Fukushima Nuclear Disaster The Fukushima nuclear disaster was caused by chain of events early March of 2011. On the morning of the 11th there was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast of Japan. The Tohoku earthquake caused a 128 meter tsunami which hit the eastern coast of Japan. During the events of the earthquake and tsunami the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered heavy equipment failures. These equipment failures lead to three of six reactors melting down and another that was severely damaged in a hydrogen explosion. The three reactors melted down due to the tsunami wiping out the Emergency Diesel Generators(EDG). The purpose of the EDGs were to supply backup power to run the cooling systems in the event of an earthquake.
…show more content…
32 million people in Japan are affected by the fallout and radiation from the plant. The Japanese government screened all the people who evacuated and were 18 and under for thyroid cancer because people in this age group absorb more iodine which is what was being released from the plant. In recent years there has been an increase of thyroid cancer amongst children. Most of the people who were exposed have a higher risk of developing thyroid, breast cancer, and leukemia. People who aren’t dealing with cancer or radiation sickness are dealing with stress and the fear of radiation. A survey that was given to evacuees of the village Iitate showed that many residents were experiencing frustration and inability to return to their normal lives. Sixty percent reported that their health has gone down after the evacuation and another 39 percent stated that they were more irritated after the evacuation than before. TEPCO has to pay $6.5 billion USD for physical and psychological …show more content…
Radiation from the plant has caused Fir trees to grow abnormally or mutate. Researchers from the National Institute of Radiological Sciences said, “that many fir trees near the plant, as well as other areas, had undergone morphological defects.” Researchers have also discovered that there are high radiation levels in new leaves. The most talked about is the mutations in the Pale Grass Blue butterfly population. The mutations are believed to be started by the larvae eating radioactive plants around Fukushima which caused them to mutate as they grew. The butterflies that live in different areas of Japan each have had some kind of mutation. Some were unable to get out of their cocoon and having things like a longer leg or antennae. Since 2011 nobody has been allowed to live in the exclusion zone but the wildlife has flourished. As seen in Chernobyl the wildlife population almost doubles since there aren’t people hunting them. The problem now is the wild boar population that has grown significantly since the disaster. The damage caused to agriculture by the wild boars has doubled from what it was at before the disaster. The number of wild boars that are being hunted has increased from 3,000 to 13,000. Wild boar meat is highly desired in Japan but the animals have been eating contaminated plants and other animals in the exclusion zone. There has been high levels of Cesium - 137 found in the exclusion
32 million people in Japan are affected by the fallout and radiation from the plant. The Japanese government screened all the people who evacuated and were 18 and under for thyroid cancer because people in this age group absorb more iodine which is what was being released from the plant. In recent years there has been an increase of thyroid cancer amongst children. Most of the people who were exposed have a higher risk of developing thyroid, breast cancer, and leukemia. People who aren’t dealing with cancer or radiation sickness are dealing with stress and the fear of radiation. A survey that was given to evacuees of the village Iitate showed that many residents were experiencing frustration and inability to return to their normal lives. Sixty percent reported that their health has gone down after the evacuation and another 39 percent stated that they were more irritated after the evacuation than before. TEPCO has to pay $6.5 billion USD for physical and psychological …show more content…
Radiation from the plant has caused Fir trees to grow abnormally or mutate. Researchers from the National Institute of Radiological Sciences said, “that many fir trees near the plant, as well as other areas, had undergone morphological defects.” Researchers have also discovered that there are high radiation levels in new leaves. The most talked about is the mutations in the Pale Grass Blue butterfly population. The mutations are believed to be started by the larvae eating radioactive plants around Fukushima which caused them to mutate as they grew. The butterflies that live in different areas of Japan each have had some kind of mutation. Some were unable to get out of their cocoon and having things like a longer leg or antennae. Since 2011 nobody has been allowed to live in the exclusion zone but the wildlife has flourished. As seen in Chernobyl the wildlife population almost doubles since there aren’t people hunting them. The problem now is the wild boar population that has grown significantly since the disaster. The damage caused to agriculture by the wild boars has doubled from what it was at before the disaster. The number of wild boars that are being hunted has increased from 3,000 to 13,000. Wild boar meat is highly desired in Japan but the animals have been eating contaminated plants and other animals in the exclusion zone. There has been high levels of Cesium - 137 found in the exclusion