The Pros And Cons Of Fukushima

Decent Essays
magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami with waves peaking at 17 meters hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Three of the reactors at Fukushima overheated because the cooling systems failed after a tsunami flooded the power station and disabled the reactor cooling system which causing core meltdowns and make reactors impossible to restart . This was compounded by hydrogen gas explosions and released large amounts of radioactive material into the air, and the releases continue to this day. The accident also released tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Fukushima accident triggered a 30-km evacuation zone surrounding the plant and can only be entered under government supervision. According to the Nuclear Energy institute, "During the meltdown, radiation was …show more content…
"It is truly a manmade disaster in which money and power were put ahead of the lives and health of the people of Japan" a nuclear expert said. " The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been accused of falsifying data and covering up safety risks" (Biggs & Humber, 2011; Collins). When the disaster happened, the information from TEPCO and the Japanese government were ambiguous and misleading, which strengthened the accidents psychosocial effects around the world. TEPCO's President, Hirose said that although the situation facing Fukushima Daiichi on 11 March was exceptional, measures could have been adopted in advance that might have mitigated the impact of the disaster. Topco was at fault for failing to take these steps, he said. To prevent further contamination, TEPCO had constructed a frozen soil barrier, but in 2016 they revealed that "the ice wall had failed to stop groundwater from flowing in and mixing with highly radioactive water inside the wrecked reactor buildings, adding that they are technically incapable of blocking off groundwater with the frozen wall”. (Biggs & Humber, 2011;

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