should head to Control

and try to help them over there maybe.

Okay, you guys.

Go on ahead.

Evacuate to the seismic isolation building.

The rest of us, you do realize, can't just quit.

Because if we did…

[inhales]

…everything, the whole station…

and Fukushima,

it means we're deserting them.

There's nobody left. They've all evacuated.

We're all they have. Everyone you know is praying we'll do something.

As they helplessly sit glued to their TV sets.

Us older guys…

don't have a choice in leaving here.

However…

if we, uh…

If it really comes down to it, then,

no matter what they order,

I'll use my authority to evacuate everybody.

But now I'm gonna beg.

I beg you…

please stay.

[somber music playing]

[workers chatter quietly]

-[man] Welcome back. Welcome back. -[Kinoshita] Thank you for your hard work.

[Shimoda] No.

We couldn't open the valve.

We're very sorry.

I'm so sorry.

That there was no other way.

[Shimoda] Hey, chin up.

We did what was needed.

Somebody had to try.

Yeah.

[sighs] You guys should, uh,

go to the off-site center, get checked up right away.

-Kinoshita, arrange a car for them. -[Kinoshita] Yes, sir.

Mr. Shina, get a car to the off-site center please.

-[Shina] Understood. -All right.

You guys get going.

[somber music continues]

[Kumagaya crying]

[Yoshida sighs]

Losing them, we

should send two guys in

to the Control Room to lend a hand.

What now?

Yeah.

Well, it's just…

-[Yoshida] What? -I can take one of their spots.

-You wanna go? -Yes, sir.

No way. You're in charge of Unit 5.

You don't need to leave.

Mr. Yoshida,

I graduated from a local high school

and joined TOEPCO.

The first place I was assigned to was Unit 1.

Working there

taught me everything I know today.

I would hate

to see it destroy everything we love.

I can't bear it.

And I know the inside of Unit 1 better than anybody else.

I can honestly say I could find my way around Unit 1 blindfolded.

I'm begging you.

[somber music continues]

You're right.

Go then.

I appreciate it, sir.

I'll go prepare.

[somber music continues]

Don't forget…

[somber music continues]

Okay.

-[somber music continues] -[phones ringing]

Satoshi! We're going for a ride.

Okay.

Grab oxygen.

-Okay. -[Kinoshita] Take care of these.

Okay, let's go.

[Yoshida] Kinoshita!

Yeah?

Wait. We want you to hear this idea.

[Kinoshita] What is it?

Adding enough compressed air to the line outside the valve,

can we get the AO valve open?

Um, well, in theory, it's possible. Yeah, it should work.

Since there's little certainty,

let's give it a shot when Team 3 goes in.

Yes, sir.

Please, be careful.

We will.

You've got it covered here.

[both chuckle]

FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE NUCLEAR OFF-SITE CENTER

[man] Please decontaminate yourselves. There's still no hot water.

I'm sorry, the water's pretty cold.

[respirator straps clicking]

[wind gusting]

[lightly gasping]

[Kumagaya sighs] Damn, it's cold out.

[Kumagaya shivers] Freezing.

[both crying out]

[gasping]

[grunting]

[groans]

[man] This way, please.

[meter beeping intermittently]

[meter beeping rapidly]

[rapid beeping continues]

[man] Both of you, wash again. Harder this time!

[tense music playing]

[groans]

[tense music continues]

[audio distorted]

[music fades]

[operator 1] Is your side open?

[operator 2] Okay, next. Here, please.

Right arm up.

[operator 1] Everything sealed on your side?

-[operator 2] You okay? -[operator 3] Yeah.

[operator 1] That mask.

[operator 2] Raise both arms.

-[Kinoshita] Great work, everybody. -Hey.

Hello, sir.

We're here to cover for Mr. Shimoda and Mr. Kumagaya.

Thanks.

You came to help us out?

[chuckles]

Did Shimoda and Kumagaya receive doctors' care?

Oh, hi, Furu-san.

[Kinoshita chuckles]

They should have arrived at the off-site center by now. [chuckles]

[Maejima] You two are part of our last hope now too, huh?

Yeah, I guess you can say that. [chuckles]

I'm here 'cause I do what Mr. Kinoshita tells me.

No way! Come on now.

When Maejima-senpai is in trouble, of course we have to help out.

[Satoshi] Of course. I know.

Hold on.

You came here just to save the day?

Well, aren't we big and important now? Huh?

[laughter]

-[Kinoshita] Hey, cut us some slack. -[laughter]

Hey!

[sighs] In any case…

I certainly didn't think they were sending relief.

You two are lifesavers. Thank you.

Not at all.

The Team 3 mission,

you should let Tateno and I take it on.

-How much compression? Can it work? -[man] Yes.

They've found one in a subcontractor's warehouse.

We're sending them a crane to get it.

Then we can connect it to the AO valve piping.

-Sure. Okay. -[man] All right. Yamada!

[Furuya] You're out of your mind!

We can't let you guys go.

[Ozawa] We're the ones in charge of managing this place.

We chose straws already. Thanks though.

Uh…

I worked here at Unit 1 for over ten years.

I can find the vent better than anybody.

Mr. Ozawa,

have you ever seen this valve with your own eyes?

Well, I have seen it.

I know exactly where and how I'll get there--

No! It's suicide!

Don't you get

how high the radiation was?

What I don't get

is what else we're supposed to do?

Hey, stop worrying.

I ran track and field in high school.

In fact, I finished in the top eight for the 800-meter dash.

And Tateno was on the basketball team. He even won the prefectural tournament.

You can trust that

we'll get it done in a hurry.

The radiation's bound to be high above the chamber here,

which means we'll be exposed coming and going.

Since the radiation level's so high,

our only choice is to run our quickest.

That's why Tateno and I have to do this.

-Do you have your dosimeter? -Yeah.

Since we don't wanna stop running, we're not gonna take the big one.

-We want to stay lightweight. -Shed any weight we can.

-It'll get hot as we run. -And sweaty.

[Kinoshita] Scared?

As long as we stick together, it's nothing.

[operator 1] I'll help with the straps.

[tape ripping]

[breathing heavily]

[Yoshida] Mm.

What? What?!

What's the cause?

[tense music playing]

Maejima? Has Team 3 moved inside?

[Maejima] Yes. Kinoshita and Tateno did, about two minutes ago.

Don't let them! You have to stop them!

[tense music continues]

[operator 1] What's the matter? Mr. Maejima?

[dramatic music playing]

[Maejima] Kinoshita!

Tateno!

Hello? This is Furuya.

What was that?

We're investigating right now, and so should you,

at the smokestack, to see if white smoke is coming out of Unit 1's reactor.

Is everything okay there?

Yes. Our situation hasn't changed.

[tense music continues]

Furu-san,

where's Kinoshita and Tateno?

[music stops]

[somber music playing]

[somber music continues]

[music fades]