Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown Essay

The Salmon River is located in Oswego County New York and it empties into Lake Ontario at Port Ontario. It is a major hub of public recreational fishing in New York State and contains a variety of fish including Chinook, Coho, and Atlantic Salmon as well as Brown Trout and many others. The Salmon River was an extremely productive tributary into the late 19th century. Unfortunately, a variety of factors led to the degradation of the water and subsequently the Atlantic Salmon population collapsed. These factors included deforestation, over-fishing, and dam construction. (dec.ny)

This essay will focus on the bluefin tuna industry in Japan, a country which consumes the majority of the global catch. The industry is one driven by the sudden increase in demand for sushi, a Japanese haute food which is now consumed globally. It will also illustrate the uniqueness and important role which the bluefin tuna plays in aquatic ecosystems throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Lastly, the issues of globalization and lack of market regulation will be examined as a cause for the collapse in Atlantic bluefin fisheries. The tuna industry in Japan is having negative environmental impacts on the oceanic ecosystem.

Over 537 total deaths have already been linked to accident at Fukushima, and that number is still rising. Through a large spread of different causes, radiation tainted beef to name one, people are being affected every day. This all started on March 11, 201, when a 7.1- level earthquake and 15- meter high tsunami duoed to take down the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. With the destruction that has already been caused, Fukushima will go down as one of the worst power plant disasters in history.

As sushi becomes more of a popular trend the need for fishing rises. One of the fishes that are affected by this is salmon. In the beginning they were only fished in nature but as globalization continues we developed a new strategy to produce more, farmed fishing. By raising your own salmon you can produce enough for consumer needs and keep the same consistency by feeding them the exact same proportions. The problem with this concept is that we are using cheap foods and chemicals to grow these salmons. Wild salmon tend to be oilier with plenty of omegas 3 and hardly any fat (white stripes) in their meat. They also eat algae and plankton while most farmed salmon are fed corn. Farmed salmon are also injected with artificial omega 3 as these fishes aren't producing as much oil compared to the wild salmon due to their environment.

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 earthquake shook northeastern Japan. The earthquake was felt around the globe. Debris that was washed away still continues to wash up on the beaches of California and other beaches in the US. The residents of this small island are still recovering from this natural disaster. As a result of the earthquake, 19,000 lives were lost and 1.2 buildings were damaged. The earthquake/tsunami cost Japan $574 billion. To make matters worse, the waves of the tsunami damaged a nuclear power plant located in Japan and caused the radioactive material to leak out into the surrounding area.

Effects can go beyond air and land, to also effect marine environments and species. In January 1968, a United States Air Force B-52 bomber crashed into the ice covering North Star Bay in Greenland. The airplane was carrying four hydrogen bombs on an alert mission during the Cold War when a fire started on board. When the plane crashed, the hydrogen bombs on board went off and radioactive contamination was released into North Star Bay, as well as Narssarssuk, a neighboring city of the crash site. In 2003, analyses of the marine area that was affected by the crash showed that plutonium levels were still elevated over 30 years later. The highest levels were found directly under the site of the plane crash, but levels were elevated in the surrounding areas as well. Seaweed found in Bylot Sound, an ocean inlet in North Star Bay, showed increased concentrations of plutonium compared to seaweed found outside of Bylot Sound. The increase of plutonium in the Sound is a direct result of particle transportation from wind and wave actions that pushed the contamination to surrounding areas (Nielsen et al). Areas in the direct

Digest of federal resource laws of interest to the U.S. fish and wildlife service. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/FISHCON.HTML

The Fukushima was caused by a 15-meter tsunami that crumbled and destroyed the power supply of three Fukushima reactors. Ineffect to the crumbling of the three Fukushima reactors, more than 100,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes in Japan. Government officials were nervous about people returning to their homes due to the cause of possible radioactive materials being released into

In 2011, a tragic calamity has shocked the entire world. The radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were released due to the consequent tsunami caused by the the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. Massive amount of radioactive sewage flowed into Pacific Ocean and Japanese sea. Substantial number of dangerous substances were transmitted through air. The radioactive substances not only devastated the environment, but also severely jeopardized the health of all the creatures ranging from Japan to North America. Uncountable innocent marine animals mutated and died, which led to

On Friday March 11th 2011 at 2:46 pm, Japan’s Eastern coast was hit with an earthquake of a 9.0 magnitude. Following the quake, an 18 foot tsunami was triggered causing the pre existing damage to be even more sever. The tsunami caused the AC power to disable in 3 of the plants, which kept the cooling system from working. As a result, hydrogen in the exploded in the fuel rods which stated the release of the large amounts of radioactive material into the surrounding area.The quake and tsunami alone caused 15,893 people to lose their lives. Not only did this devastate the country when it happened, but the disaster is still affecting not only Japan, but surrounding areas, such as the Pacific ocean and parts of the U.S.

When Fukushima was destroyed, alarms were raised about whether or not the food fish stocks in the Pacific would be harmed. A map was recently released of the spread of the radioactive particles since the nuclear plants demise in 2011. It was shown that the areas where North America raises salmon, oysters, and other vital food fishes were critically affected by the radioactivity. Tests were done on the fish stocks of the affected areas, and it was shown that these animals had trace amounts of Strontium in their flesh.

The role of the NOAA in the seafood industry is to make sure companies are meeting the FDA standards, however, if the FDA were change their regulations the NOAA would also be required to inform companies of the new changes11. The NOAA’s optional Seafood Inspection Program provides inspection for fish, shell fish, and fish products under the 1946 Agricultural Marketing Act.10 Even though the inspection program is optional, companies choose to use them to write up product specifications, train employees on sanitation practices, and to receive export certifications. The NOAA works with domestic producers by inspecting fish products on a lot by lot basis to assure the buyer/seller that the product is in correspondence with code. In contrast, companies who plan to import products and seek the NOAA’s assistance often hire them to verify that the country that the product is coming from meets the FDA’s current seafood standards.10 Whether domestic or imported, fish or fish products must have been certified by the NOAA prior to being put out consumption. For over

Over the years Fukushima has had a radioactive leak that has been affecting the water and air through many towns. March 11th 2011, Fukushima had a earthquake that followed up with a tsunami, the tsunami shorted out the power of many nuclear reactors resulting in a leak. There was no deaths or radiation sickness due to the people evacuating very quickly. Many wildlife has been affected although, mainly sea animals because the water had been contaminated and spread throughout their sea front. Fukushima had to try their best to repair all the problems caused by radiation to return. The major problem about radiation is the effect on animals. When the contamination goes into a insect or water creature it will fly or swim many miles until a predator eats it and get contaminated as well, this contamination will spread even further and makes it really hard for it to go away, it’s possible that the radiation could travel very far if the animals keep traveling with the radiation inside them

In April 1986, only 130 km north of the largest city in Ukraine, Chernobyl unit 4 reactor exploded spreading at least 5% of its radioactive core into the atmosphere and further downwind. 24 years later a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan causing a series of tsunamis that took out and ultimately caused the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1-3. Both of these nuclear disasters released large amounts of radiation and causing evacuation of nearby towns and cities. Between these two nuclear disasters, Chernobyl has been found to be the worse because of its “flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel” compared to the quick reaction towards the Fukushima Daiichi accident that ultimately decreased the negative effects greatly.

Regarded by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef, 85 year-old Jiro Ono has dedicated his life to perfecting his craft- using only the most delicately cooked rice, and the highest quality cuts of fish. But in recent years, the fish market has gone sour; the “global sushi boom” has brought about overfishing not only on the coasts of Japan, but across oceans worldwide. Overfishing affects more than just sushi enthusiasts, as it poses a threat of extinction to many species of tuna and sharks. Whereas traditional fishing techniques remove a sustainable number of matured fish from the ecosystem, overfishing- the two most common techniques of which are purse seine netting and longline fishing, both used to maximize the number of fish