Extensive Impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Catastrophe

Nuclear Power                                                                                                    1

Nuclear Power        

Anthony C. Martinez

SCI207

Professor Yavuz Cakir

April 15, 2013

Nuclear Power                                                                                                      2

          The extensive impact of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe caused by tsunami on Japan’s people and land can still be clearly seen even after eight months of the mishap. Though the inhabitants aren’t exposed to high levels of radiations as was fretted, the soils across the northeastern Japan have become polluted and rendering the area unsuitable for farming purposes. Products from such farms would have ill-effect on the health of folks for decades. The situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility remains fluid, and the long-term environmental and health impact will likely take years to fully delineate. (Dauer, Zanzonico, Tuttle, Quinn, Strauss, H. W. (2011)

The calamity released large amount of Iodine-131 and Cesium-137 radioactive nuclides in the atmosphere. The same Cesium isotope is still responsible for radiation in the dead zone surrounding the Chernobyl site. Both the nuclides enhance the risk of cancer in human beings. They have also rendered the major part of land and soil unfit for cultivation. Cesium-137 and Cesium-134 are a major cause of menace owing to their long radioactive decay life (half life of two years) and presence in the form of chlorides. Cesium chlorides being water soluble easily affect the water sources and can be easily ingested and distributed in the human bodies, making the situation quite grim. The government has suspended shipments of food products like leafy vegetables, milk and beef, which exceeds the government safe limit of 500 Becquerel/kg, but some of it has still found its way into supermarkets and restaurants.
          For all the gloom one bit of the positive news is that only 10 out of the 5000 residents who had lived within the 20km radius are contaminated with high levels of radiations. Rest everyone else showed levels low enough to be classified as ‘not contaminated’. Studies and researches are going on in many universities to detect the exact amount of soil contamination. It is very much required to carry out detailed evaluation of the soil and air in order to check out the levels of radiations. Simultaneously, labor to clean up the destruction caused by radiations should also be