Current Danger
The earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan March 11, 2011 caused equipment at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, located in the northeastern area of Japan, to fail. Three of Fukushima's six reactors experienced a full nuclear meltdown which released deadly cancer-causing radioactive isotopes like Plutonium, Strontium and Cesium-137 (Cs-137).
More radioactive material was released into the air when the containment vessels were vented to reduce gaseous pressure, and radioactive material spilled into the water when contaminated coolant water was discharged into the ocean. Like the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, the Fukushima meltdown is classified as a major accident, or Level 7–the highest classification recognized by the International Nuclear Event Scale.
As more information becomes available about the full extent of the radioactive contamination that occurred due to the meltdown at Fukushima, we will post it on this site.
"Clearly we're witnessing one of the greatest disasters in modern time."
Alan Hanson,Executive Vice President of Areva, Inc., one of the largest atomic energy companies in the world.
At this point, no one knows the full, long-term impact of radiation leaked from the Fukushima reactors.
Elevated levels of radioactive contamination have been detected in areas of Japan (1), as well as in Hawaii and even in the United States. The problem is, radioactive isotopes that are released by such a disaster remain active for many years, and enter the soil, water and air–all of which can travel thousands of miles. This means the food grown in the ground may be contaminated, as well as the livestock that eat the grass and grain, the fish that swim in the sea, even rainwater and the air we breathe.
(1) http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/11/11/1112058108.abstract
Although the radiation danger is greater in Japan where the accident occurred, its measurable effects may be evident in other parts of the world for many years. Some scientists feel the Fukushima disaster could be more far-reaching and deadly than the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986. According to Al Jazeera correspondent Steve Chao, reporting in September, 2011:
"At least one billion becquerels of radiation continue to leak from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant each day even though it is now more than five months after the March earthquake and tsunami that damaged the facility. Experts say that the total radiation leaked will eventually exceed the amounts released from the Chernobyl disaster ..." (3)
LinkA February 3, 2012 CBSnews.com report states that radioactive water continues to leak at the crippled nuclear plant. "TEPCO found that 8.5 tons of radioactive water had leaked earlier in the week after a pipe became detached at Unit 4, one of the plant's six reactors. The company earlier had estimated that only a few gallons (liters) had leaked." The report continues to state that the structural integrity of the damaged Unit 4 reactor building is a major concern among experts since a collapse of its spent fuel cooling pool could cause a disaster worse than the three reactor meltdown (4).
LinkWatch this site for more information about the full effects of the Fukushima meltdown. We will continually update the site with the latest information regarding the danger of radiation contamination and how it may affect you and your family.
"These radioactive elements, you can't see them and you can't smell them. They're silent. When you get them inside your body, you don't suddenly drop dead from cancer. It takes five to 60 years to get your cancer. When you feel the cancer in your breast, it doesn't say that it was made by some strontium-90 that you ate in a piece of fish 20 years ago."
Dr. Helen CaldicottWe can learn from Chernobyl if we face the facts and do not hide from them in fear. In their book, Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, Alexey V. Yablokov, Vassily B. Nesterenko and Alexey V. Nesterenko state that 985,000 premature deaths occurred as a result of the radioactivity released after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. They suggest most of the deaths were in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with others occurring worldwide throughout the many countries struck by radioactive fallout from that disaster.
This book also points out the wide extent of the contamination that occurred due to the global fallout. The authors state that:
"Radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl meltdown spread over 40% of Europe (including Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Romania, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Greece, Iceland and Slovenia) and wide territories in Asia (including Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Emirates and China), northern Africa and North America. Nearly 400 million people resided in territories that were contaminated with radioactivity at a level higher than 4kBq/m2 (0.11 ci/km2) from April to July 1986." (5)
(5) Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, Alexey V. Yablokov, Vassily B. Nesterenko and Alexey V. Nesterenko, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 1181, p. 5.
"I'm here at a local playground in Kashiwa Japan just taking some Geiger counter readings. Yes, that is 6.46μSv/h right there on the play ground! The kids just keep on playing, it's actually very sad if you think about it. Many of us here have been desperately trying to raise awareness. However, the government is still trying to keep this out of the news."
Resident of Kashiwa LinkCesium-137 (Cs-137) Contamination
One of the most poisonous isotopes, Cs-137, is now in the soil, the air, the water and the food in at least parts of Japan. According to David McNeill in an August 29, 2011 story that appeared in The Independent News: "... the government has worsened its prognosis of the disaster. scientists affiliated with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the plant had released 15,000 terabecquerels of cancer-causing Celsium, equivalent to about 168 times the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima." (7)
Whales Captured 650 Kilometers from Fukushima Show Elevated Cs-137 Levels
According to Japanese news sources, Japanese whalers tested six of 17 whales captured 650 kilometers northeast of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Of the six whales tested, two were found to contain Cs-137 radiation. The first whale contained 31 becquerels per kilogram of Cesium radiation, and the second whale contained 24.3 becquerels of radioactive Cesium per kilogram (8).
Pacific Ocean Radiation Levels 1,000 Times More Than Prior Levels
Radioactive contamination from the Fukushima power plant disaster has been detected as far as almost 400 miles off Japan in the Pacific Ocean, with water showing readings of up to 1,000 times more than prior levels (9).
"There are many areas [of Japan] with high levels of radioactive substances. The levels there are the same as in parts around Chernobyl where people had to evacuate." (10)
Kouta Kinoshita,Investigative Journalist, Citizen Radiation Project Link
Areas with elevated seriously significant radiation levels include:
- Los Angeles
- Phoenix
- California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Tennessee, Montana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Alabama, Canada
- Cesium and Tellurium were found in Boise, Las Vegas, Nome and Dutch Harbor, Honolulu, Kauai and Oahu, Anaheim, Riverside, San Francisco, San Bernardino, Jacksonville and Orlando, Salt Lake City, Guam and Saipan
To learn more about these EPA readings, visit:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/10/epa-new-radiation-highs-in-little-rock-milk-philadelphia-drinking-water/
Shizuoka Tea Contains High Levels of Radiation
Authorities report that the region of Shizuoka, which contains Japan's largest tea farms, has been contaminated with levels of radiation that are unsafe. (10)
