A Fatal Environmental Catastrophe in the Wake of a Fierce Tsunami - Essay Example

? Fukushima Nuclear Plant Incident in Fukushima Nuclear Plant Incident in Introduction Japan faced a major earthquake that resulted into a tsunami on March 11, 2011 and caused considerable damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The 14-m high tsunami caused damaged to all AC power in the Units 1, 2, and 3 within the Power Plant while at the same time it carried away fuel tanks, which were meant for backup diesel generators. The power plant workers put efforts by injecting water to try to cool the system but it was in vain as the hydrogen explosions caused harm to the plant and therefore radioactive material was released into the environment (Hamilton 2012, p.51). This is the largest nuclear catastrophe recorded in the world after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and it is believed to have released approximately 10 to 30% of radiation material of what Chernobyl incident emitted (Povinec, Hirose and Aoyama 2013, p. 9). In the event of the tsunami, the backup power equipment that was meant to cool the reactors was destroyed and this caused fuel melting, hydrogen outburst, and radioactive gases. This radioactive release at the Fukushima plant forced the neighborhoods up to 25 miles estimated at more than 100,000 residents were all evacuated away from the plant. The subsequent lack of AC power in Units 1 to three prohibited the valves and pumps from working normally which was necessary to eliminate heat and pressure that occurred due to radioactive decay from the nuclear fuel within the reactor hubs. The fuel rods therefore, overheated and in combination with the steam, huge quantities of hydrogen were generated causing an explosion. This is the explosion that prevented the plant workers from cooling the reactors and the radioactivity spread rapidly (Elliott 2012, p.7). The Pollutant Source and Pathway The source of the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster is directly related to the earthquake of a 9.0 magnitude that hit Japan in 2011. This earthquake caused damage to the external power supply and the backup diesel emergency generators were flooded leading them to fail. After the failure of the diesel backup generators, the reactor operators initiated the emergency battery power but they run out after 8 hours of operation. The enduring heat therefore, could not be carried out and this led to fuel failure. Fuel failure occurs because of mechanical, chemical or even thermal failures when there is too much heat in the valves (Brook, 2011). The nuclear power plant workers had now to focus on managing the core while the heat was building up to allow the fuel cladding to keep going as much as possible. In reality, the reactor is made up of several independent and different cooling systems that operate to ensure smooth flow. These cooling systems include the reactor water clean-up mechanism, the decay heat exclusion, the core isolating cooling system, and also standby cooling mechanism among others. It is evident some of these cooling system failed and caused damage to the core and therefore, the disaster occurred (Elliott 2012, p.7). When the workers lost most of the cooling systems because of loss of power, they had to come up with other means of eliminating the heat. However, in a situation where the heat production is greater than its removal, the pressure immediately keeps rising as the boiling water builds steam. The operators now focused on keeping the temperature below 1200°C, while also maintaining a manageable level of the pressure. Maintaining a manageable pressure level is necessary to get rid of steam and this is done by pressure relief valves that are contained in the reactor (Elliott 2012, p.7). The process of maintaining pressure requires venting or emitting steam to keep the levels in a steady rate. It is important to note that steam and other gases eliminated are radioactive fission materials, which are in small quantities. In this case, when the workers at Fukushima nuclear plant were emitting steam, some form of radioactive emissions were released into the environment but in a controlled way (this means in small amounts using filters and scrubbers). In reality, despite the fact that such gases are radioactive, they had no major risk to citizens and even to the workers. This is why this procedure is justified since the results are minimal as opposed to consequences of failure to eliminate the steam (Brook, 2011). The management at Fukushima nuclear plant sent mobile generators at the location and some power as reinstated. However, it was evident that the boiling water was more and the steam being emitted was more than what was being put to the reactor therefore, minimizing the cooling potential of the few cooling system left in place. The water level was dropping below the fuel rods, this increased the temperature within the fuel rod shield above 1200°C, and this caused an interaction between Zircaloy and water (Brook, 2011). This oxidizing process generates hydrogen gas and because it is particularly combustible, it has bad reactions when it escapes and mixes with oxygen. The buildup of hydrogen gas became huge during the emission process inside the reactor and it mixed with oxygen causing an explosion. The explosion occurred around the reactor 2 and 3, which have no safety functions, and therefore, most part of the reactor building was damaged by this explosion and even hampered workers from controlling the situation (Tsubokura, et al 2012, p.669). It is evident that when the fuel rod shield surpassed 1200°C it caused fuel damage but the nuclear material was still unharmed. However, it is clear that the nearby Zircaloy shell begun to fall off which caused some radioactive fission elements such as cesium and iodine among others begun to combine with water as well as steam. It was revealed that a small quantity of cesium and iodine was found in the gases that escaped into the environment (Tsubokura, et al 2012, p.669). It is also evident that the damaged reactor plant where fuel storage occurred begun to leak into the underground water and ultimately into the Pacific Ocean. According to Tokyo Electricity Power Company (TEPCO), about 520 tons of water containing radioactive elements leaked into the sea and their efforts to install curtains to prevent this water into the sea became unfruitful. It is estimated by the French Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety that about 8.4 kilograms of caesium-137 entered the sea which is the biggest contamination of water yet recorded. It is however, believed that Fukushima coast has strongest currents around the globe and these radioactive material was dispersed deep into the Pacific Ocean disintegrating the elements. In this way, it is believed that it has little effect on marine life but the waves may still push the elements to the shore causing continuous pollution (Karam, 2013). Characteristics of the Radiation Released in Fukushima Nuclear Plant The major radiation released in the Fukushima nuclear plant incident is the explosive iodine 131 and it is known to have half-life of 100 days in its entirety. However, it has other varied biological half-lives in different body organs such as 100 day in thyroid, 14 days in the bone, and kidney, spleen, as well as reproductive organs it remains for 7 days (Eisler 2012, p.41). It is ingested as a radiation in the body through inhaling and it is absorbed in the lungs and once it absorbed, it passes through to the blood stream and then concentrates within the thyroid glands while the rest is removed from the body as a person is passing urine. Iodine is a dangerous when ingested because it has the potential to concentrate in the body’s thyroid glands (World Nuclear Association, 2013). It was also noted that caesium 137 which has half-life of 30 years and it is released in a plume. Caesium is a dangerous contamination since when it reaches the soil it has the potential to contaminate the land for a long period. This is because it mainly has a robust gamma-emitter in its decay form that has the potential to ruin the environment. Caesium is actually soluble and if consumed or enter the human body it may not cause any major damage since it does not concentrate on any organs. However, it may be dangerous to ingest it since it has a biological half-life of 70 days, which can bring a wide range of side effects to the body (Chino, et al 2011, p.1130). Health Risks of the Fukushima Disaster It is evidence that the Fukushima nuclear plant radiation had largely increased chances of cancer among the people living in surrounding areas. The iodine radiation contributes essentially to cancer of the thyroid and especially so among children when there is long-term exposure. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that about 167 workers at the plant were given radiation to minimize the chances of developing cancer. Around thirty workers from the plant indicated an exposure rate of more than 100 mSv, which means they have a high risk of getting cancer. The Japanese government took the initiative to screen more than 180, 592 people in the whole population to evaluate the risks of exposure to radiation (Elliott 2012, p.8). The Japanese government is however, confidence that since the amount of radiation in the atmosphere was extremely small, there are very few cases of cancer that are likely to be reported. However, research by health organizations show that approximately 130 cancer deaths are likely to be reported from the effects of iodine radiation (Harrison and Hester 2011, p.77). Additionally, WHO report in 2013 forecasted that people currently living near the Fukushima nuclear plant have a 70% chance of suffering from thyroid cancer. This rate is relatively 7% higher among females exposed while infants while 6% of males exposed at infancy have a great chance of suffering from leukaemia. It is also evident that females exposed as infants to this radiation have a high risk of developing breast cancer which is a consequence directly related to the 2011 Fukushima incident. WHO cites that the most risk group is people who were infants at the time of the radiation since they have a high chance of developing any of all types of cancers. This estimate is set at 1% chance of getting cancer problems from the incident. It is also clear that the most likely cancer that these people may develop later in life is thyroid since iodine enters the thyroid glands when inhaled (Elliott 2012, p.8). It is also evident that the trauma of the radiation and tsunami caused many people especially those evacuated to suffer from depression among other forms of mental problems. Many experts from Japan agree with the issue of mental health problems for victims evacuated from fears of the radiation. It is also clear that even the general population has reported higher cases of depression and mental conditions because of concerns of toxins within the atmosphere. Despite the fact that reports indicated that radiation was low in the atmosphere, many people were still worried leading to health problems like lack of sleep, stress, and anxiety among others. The major health problem that people faced was psychological stress of the uncertainty of the radiation effects in their environment, which could impact their lives (Frechette 2011, p.123). Measures Taken to Clean the Environment The clean-up exercise after the radiation exposure in Fukushima nuclear plant has been underway since the disaster. The result of the disaster was radioactive gases, liquid, and even solids that pose a danger to the environment. It has been confirmed that the gases released into the atmosphere during the incident dispersed and decayed into much smaller levels that are no longer a health problem. The TEPCO measures conducted in November 2011 showed that the gases into the atmosphere had stopped and temperatures in all unit reactors were less than 75°C. This is after the damages in the damaged plant had been fixed when the tsunami stopped (Hsu, 2013). The major challenge today is to deal with the liquid and solid radiation that is still in the process of being removed from the environment. TEPCO created storage tanks to keep the radiation liquid but there have been problems of leakages that have been reported in many instances. However, TEPCO and Japanese government are in the process of building a major facility to store and treat all radioactive waste including the toxic soil from the Fukushima region. The government of Japan in 2013 has contributed 32 billion yen that is meant for building a 1.4km long type of underground frozen wall near the damaged reactors. This wall is meant to stop the leaking water from reaching the ground water, which later gets into the Pacific Ocean. In the event that underground water combines with coolant water, it instantly becomes polluted since it encounters the initially melted nuclear (McCurry, 2013). The government and TEPCO also plans to spend another 15 billion yen to enhance the technology which would enable removal of all radioactive particles excluding tritium from the water or get them to a level that is legally tolerable. Today, there are considerations of discharging or clearing all the water they treat. This is because there are large volumes of water that need to be addressed and the storage space is running out and the only option is to discharge or evaporate such polluted water (Hsu, 2013). In this way, the government is considering discharging the water treated into the ocean to give room. Today, it is evident that the air and quality of water around Fukushima plant is at a good level that does not pose any environmental or health threats. The clean-up is ongoing and the government is confident that by 2015 all toxins in water or around the plant would be fully eliminated (McCurry, 2013). Conclusion The Fukushima nuclear plant was a fatal environmental catastrophe that occurred in Japan in March 2011 in the wake of a fierce tsunami. The disaster occurred after a tsunami that was activated by an earthquake that hit Japan causing the power supply to cut. The backup power system failed leading to fuel melting that resulted to hydrogen gas outburst and therefore radioactive gases escaped to the environment. The major radioactive gas released was iodine and celsuem causing a serious threat to people living around Fukushima region. Contaminated water also leaked into the ocean causing another global environmental problem. It is evident that radioactive material has potential health risks and thyroid cancer is one of the notable threats of iodine. TEPCO and Japan government have embarked on a series of clean-up methods that involved storing contaminated water after treatment and building a frozen wall underground the plant to stop leakages from entering the Pacific Ocean. Bibliography Brook, B., 2011. Fukushima Nuclear Accident – a simple and accurate explanation. [online] Available at: Chino, M., et al. 2011. Preliminary estimation of release amounts of 131I and 137Cs accidentally discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the atmosphere. Journal of nuclear science and technology, 48(7), pp. 1129-1134. Eisler, R., 2012. The Fukushima 2011 Disaster. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. Elliott, D., 2012. Fukushima: Impacts and Implications. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Frechette, K., 2011. What Will Work: Fighting Climate Change with Renewable Energy, Not Nuclear Power. 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Internal radiation exposure after the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. JAMA, 308(7), pp. 669-670. World Nuclear Association. 2013. Fukushima Accident. [online] Available at: < http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/> Read More