I remember very well the Fukushima incident; I also recall at that time not fully knowing the extent or the reasons of that catastrophe. All I knew (all i thought I knew really) was that a tsunami caused a nuclear plant to be damaged, and a meltdown followed, endangering people living in all the areas affected. But let’s get the real facts:
The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami of 11 March 2011 inundated 561 square kilometers of coastline, reaching up to 5 kilometers inland. The disaster wrought havoc from Aomori Prefecture in the north to Chiba Prefecture in the south (about 35 kilometers east of Tokyo); aftershocks affected areas far beyond the coast. The earthquake and tsunami combined may have killed nearly 23,600 people and severely damaged or destroyed more than 187,000 homes. Damage to the region s industrial facilities also has been extensive. Oil refineries burst into flames in the days after the disaster, sending black smoke billowing into the air. Sewer and gas lines burst, and old electrical equipment containing “polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was washed away.” ” Petro- and agrochemical plants, iron foundries, steel works, and automotive, electronics, food processing, paper, plastics, and pharmaceutical plants were among those that suffered damage.
As cleanup might still continue in the disaster area, questions remain about the fate of chemical contaminants released by these damaged industrial facilities and other sources, and the environmental health they might pose to the hundreds of thousands of people living and working in this area. This brings us to our next subtopic which is Japan’s new energy strategy. According to Bloomberg finance, Japan has lost 20% of its nuclear electricity supply; and their analyst basically said that hey should rebuild a nuclear reactor. In another article on Jstor (referring to the Library and Archive source under Tags below), Asian countries, including Japan, have been introduced to SRI (Social Responsibility Investment). And some of those countries chose to invest on nuclear power. Concerning Japan, they are basically focusing on Oil and on more nuclear power.”The strategy is expected to call for raising the percentage of nuclear power in the total national electricity supply from the current 30% to between 30% and 40% or more in 2030 and also establishing a nuclear fuel cycle.” However, this new policy of theirs upsets local and international ties; It calls for the abolishment of nuclear power by the 2030s, but it seems that this latest update does nothing to pacify the unrest in the island nation, and has only worsened the central governments relationship with its own people and international allies. Something worth the attention though: The draft policy is founded upon three principles, that no reactor should operate over 40 years, that no reactor should be restarted without proper safety clearance from regulators, and that no new reactors should be constructed.