On March 11, 2011natural destruction raged the small island nation of Japan. With a massive earthquake and tsunami caused equipment damage that eventually lead to destruction of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. During the earthquake and tsunami three nuclear reactors were destroyed. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake caused damage all over the island and still 2 years later Japan is struggling to get back on its feet. People were forced to leave their homes and possessions behind as the Japanese government tried to correct the damage done by the tsunami and earthquake. With not only the country hurting, its natives hurt for normalcy. The road to recovery is a long one but one must look at the steps taken so far to return Japan back to where it once was. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami, resulted in massive radioactive contamination on the mainland. In April, the Japanese government 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. With this change it allowed the government to downplay the dangers of the fallout and avoid evacuation of many badly contaminated areas. Only a few months later in November, the Japanese Science Ministry reported that long-lived radioactive cesium had contaminated 11,580 square miles however,4,5000 square miles, almost the same size of Connecticut, was found to have radiation levels that exceeded Japan’s allowable exposure to radiation. Land within 12 miles of the destroyed nuclear power plant, encompassing an area of about 230 square miles, and an additional 80 square miles located northwest of the plant, were declared too radioactive for human habitation. Within this 310 evacuation area it is est... ... middle of paper ... ...l bounce back from this and move on to big and better things. Works Cited "About." Costs and Consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. Hancocks, Paula. "Fukushima's Nuclear Power Mess: Five Big Questions." CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. "Japan's Radiation Disaster Toll: None Dead, None Sick." N.p., 4 June 2013. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. "Much of What You've Heard About the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Is Wrong." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. "Shunned Japanese Fukushima Plant Workers Face Emotional Toll." ABC News. ABC News Network, 15 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. "Traveling in the Nuclear Contamination Zones in Japan." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. Voigt, Kevin. "TEPCO to Begin Removing Nuclear Fuel Rods at Fukushima." CNN. Cable News Network, 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Lewis, H. W. (1986). The Accident at the Chernobyl' Nuclear Power Plant and Its Consequences. Environment, 28(9), 25.
...r. Iodine 131, another radioactive element, can dilute very quickly in the air, but if it is deposited on grass eaten by cows, the cows then re-concentrate it in their milk. Absorbed into the body's thyroid gland in a concentrated dose, Iodine 131 can cause cancer. In the Chernobyl disaster, the biggest health effect has been cases of thyroid cancer especially in children living near the nuclear plant. Therefore, because of the Chernobyl disaster we know to test the grass, soil, and milk for radiation. Also, an evacuation of the Chernobyl area was not ordered until over 24 hours after the incident. Japanese authorities evacuated 200,000 people from the area of Fukushima within hours of the initial alert. From the mistakes and magnitude of the disaster at Chernobyl, the world learned how to better deal with the long and short term effect of a Nuclear Fallout.
The “World Nuclear Power Plants in Operation”. Nuclear Energy Institute. April. The. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
Countless engineering disasters have occurred in this world, many civilians lost their lives due to corrupted constructions. The most fatal and deadly engineering disaster that took place in our history was the Chernobyl disaster. The Chernobyl catastrophe was a nuclear setback that happened at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in on April 26, 1986. It is seen as the most recognizable terrible nuclear power plant cataclysm ever. A nuclear crisis in one of the reactors caused a fire that sent a cluster of radioactive consequence that on the long run spread all over Europe.
I. (Gain Attention and Interest): March 11, 2011. 2:45 pm. Operations at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant continued as usual. At 2:46 pm a massive 9.0 earthquake strikes the island of Japan. All nuclear reactors on the island shut down automatically as a response to the earthquake. At Fukushima, emergency procedures are automatically enabled to shut down reactors and cool spent nuclear fuel before it melts-down in a catastrophic explosion. The situation seems under control, emergency diesel generators located in the basement of the plant activate and workers breathe a sigh of relief that the reactors are stabilizing. Then 41 minutes later at 3:27 pm the unthinkable occurs. As workers monitored the situation from within the plant, citizens from the adjacent town ran from the coastline as a 49 foot tsunami approached. The tsunami came swiftly and flooded the coastline situated Fukushima plant. Emergency generators were destroyed and cooling systems failed. Within hours, a chain of events led to an explosion of reactor 1 of the plant. One by one in the subsequent days reactors 2, and 3 suffered similar fates as explosions destroyed containment cases and the structures surrounding the reactors (Fukushima Accident). Intense amount...
The nuclear explosion over Nagasaki affected an area of approximately 110 km², of which 22 is water and 84 were partially populated.
Carbon, Max W. Nuclear Power: Villain or Victim?: Our Most Misunderstood Source of Electricity. Second ed. Madison, WI: Pebble Beach, 1997.
March 11, 2011 marked the date in which the northern region of Japan, Tohoku, experienced a dreadful environmental tragedy that altered the lives of many Japanese people. A massive earthquake and tsunami triggered widespread and irrevocable damage to not only the Tohoku region and communities living there, but also to the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant ensuing the uncontrolled release of radiation into the environment. Due to this nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant, many people have begun to question the plausibility of nuclear safety and the possibility of reliable government information. Japan, having suffered nuclear attacks in the past, has become a highly “nuclearized” nation despite the danger and risks involved. Japanese acceptance of nuclear power was developed through the employment of the “safety myth” and the promotion of the benefits of nuclear power. Prior to the accident in Fukushima, Japanese citizens did not realize the danger and risk that nuclear energy possessed because the government taught them otherwise. Many are starting to understand that the health and security of those directly affected by the earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima have been seriously compromised by a misguided national reliance on nuclear-generated electricity and power led by the government and enacted by their use of the “safety myth.” As a result, the accident in Fukushima has severely transformed Japanese people’s opinions towards nuclear power. In the wake of this disaster, Japanese people are reckoned with tough questions concerning the state of their nation, dependence on nuclear power for energy, the competence, and trustworthiness of their government, and the health and safety of...
March 11, 2011 rocked the peace and brought the world to its knees while witnessing one of the largest energy disasters in history, the Fukushima Accident. This disaster occurred because of a tsunami that resulted from a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. Failed safety protocol for tsunami resistance led to the meltdown of three of the six nuclear reactors resulting in the emission of a substantial amount of radioactive material. In response to this grave incident, President Barack Obama addressed his “Speech on Japan” to the Americans and Japanese affected by this horrific event. Obama delivered this speech in hopes of implanting the idea of safety within the mindsets of his listeners and reassuring success for the future. Barack Obama behests a hopeful atmosphere through demonstrating careful consolation of the people affected and explicating confidence in the recovery of Japan.
For them, the 2011 nuclear crisis in Japan and the multiple radioactive water leakages from Ranger mine (Statham, 2011) constituted several recent examples of such dangers. They firmly held that scientific research denying the likelihood of nuclear waste contamination would be essentially biased (Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation,
While the early warning saved thousands of people, the Japan’s Meteorological Agency underestimated this earthquake as the subduction zone of Japan should not produce the magnitude 9.0 quake (Oskin, 2013a). The Tohoku Earthquake and its tsunami approximately killed 16 thousand people, injured 6 thousand people and around 3 thousand people were missing. Most people died from drowning. Around 300 thousand buildings, 4000 roads, 78 bridges, and many more were affected by the earthquake, tsunami, and fires from leaking oils and gas. Electricity, telecommunication, and railways were severely damaged. The debris of 25 million tons was generated and carried out to the sea by water (BBC News, 2012). The country’s authorities estimated more than 309 billion US dollars of damages. Landslides occurred in Miyagi and liquefaction in Chiba, Tokyo, Odaiba, and Urayasu (USGS, 2013). Furthermore, the tsunami destroyed protective tsunami seawalls. Approximately 217 square miles of Japan covered in water (Oskin,
The convergence of three separate disasters in Fukushima Prefecture – earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis – is not only inimitable in terms of its magnitude and complication, but also about the complex interaction of health problems to which it may have given birth. The major Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) earthquake of 1995 that ultimately resulted in the deaths of over 6,000 people showed that in Japan disasters can affect separate population groups with varying severity and that the senior population are markedly vulnerable. For many villages, such as Iitate in Fukushima Prefecture, May 2011 was the last chance to attain information on the health of the inhabitants before the enactment of a compulsory governmental evacuation order at the end of
The energy industry is beginning to change. In today’s modern world, governments across the globe are shifting their focuses from traditional sources of power, like the burning coal and oil, to the more complex and scientific nuclear power supply. This relatively new system uses powerful fuel sources and produces little to no emissions while outputting enough energy to fulfill the world’s power needs (Community Science, n.d.). But while nuclear power seems to be a perfect energy source, no power production system is without faults, and nuclear reactors are no exception, with their flaws manifesting in the form of safety. Nuclear reactors employ complex systems involving pressure and heat. If any of these systems dysfunctions, the reactor can leak or even explode releasing tons of highly radioactive elements into the environment. Anyone who works at or near a nuclear reactor is constantly in danger of being exposed to a nuclear incident similar to the ones that occurred at the Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi plants. These major accidents along with the unresolved problems with the design and function of nuclear reactors, as well as the economic and health issues that nuclear reactors present serve to show that nuclear energy sources are not worth the service that they provide and are too dangerous to routinely use.
The radiation released through ground, air and sea. Around 20 kilo meters of regions from the nuclear power plants was contaminated , and the residents 20 to 30 km from the nuclear power plant were asked to leave the region. The polluted coolant goes to the Pacific Ocean, which is very dangerous, because human being is the placed at the top on the food chain, therefore, the fish consumption may result the cancer. Pacific Ocean is the biggest fishery in the world, and Japan’s fish consumption per person is highest in the world (Mccurry, 2014).
There was a multitude of causes of the disaster in Japan. The first cause was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan. Japan is located in “The Ring of Fire,” an area in the Pacific Ocean that has multiple faults and earthquakes (Pedersen 13). Tectonic plates shifted off the North Pacific coast of Japan and created a massive earthquake. The next cause was a thirty-three foot wall of water that swept over cities and farmland in Japan (Branigan 2). Martin Fackler, a journalist, stated, “The quake churned up a devastating tsunami” (Fackler 3). The tsunami reached speeds of 497 miles per hour while approaching Japan (Fackler 3). The third and final reason of the disaster was that the cooling systems at multiple nuclear power plants failed. At Fukushima, a nuclear power plant in Sendai, Japan, the radioactive rods began to overheat due to the absence of water, which cools it. Explosions occurred at three of the reactors, which spewed radiation into the air (“Comparing nuclear power plant crises”). In conclusion, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant issues were the causes of the disaster in Japan, but they also had a myriad of effects.