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© 2005 Oxford University Press
NEWS |
Scientists Concerned About Future of Atomic Bomb Survivors Project
| The first 10% of the full text of this article appears below. |
On the summit of the highest hill in Hiroshima, Japan, the low-slung Radiation Effects Research Foundation affords scientists a sprawling view of the landscape devastated by Little Boy 60 years ago. They can see a corner of the International Peace Park and its "A-bomb Dome," a badly damaged exposition hall that somehow survived the fireball that detonated directly above it. It is an enduring symbol of the resilience of the city and its people.
Inside the Truman-era complex, though, endurance is being tested. Dated research facilities, waning U.S. interest, and uncertain funding are damaging morale, says Eiji Akimoto, RERF's top Japanese administrator. On top of that, the building leaks.
"Typhoons blow water and leaves in. The rooms become so messy," Sumiko Kumano, the daughter of a survivor, told a visitor during a tour of the six Quonset huts and connecting
Impending Funding Cuts?
The Radiation Effects Research Foundation
Scientific Limbo