The Long Term Health Risk For The General Population Exposed From Radiation By The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster

The Fukushima Daiichi power station was affected on March 11, 2011, by an earthquake and tsunami. The next day, leakage of radioactive materials were found. The steam was filled in the building by the core meltdown caused by dysfunction of the cooling system. Radioactive materials released into the environment, the government issued evacuations for residents within 20km

(Events of Fukushima Nuclear disaster) The Fukushima Nuclear disaster had many effects on the environment and health, some of its effects on the health are, infection of skin and that is mainly caused because of radiation and chemicals in the water after the incident and little supply of clean water, it also impacted the citizens physiologically (mainly the mothers, kids and workers) who might have diseases as anxiety and depression, problems in pregnancy, related to deficiency of iodine in the body, and some hormones not functioning properly, all these causes might lead to still birth, and miscarriage and finally, radiation syndrome which is caused because of the release of massive amounts of radiation, spread of cancer (as thyroid cancer) because of radiation, and ascend of genetic inheritable diseases As in Diagram 2 (Health Concerns in Fukushima), we can signify that the percentages of cancer increased highly because of the disaster in comparison to nowadays and especially between people of ages (1month-20years)

The article “When Radiation Isn’t the Real Risk” written by George Johnson is underlying the fact that during a nuclear incident in Fukushima there have been no known deaths due to radiation. From this incident however, there have been a total of 1,600 deaths. He collected data that presumed that the deaths involved evacuating people from the intensive care units in a hospital, moving residents of nursing homes, and then lastly suicides due to the imminent fear of the radiation. Johnson also goes on to explain that the expected amount of radiation during this time period from the incident was not enough to harm any of the population even in the hot zones of danger. Johnson collected data from scientists that quantified the

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,

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

Recently, the deserted Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has been emanating an alarming amount of radiation. Kyodo of Japan Times reported that the radiation reading has reached its highest level since its emergence in March 2011 (Kyodo, 2017). As a result, there is a greater presence of air and water pollution in Fukushima that could easily spread to surrounding areas. Therefore, it seems appropriate that in an interview with the Washington Post, radio-ecology expert Tom Hinton stated Fukushima is “an area that is among the most radioactively contaminated in the world” (as cited in Andrews, 2016). This resurgence has generated conspiracy theories, false maps and, interestingly, little news coverage. While many across different continents

Since some countries in the region have already embarked on the nuclear energy option and some others are planning to do so, an increased attention in the country has been given to protective measures in case of a nuclear/radiological emergency. Experience from nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and recently, in Fukushima showed a lack of sufficient capacity for screening internal contamination of the public and pointed out the necessity for its development [1]. Additionally, increasing the national applications of nuclear technology in industry, nuclear medicine and researches involved radioisotopes utilization, resulted in legal and technical provisions adopted on the national level supporting protection of the public and radiation workers against

There are very few radiation effects that are suffered physically by people struck by modern nuclear disasters. Rather, mental illness is the biggest risk. This was reported by the authors of many papers in The Lancet.

The estimated rates of exposure, stated previously, is important for estimating short and long term effects on the exposed populations. Especially the exposed children, because they are at higher risk for future radiation exposure effects, as explained by the Law of Bergonie and Tribondeau. The exposed children need to be monitored because they will most likely require treatment, as they get older due to their sensitive thyroid

To avoid this kind of nuclear disaster from occurring again, both the nuclear corporation and government administrators worldwide must vigorously consider making at least five major adjustments to the safety systems at nuclear power plants, in conjunction to security measures and international reconciliations. Stabilize the electricity supply system is a major contribution to avoid such a horrendous disaster. What really generated Fukushima was the power plant ran out of electricity. The power that was used, was cut off by the earthquake and tsunami; onsite emergency diesel alternators broke down; and batteries were drained within a few hours. In spite of all the reactors turned off right after the quake hit, an enormous load of decay heat was still being discharged and as pumping declined, the temperatures begun to increase.

The Fukushima Daiichi incident (March 11, 2011) is not the first nuclear meltdown incident. It is also not the first time that nuclear companies promise to give proper maintenance to their reactors. However, even if they do, sometimes Mother Nature strikes us and Disasters like this annihilate entire countries for never-ending years. In this particular case plutonium contaminated the water, air, and the soil. While the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plants asserts that they did their best to be prepared for incidents like this, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami proved them wrong. As a consequence, one can infer that there is not a 100% measure that can protects us, when incidents like this happen.

Early in the morning of April 27, 1986, the world experienced its largest nuclear disaster ever (Gould 40). While violating safety protocol during a test, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl power plant was placed in a severely unstable state, and in a matter of seconds the reactor output shot up to 120 times the rated output (Flavin 8). The resulting steam explosion tossed aside the reactor’s 1,000 ton concrete covering and released radioactive particles up to one and a half miles into the sky (Gould 38). The explosion and resulting fires caused 31 immediate deaths and over a thousand injuries, including radiation poisoning (Flavin 5). After the

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)

Eastern Japan sits right off a major earthquake fault line. Therefore, it was a matter of time before a sizeable earthquake occurred that would severely damage Japan. On Friday, March 11, 2011, a catastrophic nine magnitude earthquake hit eastern Japan, the most devastating the country had ever encountered. Equally devastating was the catastrophic tsunami that followed. This tsunami, being one of the worlds all time worst, was able to generate waves of water reaching as much as eighty feet which engulfed many of the hardest hit areas during this disaster. This catastrophe resulted in severe, yet preventable damages to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. To begin with, the electricity being provided to reactors one, two, and three