Fukushima Radiation Affecting Americans

The Fukushima disaster in Japan was the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, resulting from the release of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It has brought to the forefront the dangers of worldwide nuclear radiation. Since then, it is estimated that 330 tons of radiation-contaminated water has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean daily. That’s correct, over 300 tons of radiation-contaminated water has been seeping into our oceans every single day for over two years. That’s over 250,000 tons of contaminated water that has now entered the Pacific Ocean. The amount of radioactivity released from Fukushima from other points of comparison yields cause for concern. The release of radioactivity from Fukushima is estimated to be the equivalent of 168 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II. More troubling still is the fact that the Fukushima plant continues to spew out radiation across the northern hemisphere every single day because the reactors have not stabilized. Continuously, leaks in the reactors are being reported, , fish have been found to be contaminated with radiation, U.S. water supply samples are testing positive for radioactive components Iodine-131, Cesium-134 and Cesium -137, and Fukushima children are being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. What prevails is a well-organized camouflage. The public health disaster in Japan, the contamination of water, agricultural land and the food chain, not to mention the broader economic and social implications, have neither been fully acknowledged nor addressed in a comprehensive and meaningful fashion by the Japanese authorities. 

The Japanese government took charge of the Fukushima situation only in August, when Abe finally ordered an intervention. Japan has offered but a few solutions for the persistent radiation leaks, including protective barriers to prevent the flow of contaminated water into the ocean. Japanese government approved a plan to bury refrigeration pipes 100 feet below sea level for about a mile around the radioactive site to essentially freeze the ground to prevent water flow; the job is expected to take 18 months and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. But while Chernobyl and Fukushima were the only two nuclear disasters to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale, Chernobyl only contained 180 tons of nuclear material prior to the catastrophe while Fukushima contained 1,760 tons of nuclear material. Nuclear radiation – which threatens life on planet earth – is not front page news in comparison to the most insignificant issues of public concern, including the tabloid gossip reports on Hollywood celebrities or the local level crime scene. This was an urgent matter two and a half years ago when the leaking first started. And now it’s too late. The world and the entire human race will be greatly affected – and no one is saying anything. We know that Chernobyl did tremendous damage to people in Belarus and Ukraine and now we are seeing it again in Fukushima. Our government hasn’t addressed the topic whatsoever. Obviously, money and keeping face are more important than the lives and wellbeing of millions.

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