March 9, 2012

Mar 9, 2012 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • At the one year anniversary of March 11, most American experts say the health effects of radiation from Fukushima have been overblown. The 20 millisievert emergency exposure limit will have little health effect, if any. When compared to America’s average background level of 6.5 millisieverts, the additional exposure levels in Japan over their 1.5 millisievert average is essentially negligible. The theoretical worst-case increase in cancer risk at 20 millisieverts is a few thousandths of a percent, which might not happen at all because the exposure level is so very low. Richard Garfield of Columbia University says, “In terms of the health impact, the radiation is negligible.” Also, in retrospect, the power plant’s malfunction was relatively well contained. The reactors shut down automatically at the time of the earthquake. “It was nowhere near as complex of a release as Chernobyl, which was everything from the core of the reactor,” says Peter Caracappa of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In addition, concerns about contaminated food have likely been exaggerated. “It’s not like some chemical contaminants—it’s not invisible [to our screening methods],” Caracappa says. The the experts conclude that the real concerns should be directed at other physical and mental impacts. Fukushima residents will likely face mental health challenges and the physical ailments that come with stress, such as heart disease. U.C. Berkeley’s Thomas McKone says, “Much of the damage was really psychological—the stress of not knowing, of being relocated.” Seiji Yasumura of Fukushima Medical University’s Department of Public Health says, “Mental health is the most significant issue.” (Scientific American) For the complete article, go to…  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=japans-post-fukushima-earthquake-health-woes-beyond-radiation
  • Preliminary results of last spring’s thyroid screenings for Fukushima have been released. 80% of those living near the Fukushima power complex had detectable radioactive Iodine in their thyroids. Five persons had exposures of more than 50 millisieverts, with the level being 87 millisieverts. Team leader, Hirosaki University professor Shinji Tokonami, said the levels were relatively low considering the scale of the airborne radioactivity releases. (JAIF)
  • Despite what the experts say, over half of Fukushima Prefecture’s residents worry greatly about their health due to the ongoing nuclear crisis. 54% of Fukushima Prefecture residents were “greatly worried” about the potential health effects of radiation from the nuclear plant — twice the national average of 27%. Combining the percentages of those who were either “greatly worried” or “somewhat worried” about their health, the figure for Fukushima Prefecture reached 83 percent — 10 points above the national average of 73%. 70 percent of the respondents in the three disaster-hit prefectures said they believed the government was “hiding” information — roughly on par with the national average of 71%. Even among those in favor of nuclear energy, 66 percent of the national respondents believe the government is hiding critical information. 85% of those who are “greatly concerned” with their health said the government is keeping information on the disaster secret from the public. (Mainichi Shimbun)
  • Decontamination work has begun on key roads inside the Fukushima no-go zones. Efforts on a road by the Nahara Town Hall were watched by news media on Thursday. Water jets were used by workers in protective clothing to blast the pavement, and the results were encouraging. Radiation fields above the road were reduced by about 80%. In Tomioka Town, the media saw the monitoring of radiation levels every 10 meters on the Joban Expressway, in preparation for its cleansing. The expressway’s radiation field at one meter above the pavement is between 4 and 5 microsieverts per hour. If water jets can reduce the fields by 80%, they will be at or below the goal of 1 microsievert/hour. The government plans starting work on six other main thoroughfares in the no-go zone which will be critical for repopulation of the towns with already-low radiation levels. (NHK World)
  • Another new poll shows that nearly 60% of the mayors along the Tohoku coast want nuclear power abolished. The mayors of 42 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures were polled by Mainichi Shimbun. Six months ago, a similar poll revealed that less than 50% wanted nuclear abolition. The nearly 20% increase is attributed to the proliferation of groundless rumors that have hurt local businesses and the tourism industry. One abolitionist, Norio Kanno, mayor of Iitate, said, “If Japan declares it will seek economic growth through nuclear power stations, the international community will turn its back on us.” Another, Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai of Minamisoma, seeks the total closure of nuclear plants in the long run because “it has become clear that the safety of residents and the environment is not guaranteed.” On the other hand, Mayor Toshiami Watanabe of Okuma, said “It’s difficult to secure substitute energy sources if all the nuclear power stations in Japan are stopped. The minimum necessary plants should be retained while safety regulations are stiffened.” (Mainichi Shimbun)
  • Widespread public doubt exists over the stability of the Fukushima Daiichi facility despite many independent Japanese experts believing the government assessment of cold shutdown is probably accurate. Hisashi Ninokata Tokyo Institute of Technology explained that although the melted fuel is continuing to produce a certain amount of decay heat, the levels have steadily declined over the past year. Heat emanating from each reactor has fallen to about 0.05 percent of their pre-disaster power levels which suggests temperatures have been brought under control. “I can hardly imagine that the melted fuel will suffer further damage” through a surge in temperature, he said. Akira Wada, professor emeritus at Tokyo Institute of Technology, said that even though some of the reactor buildings were damaged by hydrogen explosions, considering how strongly they were built in the first place it remains unlikely they would collapse during another big quake. While a considerable amount of work is to be done over the next ~30 years, the experts believe the time to worry about another worst-case scenario unfolding has passed. (Japan Times)
  • A few mothers who fled Fukushima after March 11 have spoken about their fears of radiation in New York City. An un-named non-government organization (NGO) brought them to New York and reserved a room at the United Nations for a Press conference. About 80 people attended. All women now live in Tokyo, but their fears of radiation have only amplified since leaving Fukushima Prefecture. Chiaki Tomitsuka says she fears another accident at Fukushima Daiichi because the area is prone to earthquakes. She says she fears for her children’s lives. Yoshiko Fukagawa says she and her children live every day in fear of radiation. Those attending the meeting said they now better understand the difficulty in raising children in an environment of radiation fears. (JAIF)