70 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 54 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
General News    H3'ed 3/11/15

Fukushima Daiichi 4th Anniversary update and overview

By       (Page 1 of 3 pages)   3 comments

carol wolman, MD
Message carol wolman, MD
Become a Fan
  (13 fans)
To summarize: although some progress has been made, the site of the wrecked reactors is still very dangerous, still spewing radioactivity into the air and water, still beyond the capacity of Japan to cope with it alone. Please sign the following petitions:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/136/663/239/dont-dump-radioactive-water-into-the-pacific-from-fukushima-tanks/

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/STOP_FUKUSHIMA_RADIATION_UN_ACTION_NEEDED/

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/352/112/859/radioactive-tokyo-resign-as-host-of-2020-olympics/


Dear Friends,

On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit with a massive earthquake and tsunami. Sixteen thousand people were killed. The destruction of the nuclear complex Fukushima Daiichi was noticed, but just one of many disasters that day.

THE INITIAL DISASTER

As Japan began to dig out from the horror, it became apparent that the Fukushima disaster was ongoing. The events of that first month are still being analyzed, four years later. Experts are discovering that the meltdowns were more severe, the radiation release more prolonged, widespread and intense, than first believed or publicized. Fukushima is now considered to be worse than Chernobyl, especially as it sits on a floodplain which drains directly into the Pacific Ocean.

Of the six reactors on site, 1, 2 and 3 experienced melt-downs, melt-outs, and melt-throughs, so that the cores broke through the containment vessels, coming into direct contact with groundwater. Reactors 1 and 2 are still so radioactive that no one can get within 500 feet of them, and even robots are disabled by the radiation. Building 3 is less radioactive, but still dangerous, and the spent fuel pool on the roof contains some plutonium fuel.

Building 4 was the most immediate concern, although it was shut down at the time. The building itself was damaged to the point of instability, and the spent fuel pool on the roof, 100 feet in the air, contained twice as many rods as usual. The fear was that another earthquake could tilt the pool and start an unquenchable fire.

The atmospheric plume from the explosions spread across northern Japan, and quickly crossed the Pacific to blanket the western half of the US and Canada for a few days. The oceanic plume is slowly arriving at the West Coast; so far the levels are not dangerous. However, the radioactive groundwater continues to spew into the Pacific from the Fukushima site, at the rate of at least 350 tons/day.

THE JAPANESE RESPONSE

About a month after the disaster, on April 19, 2011, Japan chose to drastically increase its official "safe" radiation exposure levels from 1 mSv to 20 mSv per year -- 20 times higher than the US exposure limit. This allowed the Japanese government to downplay the dangers of the fallout and avoid evacuation of many badly contaminated areas.

Japan minimized the extent of the disaster and refused outside aid at first, although foreign companies and experts are now helping. Japan allowed the company which owns the plant, Tokyo Electric Power- TEPCO- to take charge of the containment and cleanup. TEPCO has never dealt with a nuclear accident before, and its management structure was ill-suited for the job. All functions were subcontracted, down 7 or 8 layers, with poor coordination. There was no overall project manager, and mistakes have been frequent.

The government keeps throwing billions of dollars at TEPCO. There has been little financial oversight, and subcontractors at every level take a percentage. Much of the money has been spent on trying to restore the surrounding countryside to a liveable state. This has involved removing radioactive debris, topsoil, rooftops and even treebark in the area, and bagging it; the "hot" bags then sitting by the roadside, or being incinerated, spewing radiation into the air.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 3   Well Said 1   News 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Carol Wolman, MD Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Carol S. Wolman, MD is a psychiatrist in Northern California. A lifelong peace activist, she is helping to distribute a Peace Plan for the Holy Land- email her for a copy. She also a film producer with Paradise Cove Productions, currently (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Major Democrat Dirty Tricks in California

Why the resistance to 9-11 truth?

Breaking the Spell with 9-11 Truth

Why the resistance to 9-11 truth?- UPDATE

Fukushima update 11-15-14- All bad news- are we doomed?

Trump vs the People: A Psychiatrist's Analysis

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend