The decontamination crews at a deserted elementary school in Naraha, Japan, are at the forefront of what the country says is the most ambitious radiological cleanup the world has seen. But much of the work at the Naraha-Minami Elementary School, about 12 miles from the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, tells another story. For eight hours a day, construction workers blast buildings with water, cut grass and shovel dirt and foliage into big black plastic bags — which, with nowhere to go, dot Naraha’s landscape like funeral mounds.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/01/12/business/weekly-business-photos.html?partner=rss&emc=rss