On March 11, 2011, Japan was devastated by three crippling disasters. It all started at 2:46 pm when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck near the coast. Not long after, a 15 metre tsunami spawned and washed away entire towns and cities. This tsunami also created significant damage one of Japan’s four power plants, Fukushima Daiichi. At the time that the earthquake struck, 11 reactors in total spread out across the four different power plants shutdown and sustained little to no damage. However when the tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi reactors, all hell broke loose. The tsunami wiped out 12 of the 13 on-site generators and disabled the reactors ability to cool and circulate which is a major safety tool to ensure that nuclear waste and the reactors do not become dangerous. With the power being completely screwed up, the reactors (1,2,3) which were in use at the time began over-heating and experienced a pure meltdown. Not long after, despite hard work by plant employees and emergency personnel, a hydrogen explosion occurred. In response, a very nervous Japanese government ordered the evacuation of nearly 100,000 people living nearby. This sent the country into sheer panic worrying about leaking radiation. It also endangered the workers who would be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation if there was in fact a leak.

Many scientists and public health experts are now worried about the long term effects of this radiation leak. The concern is for the workers and first responders, the residents nearby who may have  been exposed, and people who

may be exposed to the radiation as it traveled through air and even seeped into the soil and underground water supply. Workers who were exposed to the highest amount of radiation may experience radiation sickness which can damage tissue, prevent bone marrow from created new blood cells, and result in death. Longer term effects can include cancer, especially thyroid cancer. The good news is that many doctors don’t think that the general public who haven’t come into direct contact with the Fukushima plan or its immediate surroundings will have many health problems. They do warn that radiation can be spread by particles on people’s clothing and of course by breathing it in.

Looking to the future, Tepco (the company operating Fukushima Daiichi) has put in place a comprehensive plan to rebuild and remediate any of the problems. They began by removing debris from the facility using a heavy duty crane. They also instituted a fuel line to transfer used fuel from fuel ponds to the spent fuel facility where it can be safely handled. Another important action to set out to find the location of the leaks. Once found they were to be sealed and the tanks were to be filled with sufficient amounts of water to shield from future leaks. Finally all the damaged reactors will be fully demolished in 30-40 years. That sounds like a long time, but that is the standard for nuclear plants. Safety still remains their top concern, and all changes will be done slowly to ensure they aren’t furthering damage and increasing future risks. This disaster has had many people reconsidering their nuclear plans. As a matter of fact Germany has gone on an intensive green movement as a result of this disaster for fear that they might experience similar problems.

Sources

1) http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/fukushima_accident_inf129.html

2) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/japan-nuclear-reactors-and-seismic-activity/

3) http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/15/japans-next-nightmare-health-problems-from-radiation-exposure/