Nuclear Energy…Disaster Waiting to Happen?
On March 11, 2011, Japan was rattled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of lives were changed forever. As a result, there were countless deaths. Notwithstanding, the earthquake and the tsunami destroyed homes, businesses, and roads. An excessive amount of debris was left behind. The impact of the tsunami, as well as the earthquake, caused a major power outage which, in turn, caused a nuclear meltdown and/or explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In the wake of the earthquake and the tsunami that followed, there were long-term effects on the environment as well as on the quality of life of the Japanese people. As there is always a chance of a nuclear meltdown and/or
…show more content…
One year following the nuclear meltdown and/or explosion, much of the area surrounding Fukushima has remained closed (Fecht). The land is riddled with radioactive contamination. The timeline for clean-up will span is at least forty years (Ridley). Many evacuated residents remain in temporary housing with little hope of returning home (Ridley). Still another issue affecting the quality of life is Japan’s foodstuff. Following the nuclear disaster, the government has had to ban provisions that were likely contaminated; they, also, have had to commence a massive food testing program (Gibney). This not only affected the farmers of Japan, but small hometown gardeners as well. Of course, the region most affected by radioactive fallout is the zone in the immediate vicinity of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Even with negative long-term effects, the Japanese government, yet believes nuclear power to be a viable source for energy.
As of 2015, there were sixteen nuclear power plants in use in Japan, seven others were closed, and nine more were under construction (Gibney). Even with the possibility of another nuclear disaster, the government has included nuclear power as a prerequisite for meeting and maintaining Japan’s energy needs. In June of the same year, Japan announced a proposal to “maintain [their] nuclear power [usage] at 20-22 percent until the year 2030” (Gibney). Although the government
This caused reactors 1 through 3 to go into a meltdown and it created a situation where Japan was on the brink of a major environmental disaster. To fully understand the different events there will be a focus on: factors that caused the meltdown, why this did not impact the other three reactors, the consequences, who is responsible and how these incidents can be prevented in the future. Together, these elements will highlight the underlying effects of this disaster and its impact on the region. ("Fukushima Accident")
On March 14, 2011, Anne Applebaum created an account of the events that had occurred earlier that day in Japan. She recalled the shattering earthquake that followed a tsunami and destroyed towns such as Rikuzentakata, a town of 25,000 people (Applebaum 229). The earthquake also agitated Fukushima Daiichi, one of Japan’s nuclear power complexes. Unfortunately, all three reactors lost their ability to cool the steaming water and had to be flooded. The seawater effectively destroyed the plant before more explosions occurred. As a result, radioactive steam had to be released. Applebaum glorified the Japanese in their “technological brilliance” and their ability to cope in extreme circumstances (Applebaum 230). Although the regulations are strict
When an 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on March 11th, 2011, it was the first of a series of horrific events that Japan would be forced to endure. Many homes, families, properties, and belongings were lost on that day. And when the tsunami rolled over the island, many believed that it was over for them. Not only had people’s lives been put in disarray and desolation, but there had not even been simple necessities available. Food. Water. Communications. And electricity. When the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been hit by the earthquake and tsunami, the reactors were shut down and so was the electricity. Over the course of months the reactors suffered, extreme heat, fires, hydrogen explosions, and radiation exposures. At the time,
The nuclear disaster in Fukushima occurred at fourteen forty six, Japanese time. The disaster occurred because a major magnitude nine earthquake struck North Eastern Japan and a fifteen meter high tsunami also struck the power plant (Grimston). There were eleven overall reactors that were effected by the earthquake and tsunami. Nine of the reactors cooling systems continued to work after the natural disasters occurred, but reactors one, two and three of the Fukushima Daiichi plant were terribly damaged and could not cool down the fission process. This is what lead to the one, two and three reactors to melt, causing the most detrimental damage to the global community (Grimston). Critics of the disasters say that Daiichi was not up to global nuclear safety standards because the wall the protected the plant was only stable against six meter tall tsunami waves, not the massive
Introduction: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. It measured 7 on the Nuclear Event Scale, which is the highest rating. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was initiated by a magnitude 9 earthquake. This earthquake caused a tsunami with waves reaching up to 133 feet to crash on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This caused major damage to the nuclear plant. Workers were needed to keep this already terrible incident from escalading. The Fukushima Daiichi cleanup workers are
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred off the east coast of Japan, generating massive tsunamis, which severely damaged coastal areas. The earthquake and tsunami also hit the nuclear power plants (NPP) located in the coastal area in Tohoku and led to the loss of the entire core cooling capacity of three reactors of Fukushima Daiichi NPP and severe damage to the nuclear cores.1 Although deaths related to the release of radiation have not been reported six years after the disaster, the Japanese government and medical professionals have noticed an increase in mental health problems in emergency workers and evacuees. Numerous evacuations, physical detachment from homes and personal belongings, and stigmas between evacuees have been
A huge earthquake with size of 8.9 has struck the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. It was the fourth greatest in present recorded history. The few minutes of earthquake trigged massive tsunami, as high as thirty meters destroying 500 kilometers of Japan northeastern coast. Effect of the earthquake and tsunami incited a nuclear disaster in one of the few nuclear power plants along the eastern coast—Fukushima Daiichi, had and worked by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The Fukushima Daiichi plant consolidated six nuclear reactors, three of which were in operation, with the rest encountering routine upkeep. All reactors close down successfully immediately imitating the
On March 11, 2011, Fukushima, Japan; a nuclear powered town, 250 km from Tokyo, was struck with two natural disasters. These further led to three nuclear reactors emptying highly radioactive substances.
In 2011 Japan was struck by a 9.0 earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami, leaving them with the responsibility to clean up the mess it made. The earthquake created a wave which hit Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant causing many problems. Radioactive leaks were a major problem which was a result of the tsunami. Radiation began to contaminate the Pacific ocean which impacted the fish in it as well. Radiation also contaminated underground water sources because of unreachable fuel rods stored in an unstable building. This tsunami has created a great deal of problems for the citizens of Japan.
On March 11th, 2011, the northern section of Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 15 meter tsunami, causing the death of over 15000 people. (Spacey) Even though the earthquake and the tsunami caused a tremendous amount of deaths in the northern region of Japan, the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused a severe damage to northern Japan’s ecosystem that people still cannot go back to their homes; despite it is 4 years after the disaster. After the earthquake, the tsunami destroyed the power supply used by Fukushima’s three nuclear power stations, causing severe levels of meltdown to be occurred inside the reactors in the timespan of 3 days. It was not until 2 weeks after the tragedy, when the reactors were finally stabilized, and took several months to approach what is called a “cold shutdown condition”, in which the fission in the reactors are completely stopped.(Fukushima A)
Every Friday in Japan, the lawn of the office of the Prime Minister fills up with hundreds of Japanese citizens to protest in concern about the country’s ongoing nuclear program in spite of the meltdown of the Fukushima-Daichi power plant. 170 miles north of Tokyo, the meltdown happened in 2011 after a back to back earthquake and tsunami devastated cooling capabilities within the plant, which subsequently led to the meltdown of one of the reactors. This even displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes. (Junko, and Mullen Jethro) Although no deaths have been attributed to the explosion or subsequent nuclear fallout yet, the full repercussions of the event have yet to been fully experienced. A plan is still being developed of how
On March 11th, 2011 Northeastern Japan was hit with a magnitude 9 earthquake, which led to a tsunami (Oskin, 2015). Two disasters struck Japan and made an impact globally. An estimate of 230,000 homes were destroyed, leaving individuals without shelter, food, or clothes (Oskin, 2015). The disasters kept growing once officials realized the tsunami had taken a nuclear power plan, leaving the area with a level seven nuclear meltdown and radioactive water (Oskin, 2015). Japan is still recovering from the disasters and debris and toxins are being found washed up on shore all around the world (Oskin, 2015).
The Fukushima disaster was a very heavily reported in the news in the year 2011, but people’s fears quickly died down on the issue as people went about their daily lives. But should the issue have just disappeared from the public eye? It is my belief is that the disaster has still not been adequately dealt with, and is a major issue now more than ever, that the still prevalent after effects of the disaster should be common knowledge, and that better solutions should be found to deal with the nuclear radiation.
The nuclear power plant destruction not only affected the world’s environment, but also affected production in Japan. There was less energy available from the nuclear power plants, and no gas, which affected production. As the BCC news said “Prime Minister Naoto Kan postponed plans to roll power cuts, saying they may not be needed if householders could conserve energy.” As to the shortage of gas, transportation stopped. There was a lack of food. Entire city functions had shut down. There were worst things that we cannot imagine. The people suffered a critical shortage of articles for daily use. The radiation also affected the water system of Japan. People there were afraid to drink