Radiation Effects from Tsunami in Japan of 11 March 2011
The March 11, 2011 widespread, destructive earthquake and tsunami affected several Japanese fishery areas and agricultural sector. Moreover, the detected radioactive leakage on food produced near destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant has brought fears on the safety of Japanese food export and the general food production system. Several nations have put strict regulations on the Japanese food products as the government of Japan takes measures in restricting and monitoring the distribution of the nuclear contaminated food. The United States main food agencies, the Food and Drugs Administration and the Department of Agriculture have taken approaches to address the Daiichi nuclear leakage effects (Povinec and Hirose 2). In addition to the two agencies, other US agencies are as well taking measures to stop any possible effects of the radiation in the US food production or its territories in the Pacific. Furthermore, other organizations in the UN are keenly monitoring international issues on the security of the Japanese produced foods. The effects of the March 11, 2011 tsunami have caused devastation not only to the Japanese but to the whole world, particularly to the locations in the Pacific. The Japanese authority in 2013 confirmed the radioactive water leak into the Pacific Ocean leading to a devastating impact on the complicated marine food web. Apart from food export, the recent report indicates contaminated water flowing into the Pacific Ocean as the tuna fish and other fish are migrating from Fukushima to California coast and other parts of the ocean (Povinec and Hirose 45).
The Fukushima nuclear leak is reported as the largest single contributor to the marine environ...
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...the world have placed restrictions on the Japanese food exports decreasing the Japanese revenue from its food exports.
Works Cited
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Johnson, Renee. Japan’s 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami: Food and Agriculture Implications. Darby: DIANE Publishing, 2013. Print.
Povinec, Pavel and Katsumi Hirose. Fukushima Accident: Radioactivity Impacts on the Environment. Boston: Newnes, 2013. Print.
Suzuki, D. Fukushima Radiation: Is it Safe to eat Fish? 9 Oct 2013. Web. 5 April 2014.
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Chernobyl (chĬrnō´byēl) is the uninhibited city in north Ukraine, near the Belarus boundary, on the Pripyat River. Ten miles to the north, in the town of Pripyat, is the Chernobyl nuclear powerstation, site of the worst nuclear reactor disaster in history ("Chernobyl", Columbia Encyclopedia). To specify, On April 26, 1986, Unit Four of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in Ukraine, injuring human immune systems and the genetic structure of cells, contaminating soils and waterways. Nearly 7 tons of irradiated reactor fuel was released into the environment—roughly 340 million curies. Included in the release were radioactive elements with a half-life of 16 million years. Yet, we humans cannot defe...
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The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.
In 1962, at 11:00:09 pm local time on July 8th, the United States detonated a thermonuclear warhead riding atop a Thor missile at 400 km above Johnston Island at a distance of 826 miles from Honolulu, Hawaii. That night was one that many on the Hawaii Islands would never forget (Berkhouse, 1962). Operation , as the test was code named by the U.S. military, caused the first damage in the United States from an electromagnetic pulse created by a nuclear detonation. Though the damage was not intended or planned, the 1.4-megaton weapon caused “the failure of street-lighting systems, tripping of circuit breakers, triggering of burglar alarms, and damage to a telecommunications relay facility.” (EMP Commission, 2004, p. 4)
From the creation of nuclear weapons at the start of the Cold War to today, the world has experienced struggles fueled by the want of nuclear power. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Iran’s nuclear weapon program are some of the most important conflicts over nuclear weapons. Thanks to the use of nuclear weapons in 1945 to end World War II, the world has come extremely close to a nuclear war, and more countries have began developing nuclear power. Unmistakably, many conflicts since the start of the Cold War have been caused by nuclear weapons, and there are many more to come.
Soil trials were taken all over the Qatarian peninsula to test the radiation levels in the soil. One of the trials ended up being higher in radiation than all the other trials, all were taken from a coastal oil field and was automatically assumed that Tenorm was the cause with the mobility of Ra in oil-field rocks. There should have been more trials where the soil tested high in radiation. A trial investigation of metals in marine life occurred because of the 1991 oil spill. The only creature that was affected by this oil spill was the muddy lobster. The muddy lobster Hg and Cd levels were higher than they were before, but since they were the only species with a problem, it was thought other factors resulted from the higher levels of Hg and Cd. Since they do not know exactly what caused the Hg and Cd levels to spike they determined it was not because of the oil spill, but they do not know if it was a combination of factors with the oil spill that caused
If a nuclear fallout were to occur, the earth would turn into a radiated wasteland. The earth would be essentially non-liveable, but it could be possible to survive. People, with the help of fallout shelters and bunkers, would be able to survive the initial attack and quite possibly live in the shelters until the radiation has dropped to a level in which they can survive.
While the early warning saved thousands of people, the Japan’s Meteorological Agency underestimated this earthquake as the subduction zone of Japan should not produce the magnitude 9.0 quake (Oskin, 2013a). The Tohoku Earthquake and its tsunami approximately killed 16 thousand people, injured 6 thousand people and around 3 thousand people were missing. Most people died from drowning. Around 300 thousand buildings, 4000 roads, 78 bridges, and many more were affected by the earthquake, tsunami, and fires from leaking oils and gas. Electricity, telecommunication, and railways were severely damaged. The debris of 25 million tons was generated and carried out to the sea by water (BBC News, 2012). The country’s authorities estimated more than 309 billion US dollars of damages. Landslides occurred in Miyagi and liquefaction in Chiba, Tokyo, Odaiba, and Urayasu (USGS, 2013). Furthermore, the tsunami destroyed protective tsunami seawalls. Approximately 217 square miles of Japan covered in water (Oskin,
After the incident, 300,000 people evacuated the area. Although the World Health Organization indicated that evacuees were exposed to little radiation, they are still likely to have radiation-induced health impacts. The inconsistency in applying the improved standards to the nuclear plants had caused the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.
Japan – Fukushima Introduction On March 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM, Japanese time, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hits, but was later upgraded to a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, happens 231 miles northeast of Tokyo, Japan, at a depth of 15.2 miles. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre sends out a warning to Japan all the way to the United States of America. Around an hour after the earthquake, the waves hit. The waves got up to 30ft high when they hit the Japanese coast. The waves caused widespread devastation, washing away cars like they were sticks, collapsing buildings and destroying roads and highways.
Uncontrolled nuclear fission in the power plants could lead to the release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere. In the past, there have been a number of nuclear power plant accidents that have caused dangerous levels of radiation to be released. In 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine occurred when an improper reactor design was handled with inexperienced workers. More than five percent of the radioactive reactor core was set free into the air. Soon after the disaster, at least thirty people died, and some long-term health problems also existed. After a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan in 2011, a tsunami caused the reactant cooling process at the Fukushima power plant to be disabled. Many people had to evacuate in order to escape the radioactive materials that were released into the air. In 1979, a cooling problem caused the core of one of the reactors at the Three Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania to melt. Although some radioactive materials were released into the atmosphere, it was not enough to cause major health issues. In 1999, three workers at the Tokaimura plant in Japan received critical amounts of
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There was a multitude of causes of the disaster in Japan. The first cause was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan. Japan is located in “The Ring of Fire,” an area in the Pacific Ocean that has multiple faults and earthquakes (Pedersen 13). Tectonic plates shifted off the North Pacific coast of Japan and created a massive earthquake. The next cause was a thirty-three foot wall of water that swept over cities and farmland in Japan (Branigan 2). Martin Fackler, a journalist, stated, “The quake churned up a devastating tsunami” (Fackler 3). The tsunami reached speeds of 497 miles per hour while approaching Japan (Fackler 3). The third and final reason of the disaster was that the cooling systems at multiple nuclear power plants failed. At Fukushima, a nuclear power plant in Sendai, Japan, the radioactive rods began to overheat due to the absence of water, which cools it. Explosions occurred at three of the reactors, which spewed radiation into the air (“Comparing nuclear power plant crises”). In conclusion, the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant issues were the causes of the disaster in Japan, but they also had a myriad of effects.