nuclear-news

“The faster your plants grow, the faster you can take these things out of the ecosystem, essentially.”

No matter how this toxic mess is cleaned up, it will no doubt take years. Then there’s the long, complicated and costly process of controlling and then decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi.

“The whole world is waiting for Japan to bring the nuclear accident under control,” said Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, last Thursday when he visited the plant. “The efforts of everyone here will be the key to whether the nation can overcome the challenge.”

Monitoring the health of tens of thousands of citizens who lived around Fukushima Daiichi is another challenge facing the Noda administration. Already, small amounts of radioactive iodine have been detected in the thyroid glands of hundreds of children in Fukushima prefecture.

“People who were exposed to the radioactive matter should be taken care of by the government and checked once or twice a year,” insists Professor Sawada. “Early detection is very important.”

Rebuilding Japan’s northeast coast, which at first blush seemed a hopelessly overwhelming job, might prove to be the easy part of the recovery process. Dealing with the aftermath of its unprecedented nuclear accident will likely be much harder and take much longer.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/09/f-vp-dale-japan-six-months-after-tsunami.html