This experiment is a tale of a man who was kept alive 83 days, so doctors could see the effects of radiation and how long a human could last.
Hisashi Ouchi, aged 35, Masato Shinohara, aged 39, and Yutaka Yokokawa, aged 59, were working at the Japan-based Nuclear Power Plant.
Ouchi and Shinohara were preparing a batch of nuclear-fuel by adding uranium in a precipitation tank. Yokokawa was at his desk about 4 meters away from the container.
Suddenly, they saw a bright blue spark flickering above the tank. The mixture resulted in a nuclear reaction emitting neutron radiation and gamma-rays. After that, a horrible accident took place at the location. Their experiment reached a critical stage due to several factors.
First, the maximum permissible amount of uranium content in the mixture was 2.4 kilograms. When the reaction happened, there were 16 kilograms of uranium in the solution.
Second, these technicians had no training in this level of enhancement of uranium for fuel. This was the first time this procedure had been tried in this factory in three years. The nuclear plant was only inspected two times a year by the state controller. It had never been examined while the plant was in operation.
The effects of the radiation on Hisashi Ouchi were instant. He was in pain and couldn’t breathe properly. He vomited into the tank and lost his consciousness in the chamber. Ouchi, along with the other two technicians, was immediately admitted to the Mito Hospital.
Hisashi, being nearest to the tank, got affected by 17 Sieverts of radiation. This is perhaps the highest dose of radiation any human has ever experienced. Shinohara and Yokokawa received fatal doses of 10 and 3 Sieverts.
Ouchi experienced some severe burns in that incident. His internal organs were damaged completely. The white blood cell count in his body was near to zero, destroying the entirety of his immune system. The radiation also eliminated his DNA!
The Japan government gave high priority to Hisashi’s medical care. A group of top medical professionals was assembled from Japan and around the world. They discussed the poor condition of radiation affected Hisashi Ouchi.
In the process, doctors kept him alive by pumping a high amount of blood and fluids into him regularly. Medics also gave him drugs mainly imported from various places.
It was also reported that during the time of his treatment, Ouchi requested several times to release him from the intolerable pain. He doesn’t want to be a guinea pig anymore.
Despite numerous skin transplants, he continued to lose body fluids through the pores of his skin-burns that affected his blood pressure to be unbalanced. On the 59th day of Hisashi’s treatment, his heart stopped three times in just 49 minutes. This caused severe damages in his brain and kidneys.
Medics had taken Ouchi on total life support, until he finally died on December 21, 1999, due to multi-organ failure. Hisashi Ouchi is contemplated as the most nuclear radiation affected the victim in our medical history. He spent the final 83 days of his life through the most uncomfortable condition.
