Written by Elliot Ross, ESLLC 2016-2017
In the history of the world there have only been two nuclear energy meltdowns. The first one was in Chernobyl, Russia in the 70’s and the more recent one was in Fukushima, Japan. When the meltdown at Chernobyl happened the surrounding town was evacuated and now the area is blocked off. The area surrounding the Fukushima plant was also evacuated however the environmental damage was much more sever because Fukushima is a coastal town. The Fukushima plant has been leaking radioactive particles into the Pacific Ocean since 2011. The reason the melt down occurred is because of a tsunami that hit the town, which flooded the area. The radioactive particles pose a great threat to the fishing industry and the over all environmental crisis for all living things in the Pacific. Recent studies on the levels of radiation say they are at deadly levels.
Earlier this month, the people effected by the incident had funds cut that the government of Japan had given to them in order for them to be able to afford a new place to live. There was out rage. The 2011 incident caused 160,000 people to be evacuated. So now not only is the place uninhabited and wont be for a very long time, but also the people effected are left to their own devices, as the government said they have “self responsibility for their own decisions.”
The Tokyo Electric Power Company is the company that owned the plant. They have been tasked to clean up the area which is projected to cost 188 billion dollars. The company have described the level of radiation as ‘unimaginable.’ The clean up was done by unmanned machines and robots. Even the robots stopped working due to The radiation. Researchers are unsure about the fate of the area.
The radiation that has leaked into the ocean has spread extreme distances since 2011. There was particles found as far away from the site as Hawaii. Although the radiation was somewhat minuscule in number of particles it was still at a measurable amount. The winds that blew east also went somewhat north so nowhere on land has had any trace particles of radiation. Four weeks after the meltdown radioactive particles had been found in the southern hemisphere. Fukushima radiation also made its way to California where the levels were found to be “far below any public health risks.”
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“Haunting Photos Show What’s Left In Fukushima After The 2011 Nuclear Disaster.” Malaysian Digest. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
“Ocean Oddities: Oh, Fuk! Fallout From Fukushima.” Surfline.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.