A Japanese nuclear worker endured what is believed to be one of the most agonising deaths in medical history after a catastrophic accident left him 'burned from the inside out'. Hisashi Ouchi, 35, was a senior technician at the Tokaimura uranium processing plant, 70 miles northeast of Tokyo.
On 30 September 1999, a criticality accident erupted during routine work. Colleagues Masato Shinohara and Yutaka Yokokawa poured 16kg of uranium into a processing tank, far exceeding the safe limit of 2.4kg. The resulting runaway nuclear reaction flooded the room with lethal radiation.
Ouchi received an astonishing 17,000 millisieverts (mSv) – the highest radiation dose ever survived, even temporarily. Over the next 83 days, his skin peeled away like burnt paper, his eyelids fell off, and he cried blood as his tissues disintegrated. Fluid flooded his lungs, requiring ventilator support, and his stomach produced up to three litres of diarrhoea daily.
Doctors attempted experimental treatments including stem cell procedures and skin grafts, but these failed. Ouchi reportedly said, 'I can't take it anymore. I am not a guinea pig.' He required up to 10 blood transfusions daily and begged doctors to end his suffering. He died on 21 December 1999 from multiple organ failure.
The accident prompted a major overhaul of Japan's nuclear safety regulations. Around 310,000 villagers were ordered to stay indoors for 24 hours, and over 600 people were found to have low-level radiation exposure. Ouchi's colleague Shinohara died in April 2000, while Yokokawa survived but was scarred by the trauma.
