Assessing Fukushima and Its Long Term Affects - Research Paper Example

Assessing Fukushima and its Long Term Affects al Affiliation Fukushima is a term used very often today to refer to the disaster that took place on March 11, 2011 at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. The primary causes were an earthquake and a tsunami that shook the plant and led to release of hundreds of tons of radioactive waste into the surrounding regions and the ocean. Of course, there are failures that can be attributed to the disaster; the first is the Japanese government and the second is TEPCO. Since it planned on exploiting nuclear power to boost its energy sources, the Japanese government should have taken measures to prevent its people from any eventualities. TEPCO on the other hand, should have given truthful information regarding the situation at the plant, especially with regard to the temporary storage tanks that stored radioactively contaminated water. Different environmental, social, political and economic implications resulted from the disaster. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the situation holds serious long term effects, especially given that it has been recently discovered that radioactive material still continues to leak from the plant into the ocean. A number of solutions have been implemented and measures taken to prevent such occurrences in future, but it is feared that the problem is yet to be taken seriously especially by scientists who claim that radioactivity is not that harmful. Keywords: Fukushima, Nuclear, Disaster, Effects, Nuclear Power, Radioactive Particles (Material), Radioactivity, Radioisotopes, Radionuclides Introduction In March of 2011, Japan faced a disastrous event that left them stunned and distraught. The aftershock effects of the Tohoku earthquake impacted the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at its worst. The earthquake shook the plant affecting its major power source and deactivating all three reactors. The nuclear waste that was melted due to these reactors became the most significant issue as its harmful toxins made their way into the areas of Fukushima’s citizens. Health and safety has become a pressing issue as hundreds of tons of toxins began to leak into Fukushima’s main source of drinking water. As of February 2014, 230 million Becquerel’s per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances have leaked and created a pathway through groundwater systems to the sea (RT, 2014). This is extremely frightening to those living in Fukushima, as there is no way to put a stop to the drainage. This water contamination has lasting impacts not only on the citizens, but wildlife within the area, which will eventually affect the trophic levels. Rivers have now been contaminated, affecting any species that come in contact with them. This disaster has left tourists with a negative outlook of Fukushima. A once appealing destination has now become an undesirable attraction. The Japanese government must do everything in their power to put this as their top priority and find an alternative to nuclear energy, before health, safety, resources and tourism plummets into an irreversible amount of devastation. Thesis statement: Energy is an important resource in every nation and proper planning is a prerequisite before the exploration of energy resources, especially those that can cause harm. In the case of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, proper planning was disregarded and this led to a disaster that released the highest amounts of radioactive material in history. Although a lot of exposure to radioactivity can be blamed on the incident, there is need for every nation rethink and weigh the benefits of nuclear power and its potential consequences. This is because exploration of nuclear power still exposes a substantial number of people, especially plant workers to radiation. There are many safer alternatives to nuclear energy and this should be a consideration for every government. Causes The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was caused by a great earthquake and a huge tsunami that came to be known as the Great East Japan Earthquake. The earthquake was the first to hit the station and about 40 minutes later, the first tsunami wave hit the plant, with the second coming 8 minutes after the first (Suzuki & Kaneko, 2013). Prior to the earthquake and tsunami, Units 1, 2 and 3 of the station were in operation, while Units 4, 5 and 6, which were undergoing periodic inspection were not in operation (Suzuki & Kaneko, 2013). According to Suzuki and Kaneko (2013), “Units 1 to 3 which were under operation automatically shut down at 14.46 on March 11 due to strong quakes” (p. 9). As a result of the earthquake, all the six Units lost their power supply. Consequently, the diesel power generators meant for emergencies started up. When the tsunami hit the plant, the diesel power generators stopped working, apart from one Unit 6 generator. Additionally, all distribution boards, emergency diesel generators and seawater pumps were submerged in water, as a result of the tsunami; this led to loss of AC power supply for all Units, except Unit 6 (Suzuki & Kaneko, 2013). The auxiliary cooling systems and residual heat removal systems meant to release equipment heat and reactor residual heat to seawater respectively also stopped working. It is speculated that this is what “led to the meltdown of the reactor core, hydrogen explosion, leakage of cooling water, and lastly a great amount of radioactive materials discharged to the environment” (Suzuki & Kaneko, 2013, p. 9). Failures attributed to the Fukushima Disaster The topmost failure leading to the disaster can be blamed on the Japanese government. This is because although it opted to exploit nuclear power, it failed to protect its citizens from the risks that come with this undertaking. Although the causes of the disaster can be said to be natural since an earthquake and tsunami are what caused it, the government was not prepared for such a crisis, even if it happened for another reason (Greenpeace, 2014). In short, the government is also to blame since it failed to consider and implement disaster preparedness measures. To this day, radioactive material still leaks from the plant. The second party to blame is TEPCO (Greenpeace, 2014). This is because prior to the incident, it had claimed that all radioactively contaminated water was contained, while this was not the case. The fact that an earthquake and tsunami led to release of all contaminated water stored in temporary storage tanks raised suspicion over how true TEPCO’s assurances were (Greenpeace, 2014). This failure made it even more difficult to contain the radioactivity, since if they had truly closed the tanks as tightly as they claimed, so much radioactive waste would not have been released from the tanks. Implications Environmental impacts Air contamination: The Fukushima disaster led to emissions of radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere. These emissions came from evaporation of the seawater meant for deliberate venting and cooling purposes at the station, smoke from the plant, spent fuel pond fire and the four huge explosions. When radioactivity measures were conducted outside the station, the amount of radiation was thousands of times more than what is usually released by normal radioactivity. Test reports by ZAMG found out that between the 12th and 14th of March, caesium-137 and iodine-131, which are radioactive isotopes were releases in amounts of 50 and 360-390 PBq respectively (Rosen, 2012). The disaster also led to the release of a huge amount of radioactive Xenon; in fact, it has been the largest in history. When these isotopes were released into the air, they were carried away by wind currents taking them to the Far East and other continents such as Europe and North America; during this time, the isotopes were in form of radioactive clouds (Rosen, 2012). Precipitation from these clouds released the isotopes over land and water bodies. Bringing these radioactive isotopes under control took more than a year. Water contamination: In desperate attempts to control the fire that was burning the spent fuel ponds and to cool the reactors, a lot of water was used. This led to the release of large amounts of radioactive waste water through evaporation, to ground water deposits, soil, and into the sea. It is important to note that any amount of radioactive isotopes in water is harmful as it has the potential to cause cancer and genetic mutations (Rosen, 2012). In regard to release of radioactive water into the oceans, the Fukushima disaster caused the highest release ever recorded. In the region near the Fukushima power plant, radioactive caesium and iodine were found in high concentrations in the water. Food contamination: Massive contamination of food resulted from the Fukushima disaster. Among the food contaminated were fruits and vegetables, milk, beef, rice, drinking water, tea, as well as fish and other sea food. Surveys conducted in Saigou, Izumizaki, Ootama, Sukagawa, Sirakawa, Nihonmatsu, Ttsukidate, Iwaki, Minamisoma, Ono, Tamura, Kawamata, and Litate municipalities in Japan, found large concentrations of caesium-137 and iodine-131 in vegetables (Rosen, 2012). This was the case in most municipalities even a month after the accident. Among the vegetables that got contaminated were barley, wheat, strawberries, tomatoes, onions and lettuce in lesser amounts, while Chichitake mushrooms, parsley, and mustard plants were contaminated in moderate amounts (Rosen, 2012). Spinach vegetables were the most contaminated. Given that the world’s busiest fishing zones are located in the waters lying in the north-east of the Fukushima nuclear power station, effects on marine life were massive. In fact, 50% of Japan’s seafood comes from waters in the north-east of the station (Rosen, 2012). High levels of radioactive caesium-137 were found in fish and sea food, especially those located close to the nuclear power plant. In order to prevent the effects that would come with consuming these marine creatures as food, they had to be taken as radioactive waste, which was a huge loss. Soil contamination: Soil surveys conducted after the incident found different types of radioactive particles such as strontium-90, iodine-131 and caesium-137 (Rosen, 2012). Strontium-90 isotope has the potential to cause leukemia and other life-threatening diseases of the blood. Iodine-131 has the potential to cause thyroid cancer since when ingested into the human body, its behavior as normal iodine causes it to be absorbed into the thyroid gland (Rosen, 2012). Just like iodine-131, caesium-137 isotope is metabolized into the body like normal potassium; this isotope has the potential to cause solid tumors in almost all organs of the body (Rosen, 2012). Social impacts In any society health and safety are vital, otherwise chaos crop up. The March 11, 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant affected the health of several groups of people. These are the plant employees, workers who did the cleanup and rescue, people living in contaminated areas, and people who ingested contaminated food. Among these groups, the plant employees were the most affected, followed by the rescue and plant cleanup workers. In terms of safety, uncontrollable exposure to radioactive waste makes it impossible to be safe, even for people living miles away from the plant given that radioactive particles have found their way there through wind, rain and water. Political impacts Prior to the Fukushima disaster, many nations were considering investing in nuclear power to boost their energy sources. However, after the incident, majority of the nations abandoned these plans due to what they learnt from the mistakes they witnessed through the disaster. In Japan, a third of government officials and a substantial number of citizens are calling for an end to the exploitation of nuclear power. This is proof that the issue has turned political. Economic impacts The Japanese fisheries industry that accounted for a substantial amount of Japan’s GDP has had to deal with losses in terms of trillions of yens, since the disaster took place. Other contributors of the economy that have been affected are industries that relied on power from Fukushima and automobile and parts industries in other nations that relied on these products from Japan. The Japanese tourism industry has also been greatly affected as tourists fear for their health and safety. Long Term Effects of the Disaster Japanese fisheries and consumers of Japanese fish products: After the disaster, commercial fishing was prohibited at the region around Fukushima by the Japanese government. Since the leaks continue, commercial fishing in the region may not be reintroduced any time soon. For those that relied on income from the fishing such as the fishermen at Fukushima, their future is unknown. Fukushima is among Japan’s richest fishing regions, and so for the nation, this is a huge loss for the fisheries industry. An approximation of 1.26 trillion yen loss has been estimated to be the loss suffered by the fisheries industry so far (Greenpeace, 2014). For Japanese fish products consumers from around the globe, they stand a chance of consuming radioactively contaminated food. The ocean environment: It is a fact that since 2011, radioactive materials have continued to leak from the Fukushima plant. This implies spread of radioactive contamination to wider regions. Even at regions far from the plant, radioactively contaminated water and marine life have been found. The ocean environment continues to undergo further contamination from the continuing leakages (Greenpeace, 2014). As this happens, marine water sediments continue to collect contaminants that are radioactive, and this exposes all organisms near the floor of the ocean to the radioactive contaminants at higher amounts. The fact that the lifetime of radionuclides is quite long makes the situation even more dangerous, since the marine life will be exposed to this danger even in coming decades (Greenpeace, 2014). Increasing radioactivity on Japanese Islands: As radioactive material continues to leak from the Fukushima plant, the Islands of Japan stand to be the most affected in long term since they are closest to the plant. This means that Japanese soil will be contaminated with radioactive material for years and so will be the vegetation in the nation. In fact, contamination of soil means contamination of an entire food chain, which will be even more difficult to put an end to (Aoki, 2011). The vegetation is part of Japanese food and this makes it hard for anyone living within Japan to avoid consuming radioactively contaminated vegetables and fruits. All this poses a great risk to the Japanese population and their future. Permanent health problems: Ionizing radiation destroys tissues in the human body. Although the body is naturally designed to repair any damage that occurs, in severe cases repair is impossible. During the body’s natural repair process, mistakes do occur and this often leads to cancerous cells. The type of health effect and severity depends on the amount of exposure to radiation. Health effects can be stochastic or non-stochastic. Stochastic effects result from minimal but long term exposure to radiation (EPA, 2012). This is a common health effect on those involved in any operations at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, such as rescue and cleanup workers and mostly on plant workers. The primary health effect for people exposed to radiation is cancer (EPA, 2012). Non-stochastic health effects are a result of exposure to high radiation levels, which might not be long term. Acute exposure, which is the name given to high-level short term exposure leads to quick effects upon the health of individuals. These can include radiation poisoning and burns. Numerous deaths and premature aging have been as a result of acute exposure to radiation. Teratogenic and genetic mutations: Children are the most vulnerable group to these effects. When fetuses get exposed to radiation, the results are teratogenic mutations (EPA, 2012). When born, these children are usually mentally retarded, have abnormally slow growth, their eyes are poorly formed, and their brain size and head are small (EPA, 2012). This is certainly a disaster for future generations if pregnant mothers continue to be exposed to radioactivity. The other problem comes from passing of genetic effects to children by parents exposed to radiation (EPA, 2012). Although it can be said that the Japanese are the most affected by radioactive materials from the Fukushima disaster, the entire world is, and there is a high possibility of genetic mutations in future, especially given that radioactive materials continue to leak from the plant. Lessons learnt from the Disaster A number of lessons have been learnt not only by TEPCO and the Japanese government, but by the entire world in regard to exploration of nuclear power and possible nuclear disasters. The greatest lesson is that proper planning is crucial and should be taken seriously by any nation planning on exploring nuclear power. Gallagher points out that “the situation in Japan was an accident waiting to happen and, with proper planning, much of the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station could have been avoided” (2011, p. 154). In the case of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, it was also constructed in a region prone to tsunamis and earthquakes, and not so much attention had been given to the critical backup power supplies and their location as well. The global nuclear power supply chain also suffered a setback, since for most nations, Japan was the sole source of nuclear power supply. The situation forced companies relying on energy from Fukushima to look for other sources of supply. Due to the power outages that resulted from the disaster, the operations of many companies came to a standstill. According to Egli, “the impact of these disruptions expanded globally because automobile and technology manufacturers needed critical parts from Japan” (2013, p. 113). This was a great lesson on reliance on a single power source since accidents and disasters do occur. Solutions Long term and short term solutions are implemented in the event of a disaster. In the case of the disaster at Fukushima nuclear power plant, short-term solutions included clean up and evacuation plans. The cleanup solutions however cannot be said to have succeeded since radioactive materials still leak from the plant into the ocean posing more danger. Although these have been performed since the disaster occurred, long term solutions are necessary as they prevent reoccurrences of such incidents. As a long term solution to the Fukushima disaster, the Japanese government plans to safely decommission the plant (IAEA, 2013). However, there are challenging issues that remain to be resolved and the situation is still very complex. Among these are plans to manage the contaminated water and remove fuel from the spent fuel reactor. Plans to monitor the marine environment and creatures for radiation are also underway; on this initiative, the Japanese government has joined hands with other bodies such as the NRA (IAEA, 2013). The removal of fuel assemblies is already in progress. Conclusion From the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster, it can be learnt that any exploration of a resource that can cause harm to a population requires good thought and proper planning. However, the greatest question is whether exploitation of nuclear power should be a consideration, given that it is still harmful even when disasters do not occur. Radioactive exposure is very harmful and avoiding this for those working at the plants is impossible. Maybe the solution lies in exploring safer sources of energy. Reference List Aoki, M. (2011). Effect of Contaminated Soil on Food Chain sparks Fears. Retrieved from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2011/09/11/national/effect-of-contaminated-soil-on-food-chain-sparks-fears/#.UyVIvKKGjcY. Egli, D. S. (2013). Beyond the Storms: Strengthening Homeland Security and Disaster Management to Achieve Resilience. New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. EPA. (2012). Radiation Protection. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/understand/health_effects.html. Gallagher, S. (2011). True North: A Flickering Soul In No Mans Land; Knut Utstein Kloster, Father of the $40-Billion-A-Year Modern Cruise Industry. Bloomington: iUniverse Publishers. Greenpeace. (2014). Nuclear Disaster in Japan. Retrieved from http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/nuclear/Fukushima-nuclear-disaster/. IAEA. (2013). IAEA Team Completes Review of Japans Plans to Decommission Fukushima Daiichi. Retrieved from http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/2013/prn201327.html. Rosen, A. (2012). Effects of the Fukushima Nuclear Meltdowns on Environment and Health. Retrieved from http://www.ippnw.de/commonFiles/pdfs/Atomenergie/FukushimaBackgroundPaper.pdf. RT. (2014). 100 Tons of Toxic Water Leaked at Fukushima Plant. Retrieved From http://rt.com/news/fukushima-new-leak-toxic-832/. Suzuki, I. & Kaneko, Y. (2013). Japan’s Disaster Governance: How was the 3.11 Crisis Managed? 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