UN human rights experts expressed concern in a report [press release] Thursday that workers decontaminating the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station [JURIST news archive] in Japan are at grave risk of exploitation.

Tens of thousands of workers have been recruited over the past seven years since the disaster, including migrants, asylum seekers and homeless individuals.

The report states:

The people most at risk of exposure to toxic substances are those most vulnerable to exploitation: the poor, children and women, migrant workers, people with disabilities and older workers. They are often exposed to a myriad of human rights abuses, forced to make the abhorrent choice between their health and income, and their plight is invisible to most consumers and policymakers with the power to change it.

The UN experts have communicated [letter, PDF] these concerns directly with the Japanese government, which has since responded [letter, PDF] with promises to follow up on these recommendations.

Baskut Tuncak [official profile], the UN Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, will present the report to the UN Human Rights Council [official website] in September, requesting that States strengthen protection for workers from exposure to toxic substances.