March 11, 2011 is the date the biggest nuclear power disaster in history began. The Fukushima Dalichi Power Plant fell into major meltdown mode after a record 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami engulfed entire neighborhoods and villages including the nuclear plant. It is estimated that 300,000 people were evacuated from the area, and have not been allowed to return.
The plant was damaged in the event, power was knocked out and radiation poured out of the damaged reactors into the immediate area, and into the ocean. The plant is still dealing with radioactive water leaks, and is still in the throes of major radiation cleanup.
The world is just beginning to understand the severity of this calamity and the after effects that it poses to not only Japan, but to human life and marine life all along the pacific coast and in the pacific ocean.
The people involved in the clean-up and in evacuation areas that could not escape quickly enough have been poisoned. Radiation poisoning is devastating to humans and animals.
Experts say that approximately 50% of humans exposed to 450 rems will die, and 800 rems will kill virtually anyone. Death is inevitable and will occur from between two days to a couple of weeks.
After repeated warnings by former senior Japanese officials, nuclear experts, and even a U.S. senator, it’s sinking in that the irradiated nuclear fuel stored in spent fuel pools amidst the reactor ruins pose far greater dangers than the molten cores.
The company Tepco, the plant’s operator and the largest energy company in Japan, not only is concealing the extreme severity of the disaster, it is mismanaging funds intended for the immense cleanup.
The evacuation zone surrounding the plant is inundated with radiation, debris and hot spots. Within the zone are men wearing protective suits and masks to try to avoid the havoc radiation can have on humans. Inside zone is what the locals call the “no-go zone,” and it is deserted because many are keenly aware of the dangers.
The radiation in the oceans and ocean life is devastating. Fish is now questionable to eat in specific areas that were affected and radiation is washing up on shores all the way to the west coast. Although scientists and others deny that the pacific coast is at dangerous levels, many disagree, saying that the west coast is at dangerously high levels, but there is one thing for certain, Fukushima is definitely still a threat.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
