Fukushima Daiichi Research Paper

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The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster In March 2011 an earthquake followed by a tsunami caused the destruction of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant releasing radioactive material into the. In 2011 it was reported that long-lived radioactive cesium had contaminated 11,580 square miles of the land surface of Japan 4,550 of which had a radiation level that exceeded Japan’s allowable exposure rate of 1 millisievert per year .The Japanese government then raised the allowable exposure limit to 20 mSv in order to avoid evacuation of badly irradiated areas. The Fukushima disaster also produced the largest discharge of radioactive material into the ocean in history. A total of 733,000 curies of cesium were pumped into the Pacific …show more content…
Fishing is banned off the Coast of Fukushima. A 12 mile radius around the Daiichi power plant and an area of 80 square miles northwest of the plant were evacuated and it was declared the exclusion zone (and area into which entry is forbidden in this case because of radiation levels too high for human habitation). The estimated cost of the abandoned infrastructure was $250-$500 billion. 159,128 people had been evicted from their homes losing all of their possessions (they have received only small compensation and are still forced to pay their mortgages on the inhabitable homes despite this). Radioactive Cesium-137 has a half-life of 30 years. When it enters an ecosystem it can be found everywhere within that area. Because of this it has been detected in everything from Japanese spinach, and tea leaves to milk beef and freshwater fish even 200 miles from Fukushima. Some areas can no longer sell and export crops. Ingesting these foods as been shown to lead to bioacculation in the heart, endocrine tissues, the kidney, small intestines, pancreas, spleen and liver. Bioacculation occurs much faster in children than adults making them may more times likely to be susceptible to its effects. Decontaminating the exclusion zone are failing because of melting

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